DJ_Iceman

Of course the reason the "...by Marriott" was used was to help people associate the brands with the broader Marriott name, which had recognition and cache that "Fairfield" or "Courtyard" by themselves would not. Now that there are so many brands, I guess they figure they no longer need the corporate parent association. But I have to wonder whether Joe Bagodonuts, searching on hotels.com or whatever, is going to know (or I guess, care) which sub-brands are tied to Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, etc.

DenverBrian

And I hope that by eating more and exercising less, I'll lose weight. @:-)

beachmouse

Probably not enough Marriott footprint overlap with Accor's MGallery by Sofitel sub brand to seem to be confusing to guests or run afoul of branding laws & regulations.

KRSW

I rather like that they've NOT messed with it. To me, it shows stability and continuity. Marriott has update their logo over time, but keeping their roots.

Most recently, I've seen this logo on refurbished Marriott properties:

Although, poking around the Marriott site, I saw this on a promo:


So maybe there's a change coming soon?

writerguyfl

I worked at a hotel when a chain did a logo revamp. It wasn't a Marriott, so I guess they might be different. I doubt it, though.

Each individual hotel was responsible for the costs associated with changing the logo on everything. That included simple stuff like letterhead all the way up to illuminated signs on the buildings. The deadline for completing the change was at least two years after the announcement. That time frame allowed hotels to use up their current supply of anything small with the old logo before switching. It also allowed them time to plan for larger expenditures like the outdoor signage.

Corporate tried to make as easy as possible. For example, they offered signage (both outdoor and indoor placards) in a wide variety of sizes. The goal was to make it as easy as possible in order to keep franchises who might be thinking of re-flagging from using the added expense as a reason to switch brands.

Horace

The stylized "M" logo with "MARRIOTT" in all-uppercase (below it) is the logo for the Marriott Hotels brand, one of 30 brands of Marriott International. It's relatively new (2014).

The traditional Marriott logo script had the stylized "M" as the first letter of Marriott, with the rest in lowercase. It's still used, often as part of the identify of select-service or extended stay brands (and for Marriott Rewards).

The pre-2014 Marriott Hotels logo had the traditional Marriott logo script with "HOTELS & RESORTS" below it and a smile/swoosh below that. The color was usually all red. It looked terribly dated. The 2014 logo is much better.

The round logo with the stylized M is used in a number of ways, usually with "Marriott" to its right, often for the whole collection of brands or for the whole company, and sometimes by itself when just single symbol is needed.

I think we're going to see some serious rebranding at Marriott around early 2019. That probably explains why the August loyalty program isn't supposed to have a name until 2019.

I predict the new loyalty program won't have Marriott as part of its name. I wouldn't be surprised if the collection of 30 brands ends up with an umbrella name that's not Marriott. The name Marriott has a very traditional identity. It's fine for some brands, but it would be better if the company's luxury and distinctive brands were not associated too closely with it.

Marriott has a webpage that shows all its brand logos, and it tries to position those brands in relation to each other. Quite a few logos have been refreshed in the past 6 or 12 months. "Marriott" remains part of many of them, at least in their complete form.

Ses http://www.marriott.com/marriott-brands.mi (and be sure to scroll down).

Muerz

It might be me but despite all the limited service brands, I still associate Marriott with quality. The Marriott name still has great brand recognition worldwide and it would be more than foolish to discard it. How many years in a row have they won the Freddies? How many members does Marriott Rewards have? It would make no sense at all to change the name of the worlds leading frequent traveller program just because it absorbs a company that has about 25% of their own size.

Why break something that works well?

hockeyinsider

I think the issue could be that many people just say "Marriott" whether they are referring to corporate (Marriott International), the flagship Marriott brand, the loyalty program, or any of the other hotels even if just colloquially. Even here on Flyer Talk, it can be very difficult sometimes to know which Marriott someone is referring to.

Horace

Marriott has said that a new program name will be announced in early 2019.

If Marriott were just planning something along the lines of "Marriott Preferred Guest" or "Marriott Honored Guest," it would have been part of the announcement a few days ago. The delay suggests that the new program name will be part of something bigger. Otherwise, why wait?

I agree that the Marriott name has great brand recognition worldwide. There's also an image associated with it. Marriott is solid, consistent, traditional, and somewhat stodgy. Adding the Marriott name to Courtyard, Residence Inn, and Fairfield Inn is good for those brands.

Marriott has tried hard put some distance between Ritz-Carlton and Marriott, and between Edition and Marriott. Now Marriott's growth is focused on brands classified as "Distinctive Luxury," "Distinctive Premium," "Distinctive Select," and even one that's "Distinctive Longer Stays." Some were hatched by Marriott, while others were part of the Starwood acquisition. The Marriott image is not particularly good for these brands.

Yesterday, in an article about a new hotel coming to the Milwaukee suburbs, the Milwaukee Journal published, "The hotel being created at a former office building at Wauwatosa's Mayfair mall will carry the Renaissance by Marriott brand — marking the first such hotel in Wisconsin."

No, there's not "Renaissance by Marriott" brand. Sure, the Renaissance brand is owned by Marriott, and the brand participates in Marriott Rewards, but Renaissance is supposed to distinct from Marriott. Renaissance is supposed to "fuel your imagination and excite your senses with unexpected experiences that go beyond the conventions of business travel."

When the new program name is finally announced, probably along with a lot of other branding news, we'll have a lot to discuss here on FlyerTalk.

KRSW

Make no mistake -- any rebranding costs are ultimately paid for by us, the consumers.

These are my thoughts as well. I do consider Marriott properties, in general, to be a cut above the others. It's why I generally will search for Marriott properties in a destination first before looking elsewhere. Overall, the Marriott properties provide a very consistent experience. There are certainly outliers, both good & bad. I've stayed in Residence Inns which were in dire need of a refurb, while I've also stayed in RIs whose rooms were superior to the full service Marriott hotel across the street. Ignoring the website, I've had far fewer issues with my Marriott experiences over other chains. I'll admit that the website redesigns & reduced functionality are getting harder & harder to ignore.

If anything, this underscores @Muerz's statement -- the Marriott family brand is strong.

I'm trying to think of a different industry with a similar arrangement and General Motors comes to mind. People DON'T generally think of the name "General Motors" when they think of Chevrolet or Cadillac. Yes, everyone knows they're part of GM, BUT GM isn't the first thing that comes to mind.

The only other example which immediately comes to mind is Disney. Theme parks, cruise lines, hotels/resorts, restaurants, TV networks, movie studios. They have them all AND they always have the Disney brand out front. I don't know of anyone who would say this is a weakness. Each mention of "Marriott" in conversations further embeds the brand in people's memories. I'm not sure why you'd want to dilute that.

Does Mercedes selling a $25k A-Class or selling garbage trucks in any way cheapen the luxury experience of owning an S-Class? No. Do people avoid buying an S-Class because there are plebeians driving around in much cheaper cars bearing the three-pointed star? No.

At the opposite end, you've got IHG, who doesn't brand anything as IHG. Want to talk about confusing? Ask Ma & Pa Kettle who only travel once a year about that. I know they get confused about it, because I've been asked by my coworkers why they're getting sent to IHG.com when they want Holiday Inn and think they're getting sent to a scam / 3rd-party site.

Horace

Having General Motors as the company name for several car brands (although fewer than in the past) provides a "family" identity. Customers start with Chevrolets, move up to Buicks when they're more affluent, and finally buy Cadillacs when they've "made it" in life. At least that's how General Motors wants it to be.

It's Cadillac by General Motors -- not Cadillac by Chevrolet.

And that's where Marriott has a problem with the image of Marriott. Yes, Marriott represents "a cut above the others." For decades, it's been seen as dependable, mid-market, and somewhat stodgy, due to its flagship Marriott Hotels brand and the limited service brands that are "by Marriott." I like Marriott a lot, and it's now much less stodgy than it used to be.

But still...

St. Regis by Marriott? Ritz-Carlton by Marriott? Luxury Collection by Marriott? Edition by Marriott? W Hotels by Marriott?

Sure, these brands don't officially attach "by Marriott" to their names, but there's a danger of "guilt by association" that's amplified if the loyalty program prominently features Marriott in its name and marketing. Starwood didn't have that problem (but it would have had it if the company had taken Sheraton as its corporate name and its loyalty program name).

Actually, Disney is an example of the opposite.

Even though the violent (and very adult) movie Pulp Fiction was from a part of Disney, it did not carry the Disney brand. Disney owns ABC, most of ESPN, other cable networks, and various movie brands that never feature the carefully nurtured Disney brand out front.

Muerz

hockeyinsider

Courtyard properties are often as expensive or more expensive a flagship Marriott property.

Take the Washington suburb of Arlington, Virginia. In Rosslyn, the Courtyard about 5 minutes from the Marriott Key Bridge is as expensive or more expensive. It's also a nicer property, as it's been fully renovated.

Horace

writerguyfl

While I generally agree with your premise, I'll note that public room rates aren't a particularly good indication of the overall rate. Typically, hotels have contracts with local companies. Both the actual contracted rate and the number of contracted rooms sold can significantly impact overall profit. Without access to proprietary data for every hotel (or an industry report like STR), you really can't determine which hotel in a given market has the highest room rates.

Here's a wildly simplistic example of how a Courtyard can be selling $125/night rooms to the public without making as much as a Westin of the same size selling $100/night rooms: