I stayed in two different Westins on two consecutive nights (second due to flight delay) and after seeing that the fixtures were exactly the same between the two locations, it hit me that the Westin brand is the same as Banana Republic chain of clothing stores. I have been shopping at Banana Republic for several years but don’t really like it anymore – I find that while their clothes are fit for professional environments, they are just plain and lack character. I realize Westins are the same way!

Like BR, the SPG has several other brands. I feel that Sheratons are a bit more varied, sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s not very good – kind of like GAP. Four Points by Sheraton are the cheaper brand, much like Old Navy is the cheap brother of GAP. The SPG W hotels are more unique/trendy, but expensive so they’re like the Abercrombie’s of the family. Aloft is a cheaper W-like vision so they would be like Hollister.

I’m sure the branding for certain demographics isn’t rocket science so it’s not by chance that there are analogies here, although when I pick hotels it’s mostly based on location and cost rather than a specific SPG sub brand.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: branding, hotels, ideas