Why Hilton Has No Springhill Suites Clone
Jan 18, 2018, 9:03 pm
#1
formerly Will Stonehocker
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Why Hilton Has No Springhill Suites Clone
I was just curious, why does Hilton not have a Springhill Suites clone? Before anyone says that the Embassy Suites is close enough, not really. Embassy came first, and it's usually seen in urban locations (a two-room suite is more space than a suite that boasts 25% more space than the average room). Anyone says the suites at Hampton or HGI, okay, but that isn't close enough.
Jan 18, 2018, 9:27 pm
#2
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Would Home2 Suites not be considered closer to Springhill Suites than Embassy Suites?
Jan 18, 2018, 9:31 pm
#3
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Would Home2 Suites not be considered closer to Springhill Suites than Embassy Suites?
Jan 18, 2018, 9:52 pm
#5
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Well, that's ultimately the answer: Hilton doesn't market a Springhill clone because it has fewer than half as many brands as Marriott. The latter group markets 30+ flags, and who can tell the difference between half of them? Seriously, to the layperson, what distinguishes Residence Inn from Springhill Suites from Townplace?
Jan 18, 2018, 10:24 pm
#6
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Well, that's ultimately the answer: Hilton doesn't market a Springhill clone because it has fewer than half as many brands as Marriott. The latter group markets 30+ flags, and who can tell the difference between half of them? Seriously, to the layperson, what distinguishes Residence Inn from Springhill Suites from Townplace?
Okay — now that we got that laugh out of the way...
Jan 19, 2018, 8:52 am
#8
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There's not much brand consistency across the limited service properties generally . . . there are HGIs that IMO equate to Springhill Suites, particularly the Springhill Suites that are not new construction.
I will say though that the Springhill Suites San Diego Bayside is the nicest limited service property I've ever seen (by a large margin), and all the chains would do well to study what Marriott has done there. It is equally attractive to business travelers and vacationing families.
I will say though that the Springhill Suites San Diego Bayside is the nicest limited service property I've ever seen (by a large margin), and all the chains would do well to study what Marriott has done there. It is equally attractive to business travelers and vacationing families.
Jan 19, 2018, 12:35 pm
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Jan 19, 2018, 1:13 pm
#10
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One can even argue that point with the brand portfolio of Hilton, for that matter...
Jan 19, 2018, 1:56 pm
#11
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I have no hesitation in saying that 30 different hotel brands — which Marriott International currently has in its portfolio — is way too many for the average traveler to want to understand the differentiation.
One can even argue that point with the brand portfolio of Hilton, for that matter...
One can even argue that point with the brand portfolio of Hilton, for that matter...
So long as the individual properties are high quality, the branding doesn't much matter. But the obsessive compulsive in me would like to see Hilton establish a manageable number of well-defined concepts and execute on them consistently.
Jan 19, 2018, 3:28 pm
#12
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I knew Marriott had a large number of brands but I had no idea it was that huge, it's worse than the Mercedes Benz range! I've not heard of half of them, even with someone who keeps my ear close to the ground when it comes to travel! Sure, it's not helped by the Starwood merger but there's so much overlap...
Maybe it's because I'm not a hotelier or branding expert but I think that the Marriotts/Hiltons of this world should be able to pigeonhole any of their properties into no more than say 8 brands. If that doesn't work and it's a unique property then don't brand it, or just call it XYZ by Hilton/Conrad whatever...
Maybe it's because I'm not a hotelier or branding expert but I think that the Marriotts/Hiltons of this world should be able to pigeonhole any of their properties into no more than say 8 brands. If that doesn't work and it's a unique property then don't brand it, or just call it XYZ by Hilton/Conrad whatever...
Jan 21, 2018, 11:21 am
#13
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It started out as Fairfield Suites, and then got renamed. (It later changed a bit to distinguish itself more from Fairfield Inn, but the point is that's how it started.)
So the reason Hilton doesn't have an equivalent because it didn't have a Hampton Suites to rename, and nothing quite like SpringHill Suites was ever created as a "brand from scratch".
Jan 21, 2018, 11:23 am
#14
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Well, that's ultimately the answer: Hilton doesn't market a Springhill clone because it has fewer than half as many brands as Marriott. The latter group markets 30+ flags, and who can tell the difference between half of them? Seriously, to the layperson, what distinguishes Residence Inn from Springhill Suites from Townplace?
Why does Marriott have no Hilton Garden Inn clone? (Courtyard with its goofy bistro is certainly not it.) You can't explain that with the 30+ brands explanation!
Ie, every hotel program may have something that isn't quite cloned at other hotel programs, but that "something" is different at every hotel program.
Jan 21, 2018, 2:25 pm
#15
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Well, but the counterquestion would be:
Why does Marriott have no Hilton Garden Inn clone? (Courtyard with its goofy bistro is certainly not it.) You can't explain that with the 30+ brands explanation!
Ie, every hotel program may have something that isn't quite cloned at other hotel programs, but that "something" is different at every hotel program.
Why does Marriott have no Hilton Garden Inn clone? (Courtyard with its goofy bistro is certainly not it.) You can't explain that with the 30+ brands explanation!
Ie, every hotel program may have something that isn't quite cloned at other hotel programs, but that "something" is different at every hotel program.