If the Marriott-Starwood merger is successful, there will be 19 overlapping full-service brands under one umbrella. According to Forbes, most executives expect some of these brands to be eliminated.
“A number of brands will become obsolete. A number of hotels will change brands. There will be consolidation of brands,” Ricco de Blank, CEO of Hong Kong-based SHKP Hotels, explains in the article. According to de Blank, only 20 percent of customers agree with the 80 percent of CEOs who believe their brand differs from the competition. As an example, the article cites that Vista International was done away with when Hilton International and Hilton Hotels Corp. merged, while U.S.-based Hilton’s international brand Conrad survived.
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