I was searching for Hilton properties in Long Beach, CA and came up with the following Doubletree-to-be that's starting at a higher reward category than the existing local Hilton Long Beach:

Hotel Maya - a doubletree hotel

It is transitioning away from joie de vivre as a recent $20M renovation and appears to be a full service luxury boutique hotel being added to DT.


That being said and after the notes posted by WNHHTraveler and others about the evolution of the Doubletree brand as a catchall including the Compri's, Red Lions, and, as we also know, downgraded Hiltons, the frustration of the current DT collection is a lack of focus - or currently a focus on one thing - free cookies at check in.

I was thinking when I posted the challenge that DT might be better imagined as a softer focus, warm fuzzy brand - which, based on today's postings, is clear that is where it really came from. While I was still in school at the time, I do remember the many newspaper and magazine articles and TV news stories (pre-non-university Internet days; post/concurrent Usenet times) relating travel of various sorts to women travelers - from safety concerns to what was the correct business attire (remember assertive shoulder pads anyone? ).

My searching thru the DT property names was to try to get a handle on what else was in the brand and it is clear that with the aggregation of so many different types of properties, the only current theme/tag line remains the cookies. Other things DT has been trying of late ("Warm. Comfortable. Friendly." Sweet Dreams by DT. Sweet Romance Getaways. Weddings at Doubletree, etc.) seem to show that they've still trying to maintain the soft focus - which has trapped them into something that's not working across the brand. It may be that there are far more women travelers out there but I'm not sure that this is either attracting them in larger numbers or that this historical attempt at market/brand segmenting has run its course.

While some have indicated their disinterest in rescuing the DT brand, I don't think that Hilton can either walk away from their investment or continue to afford not addressing the problem. I may be wrong but I'm not sure if there would be too many buyers for the whole DT chain with its problems and it still wouldn't solve the problem for the general traveling public if the properties don't provide the types of hotel rooms we want with the features we'd pay for. As well as whether Hilton would be willing to yield some flagship HHonors properties in smaller markets.


I would ask a few questions here and hope others might know better/respond:

1. Is Hilton/Doubletree really willing to make the investment needed to move the whole brand off of the soft focus and perhaps shed a few of the older/non-compatible properties?

2. Would the FT membership, HHonors elite and general traveling public warm to a brand that is more in the boutique marketspace such as the Hotel Maya - and willing to pay for it? (A quick search shows about a $50/night jump from the current joie de vivre rates to the Hilton/Doubletree rates.)

3. Can the Doubletree brand shift away from the soft focus toward something more edgy/boutique like Starwood's W properties ('tho perhaps without the glitz and glam) without travelers saying "Naw, that's too expensive for a DT" or "Naw, that's not a DT"?

4. Should there be convention center, resort and suite properties within a new DT or do they also need a new brand to call home?

5. For the HHonors elites, would you be more attracted to DTs if each one had its own Exec/Premium/Regency/Concierge Lounge? (Here too, I think they need a new name and focus) Move toward/away from: spas? restaurants? lobby bars? other features?

David