Future of W Hotels
 

I’m trying to figure out what Marriott’s long term strategy is with W Hotels. They keep culling the herd, with another property, the Buckhead (Atlanta) location about to become an Autograph Collection Hotel

https://whatnowatlanta.com/hotel-col...anta-buckhead/

Marriott considers W Hotels part of their luxury portfolio, but not Autograph Hotels. That said, it seems odd to me that W Hotels are put in the same tier as properties in the St. Regis Collection for example.

Are they culling the herd to make it more luxurious? And EDITION, while seeing to try to get a similar customer, couldn’t have a more different vibe. How do those two brands intersect?

I despise w hotels. When I go to a hotel I’m not looking to stay in a club.

I honestly don't get the terminology used in this brand. Isn't it supposed to be for millennials? Well, I'm a millennial, and I have no idea what a "wow suite" or "marvelous room" or "wet deck" is....why not just call them rooms and suites and the pool??? And why no executive/club lounge at a full-service property?

Indeed. One of the few hotels I've ever immediately checked out of was the W New York. This was around 2004 or so. Tons of attitude at the front desk from the hipper than thou folks. I was a platinum but received a room so small that I could touch the wall from both sides of the bed. Just all around unpleasant for the price. There are almost always better options.

w ny downtown was likewise my single worst Marriott experience and it was 100% due to front desk staff. I was thrilled to hear that hotel has/will be closing

I quite like the idea of W's and when executed well they can be fun. The later stage scaling (and the US hotels in particular) kept the branding but didn't retain any of the vibe and so had a tendency to be pretty depressing places. Marriott's not an obvious custodian of any brand trying to be "hip" and especially one which needs to reinvent itself to avoid going stale. If I were Marriott I would either do a complete revamp or I would shoot the brand in the head. The half-assed US W's which are still around could be converted to Autograph and the prestige overseas buildings could be upgraded to Editions or perhaps get a new design-focused brand.

ever stayed at W South Beach? It’s a very impressive resort. I’ve stayed at the W in DC and SF in the past year and both has undergone recent renovations and looked great.

The South Beach is indeed quite nice, but it's not really got that much of a W feel to it outside of the mediocre and outdated bar. I had what was basically an apartment which was cool, but didn't have any of the usual W freestanding bathtub, signature shower or other interiors. It would be super easy to rebrand it to anything else.

Stayed at 2 different W(west hollywood and singapore) and visit W seminyak for their Woobar.

Somehow I think W brand suit resort type hotel than city hotels.

And I agree the night club vibe of these W is not for everyone.

And I have not grown up yet and continue to love W's

Give me a night club vibe hotel any day of the week.

I prefer to stay away from any plain jane business type hotel that my dad would stay in :D

The new W Sydney looks gorgeous!

I always thought Starwood W = Marriott Renaissance and never understood why W was in the Luxury tier. W is in no way comparable to a JW, let alone a RC or a StR. I think of a W as loud and very tacky decor. Sort of what college kids think “grown-up” life should be like - until they’re actually in the real world for about 3-4 years and discover it’s pretty tough to do shots until 4:00 AM, get up at 6, head to the airport, do a call with your team while waiting for the flight, then do a client presentation that afternoon. Then, the “kids” are all set to go out again around 6 and you haven’t touched email. Yea, the W lifestyle 🙄

It's always more complicated than that. Compare a nice W with a bad JW and the W will clearly be far nicer (and 2-5x as expensive).

This is a tad off topic, but I've never understood what on earth a JW Marriott is, and what makes them any better than a Hyatt Regency.

I've never personally understood the open resentment of W hotels. If you don't like the concept, you have so many other brands to choose from.

I've stayed in many W's over the years and found them to be great for the most part.

W Verbier might be my favorite Marriott hotel out there.
​​​​​​
Other notable stays include W Doha, DC, and Bali, all of which are outstanding and luxurious properties.

Like all hotels, it basically boils down to the individual property.

The W Seoul was stunning and luxurious. The W HK too is funky luxury. These were among early
​ ones I believe. The W Istanbul, W SF are 4 star funky and seems to be what the brand is now - funky but cheap build out that they somehow charge a premium for.

Ws concept that was good when launched but now commonplace. I've too old for them now but understand the appeal to younger folk.

But the service at all Ws I've found to be snotty except for Istanbul.