Starwood launches Tribute Portfolio
Company expands as it aims to open 100 hotels under new brand over the next five years
Starwood Hotels and Resorts has launched its tenth brand, Tribute Portfolio, the company said yesterday.
The brand will comprise independent hotels and resorts, with a focus on the four-star, upscale segment. Tribute Portfolio is Starwood’s second collection of independent hotels, alongside The Luxury Collection.
The new brand debuted yesterday with its first hotel, the Royal Palm South Beach Miami. Starwood said it will soon open new hotels in Asheville, North Carolina, Nashville, Tennessee, Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina.
Adam Aron, Starwood’s chief executive, said that the company aims to open 100 Tribute Portfolio-branded hotels and resorts over the next five years, with an initial focus in North America and Europe. But the brand is expected to expand into other global markets within the first year.
“With Starwood’s history of brand innovation, design leadership and our leading global high-end footprint, we believe Tribute Portfolio will be an exciting solution for hotel owners of distinct properties who wish to maintain their independent spirit, yet benefit from Starwood’s powerful distribution, loyalty and sales platforms,” Aron said in the statement.
“Our mission with Tribute Portfolio is very simple: bring great hotels in great destinations to our loyal SPG [Starwood preferred guests] members, who make up more than half of all Starwood stays. We recognise that independent hotels also attract guests who are not already affiliated with SPG. Tribute Portfolio will provide a clear opportunity for us to grow our SPG member base and deliver more loyal guests across all of our Starwood Hotels worldwide,” he added.
Our mission with Tribute Portfolio is very simple: bring great hotels in great destinations to our loyal SPG [Starwood preferred guests] members.” Adam Aron | Starwood’s chief executive
Partnership
Starwood said that it is on track to opening 10 hotels under Tribute Portfolio in the first year. The brand is expected to launch with four soon-to-open hotel properties. In Asheville, North Carolina, the BB & T Bank building will open in 2017 as the Vandre Nouveau Hotel, a Tribute Portfolio hotel. The property is a partnership between McKibbon Hotel Group and Tower Associates and will include 150 guest rooms and suites.
Starwood is also working with Rockbridge to open three Tribute Portfolio hotels. Opening in 2016, the Noel Place Hotel in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, will be renovated and feature 166 guestrooms and suites. That same year, a new build hotel in Savannah, Georgia, will open. In 2017, Tribute Portfolio will debut in the Historic District of Charleston, South Carolina, with a 100-room hotel.
Aron said that there is “a vast landscape” to grow Tribute Portfolio, given that nearly 50 per cent of upper upscale hotels in the US are independent, and 60 per cent of global four star hotels are not affiliated with a brand flag.