Preferred Hotel Group goes to 1 master brand, 1 GDS code

CHICAGO — Preferred Hotel Group, made up of independent luxury hotels, recently moved from a multi-branded business model to one master brand, Preferred Hotels & Resorts.

This effectively retired the Preferred Boutique, Summit Hotels, Sterling Hotels and Sterling Design brands and their respective GDS codes and websites. Today, Preferred Hotels & Resorts is a single-brand platform that represents 650 independent hotels, resorts, and residences in 85 countries, featuring one website PreferredHotels.com and one GDS chain code, PH.

“With so many new brands entering the marketplace, especially quasi-independent brands, consumers were confused as to what each brand stood for and were looking for one brand they could trust for all of their travel needs,” said Caroline Michaud, Vice President, Corporate Communications & Public Relations.

“The new Preferred Hotels & Resorts provides a more intuitive way for travel agents to identify the hotel that will best suit their clients’ needs by allowing them to search by style of luxury (new collections), experience, location, price point, and more.”

“In a time when seemingly every hotel company is introducing new brands that target specific demographics, we are doing the opposite by transitioning from a house of brands to a branded house,” said Lindsey Ueberroth, President & CEO. “Driven by evolving consumer expectations and changing travel trends, our new brand architecture creates stronger clarity for the Preferred Hotels & Resorts brand within the marketplace and allows us to elevate and focus attention on our world-class collection of independent hotels and resorts.”

Each property has been aligned with one of five new collections – Legend, LVX, Lifestyle, Connect and Preferred Residences – which provide a more intuitive way for consumers to search, consider, and book their lodging based on the type of luxury experience they are seeking. Each collection is defined by a fixed set of criteria across 10 categories, which, in addition to experience, focus on critical service standards, physical facilities, and awards and recognition.

“Today’s travel consumer is not one-dimensional, so it is no longer strategic for us to imply that there is only one definition of luxury,” said Ueberroth. “By defining hotels based on experiences versus brands or stars, we are creating stronger positioning for our member hotels and expanding their opportunities to reach more guests.”

In addition to sharing a common website, all member hotels will be represented under one common chain code – PH – on the Global Distribution Systems (GDS). All hotels can still be found under the brand’s master chain code PV.

The group is continuing to expand with properties coming on board including:

Art Hotel – Denver – Opened June 25, 2015: A contemporary hotel rooted in an urban art gallery.
The Temple House – Chengdu, China – Opened June 15, 2015: Set in a beautifully restored 100-year-old Chinese courtyard building in the city of Chengdu (better known as the hometown of the beloved panda bear) is the newest offering from Swire Hotels’ The House Collective.
Palazzo Versace Dubai – Dubai, UAE – Opening Fall 2015: Located in Dubai’s historic ‘Culture Village’ district, the much-anticipated Palazzo Versace Dubai will be the second hotel to open under the fashion house name.
The Watergate Hotel – Washington, DC – Opening Nov. 1, 2015: Washington’s landmark property The Watergate Hotel is undergoing a revival and will open as an urban resort later this year.
The South Beach – Singapore – Opening Fall 2015: The Philippe Starck-designed The South Beach in Singapore is set to unveil 654 guestrooms including 49 luxury suites, four food and beverage options, a ballroom, 19 state-of-the-art meeting rooms and two sky gardens with infinity pools.
The Dewberry Charleston – South Carolina – Opening December 2015: The Dewberry Charleston will be housed in the L. Mendel Rivers Federal Building at 334 Meeting St., across from Marion Square.
EAST Miami – Opening December 2015: Designed by award-winning architecture firm Arquitectonica with interiors by New York-based Clodagh Design, EAST Miami is Swire Hotels’ first entry into a market outside of Asia and will offer 263 rooms and 89 serviced apartments.