tl;dr – The global hotelier chooses to lean into this market while at least one of its major competitors admits defeat.
A few weeks ago, Hilton launched a new brand, the Apartment Collection by Hilton, in conjunction with Placemakr, a hospitality brand.
As the name suggests, the brand will focus on the ApartHotel segment, hybrid accommodations that provide simple furnishings of a modern apartment, fused with the convenience of a hotel.
Hilton will debut its first few properties later this year in cities like New York City, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.
Interestingly, Hilton’s investment in the space comes in the wake of Marriott’s disastrous dance with Sonder. After Sonder went belly up and startup Kasa scooped up the remains, the momentum for large chains chasing the apartment-accomodation market was thought to have stymied.
Hilton evidently sees enough here (and will likely employ a much more catered strategy) to believe it can succeed in this segment.
Hilton’s been on a bit of spree when it comes to launching new brands. We learned about Hilton’s new Outset Collection last year, and there are rumors that it will introduce an extension to the college-town product it rolled out after acquiring Graduate Hotels in 2024.
