Originally Posted by
Horace
International hotel chains have largely avoided Iceland. Or, to put is another way, hotel owners in Iceland have generally chosen not to affiliate with international hotel chains.
High labor costs for construction and operations, combined with guests who don't want to pay much, apparently make it hard to build a business case to develop hotels flying the flags of mass market brands, even if those brands work well elsewhere.
That leaves catering to wealthy guests who are willing to pay high rates for the best, even if the wealthy are only a small percentage of visitors to Iceland.
The EDITION brand is off to a very slow start. The first EDITION (Waikiki EDITION) opened in 2010, but the hotel owner dropped the EDITION branding after less than a year. It's now 2018, and there are still only four EDITION properties, although the are supposedly 19 (including Reykjavik) in various stages of the pipeline.
I agree with hockeyinsider's list of cities that would seem to make more sense than Reykjavik.
What this goes to show is that the companies and investors that develop and own hotels ultimately make the decisions -- not Marriott.
According to a
2018 article at mbl.is, "Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates is one of the major investors in a new five-star hotel to be built in central Reykjavik, reports suggest." The hotel is the Reykjavik EDITION. Let's assume that's true. It should mean that Gates and the other business people who are involved see EDITION as the best branding for profitability. Or it could mean that Bill and Melinda Gates want a place to stay that appeals to their tastes, whenever they visit Iceland. Or both.
Part of me wants to say the problem with Edition is it basically is irrelevant to Marriott Rewards members.
If you believe the stereotypes of legacy Marriott and legacy SPG then Marriott's average customer -- let alone elite status customer -- was older, married and probably a businessman whereas SPG was nominally younger and slightly more affluent. I'm not saying I believe those demographics, but that was the perception and, as we all know, perception is reality.
Between Edition's practically nonexistent footprint, its lack of elite benefits, and a concept unlikely to attract the older demographic that stays at Ritz-Carlton, it just doesn't work for many potential customers.
Waikiki was a weird place to launch the brand, as only the Japanese visitors (Hawaii's biggest tourism demographic outside of mainland Americans) seem like they could afford or want that type of hotel. It's also weird looking at the list of Edition properties in the pipeline:
https://www.editionhotels.com/coming-soon/. There are some unusual cities on there (like Tampa) as well as cities (Dubai and West Hollywood) that seem like they should have had Edition properties years ago.
Just looking at these cities and knowing some of the other hotels in these places it's almost as if hotel owners and developers have run out of options but want a high-end hotel and don't want to open a hotel under a brand with an existing property in the market. For example, Dubai and Miami weirdly have multiple J.W. Marriott properties.
So, they're going with Edition, which I'm sure Marriott is selling them as a Ritz-Carlton hotel but for a younger demographic. In many ways this is also why Marriott acquired Starwood. Yes, it wanted the SPG customer base but it really wanted all those additional brands because it gives developers more option. Of course, the problem is Marriott has too many brands to ensure consistency and brand identity.
I would be very surprised if the Edition property Iceland succeeds, assuming it ever opens. I say that because it was supposed to open in 2018. Now, it is 2019.