Originally Posted by
khabah
Marriott puts them both in the luxury lifestyle category, but is is pitching EDITION as a more mature version of W with cleaner/more minimalist spaces and a streamlined theme across their properties - things like a grand staircase in their lobbies, wood paneling across hotels, the signature faux fur throw on the beds and feature dining/entertainment venues. W is meant to be more playful, louder and colorful, but Marriott is trying to clearly position them below EDITION both in look and price.
I haven’t stayed in an EDITION yet, but I’m not quite into the fact that they all look so formulaic and that they can skimp on Elite benefits because someone in a Bethesda conference room decided that they’re too cool for school... plus I generally find Ws to have more personality and have had many great experiences with them across the world.
khabah
Edition started slowly, but seems to have gained some momentum recently with new hotels announced. I've stayed in and seen a few Edition properties and much prefer them to W - the lobby bars are better, restaurants tend to be better, etc. Some of this could just be that Edition is a bit of a fresher concept. Also, remember that W itself is a tiny brand. 69 hotels and 31 hotels in the pipeline over 20 years. In contrast Moxy has 44 hotels and 96 pipeline hotels after five or six years. Autograph Collection has 169 hotels and 81 pipeline properties, also after a few years. Edition may be lucky to hit W numbers eventually, but both brands are kind of niche.