jn in ca

Yeah, I know that essentially all Doubletrees are converted from other chains. That's how the brand got started.

However, I cannot imagine why any Hilton Hotel would convert to a Doubletree. there is a certain cost in new signs, amenities, lost business because people think the hotel isn't there anymore, etc. Hilton and Doubletree have approximately equal price points.

So I was fascinated when I went looking for a hotel to book and found the Newark, California Hilton is converting to a Doubletree:

The Hilton Newark-Fremont will be converting to the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Newark-Fremont in March 2014 but is not yet accepting reservations as a DoubleTree.

Just out of curiosity, any possible explanation?

Puppenstein

It's simple. They can't afford to renovate their hotel to meet Hilton standards, so they move down a level. The only other possibility is that the area and business better served a Doubletree over a full-service Hilton. In the end, all decisions are all about money.

lingzhou

good to know

flyboy60

Just stop complaining and enjoy the free cookie

sbams

There is a rumour that there will soon be a requirement for all Hiltons to have (amongst other things) en Executive Lounge. Some hotels that are not able to meet this requirement are rebranding.

jerry a. laska

See the discussion here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...ecutive+lounge

Regarding rebranding, see the discussion here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...ree+rebranding

jn in ca

Thanks for the links Jerry. It does seem that avoiding the cost of the executive lounge is the reason. Which I find amazing since I've been to some Hilton's where the lounge was nothing more than a locked door with some Diet Cokes inside.

IMHO, I suspect Hilton came up with the executive lounge requirement for no reason other than to differentiate the Hilton product from the DT product.

poser

I actually asked on Facebook about this exact hotel. . And this was their response:

Hello poser. Great question, thank you! Hilton Hotels Worldwide is attempting to re-position the Hilton brand as the premier full service brand of choice in the North American market. Much like Hilton Hotels are viewed as the prime hotel chain abroad, Hilton's vision is to align this reputation with our domestic portfolio as well. As part of this vision many Hilton Hotels in smaller non-major metropolitan markets are being offered incentives to transition to the DoubleTree by Hilton and other Hilton family brand hotels. This will not only define and refine the Hilton Hotel portfolio as the place to stay in these major U.S. cities with the new Hilton heightened standards of service and accommodations, but will also further enhance the DoubleTree portfolio with the addition of many superior former Hilton hotel locations.

In conjunction with this DoubleTree transition our hotel will be going through a full and complete renovation later this year. These changes will affect every aspect of the hotel's facilities and will ensure the new DoubleTree Newark/Fremont remains the ideal place to stay when traveling to the East San Francisco Bay Area.

Please feel free to contact us directly should you have any other questions about this transition. Thank you again.

jn in ca

I would love to be a fly on the wall to hear what those "incentives" are.

IHMO, in theory, giving travelers a firmer idea of what they get when they stay at a branded hotel sounds good. However, in practice, if this is simply going to turn Doubletree into Suburban Hilton, well that's what HGI was made for.

Puppenstein

I bet there are no incentives other than to those hotels that remain a Hilton and meet all of their new requirements and renovate. I don't see why an incentive would be given to drop a brand that I feel is in a bit of an identity crisis. The only incentive I can think of is not getting kicked out of the Hilton brand family, but I don't know if Doubletree is that good of a move because it is far from consistent in my opinion. I like the cookie, but the hotels aren't all on the same level.

smmrfld

The incentives are lower franchise fees for DT properties vs. Hilton.

colpuck

The hilton RDU became a doubletree around this time last year IIRC.

Kacee

The Hilton Valley Forge became the Doubletree Valley Forge. Had it been up to me, they would have kicked it down to Motel 6. Probably the worst hotel I've ever stayed in.

buckeyefanflyer

I have seen several hotels convert and the explanation is they want to market more to families at the same time keep the business traveler. One hotel near where I live for years was a Marriott, then converted to Hilton, now a Doubletree.

mattp1987

A friend almost got bit by this at the former Hilton now DT in Beachwood, OH. She was getting married there and found out about the change just before printing invitations. I actually already had a reservation, and after it changed brands my reservation number changed and would give an error if I tried to click on the reservation in my HH upcoming stays.