In 2013, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) acquired 42 Marriott Hotels in the United Kingdom. In 2017, AIDA sold five of them. There may have been other adjustments to the portfolio.

It seems that ADIA has been reluctant to invest in major renovations across its UK Marriott Hotels portfolio. There have been exceptions. For example, Cardiff Marriott Hotel recently received a major renovation and is not re-branding to Delta Hotels.

I assume that renovating to Delta Hotels standards costs less -- probably significantly less -- than renovating to Marriott Hotels standards. That’s the whole idea behind a conversion brand.

For some regional Marriott Hotels in the UK, switching to Delta Hotels makes sense. When a hotel is poorly located, it seems like a reasonable strategy to keep costs down by only making limited cosmetic updates, while remaining in Marriott Bonvoy.

However, it seems shortsighted to switch so many hotels to a conversion brand that guests will rightfully view as a less desirable brand. For example, Liverpool Marriott Hotel City Centre is very well-located near Lime Street Station (the major rail station of Liverpool), with easy access on foot to many of Liverpool’s business and leisure destinations. The hotel was built in 1998, It’s a modern building with a dated interior. It seems a more aggressive hotel owner would be able to make a business case for keeping the Marriott Hotels brand and renovating to become a “top choice in Liverpool” for many business and leisure travelers, with the rates and occupancy that would come from that.