tl;dr – Hilton launches another soft-brand that promises even more flexibility to target properties.
Last week, Hilton announced the launch of its 25th brand, the Outset Collection. The brand “will feature a range of hotels, with upscale finishes and story-driven designs,” and will allow hotel owners to “balance strong product and service with a wider, more flexible range of experiences and amenities.”
With a name like “Outset” and the fact that one of the brand’s future marquee properties will be a hotel that puts you at the doorstep to adventure in Moab, I initially wanted to mark the Outset Collection as a response to Marriott’s Outdoor Collection and list it amongst the array of hybrid accommodations that will get you closer to nature.
That said, this brand will have a little bit of everything. Yes, there will be boutique and unique nature-forward properties, but there will also be urban-forward, upscale, independent hotels that are partnering with Hilton solely for the added distribution.
Additionally, I get a little bit nervous when I see the overemphasis on ‘flexibility.’ Soft-brand hotels are such for the fact that they are allowed to highlight the local eccentricities that make them unique, and while they do have to adhere to some corporate standards, they can still march to the beat of their own drums. Given the trend we’ve seen in large hotel chains wanting to curtail elite benefits at every chance they can, I wouldn’t be surprised if this Outset Collection, once it’s fully up and running, doesn’t offer the same benefits to Hilton elites, that are recognized at other properties in other portfolios – even other soft-brand portfolios, such as the Curio Collection, Tapestry, and LXR Hotels.
Time will tell.
