The DoubleTree by Hilton brand is moving beyond the comfort zone of largely suburban North American business hotels and expanding into urban areas and overseas locales.
In a hotel market that offered little in the way of new hotels during the past few years, DoubleTree, which flags 332 hotels worldwide, added 89 properties in 2011 and 2012, and plans for 60 more this year. Almost 80% of its hotels are in North America.
“We’re going to be opening more hotels this year than ever before,” said John Greenleaf, global head of DoubleTree. He added that all but 10 of last year’s 49 new DoubleTree properties were converted from other flags and said the brand plans to more than quadruple its Asia-Pacific count to more than 80 hotels within a few years.
Hilton is banking on a continued resurgence in business travel, especially to U.S. cities, and so far, that appears to be a good bet.
Last week, the Global Business Travel Association, citing strong first-quarter results, increased its 2013 growth forecast for U.S. business travel to 5.1% from its prior forecast of 4.6%, and said U.S. business travel spending will reach $268.5 billion this year.
DoubleTree, whose hotels are mostly franchised, appears to be filling a fairly narrow niche. The brand pitches a price point slightly below the crowded upper-upscale field that includes Hilton’s, Hyatt’s and Marriott’s flagship brands.
Additionally, DoubleTree offers a full-service alternative to competing select-service upscale badges such as Marriott’s Courtyard, Hyatt Place and Hilton’s own Hilton Garden Inn and Homewood Suites.
While Greenleaf says that the brands DoubleTree is reflagging run the gamut, DoubleTree this year appears to be picking up where a number of Marriott International-branded properties left off.
Since late March, DoubleTree has reflagged the Atlanta Downtown Marriott, the Courtyard Los Angeles Marina del Rey and the Renaissance Houston Greenway Plaza.
Meanwhile, Hilton is moving the brand away from its largely suburban roots and more toward denser locales. The Atlanta reflagging, for instance, is the brand’s first for that city’s downtown area.
Other recent urban additions include the historical St. Louis Union Station Hotel last fall.
And, notably, DoubleTree earlier this year reflagged the 1,500-room Tropicana, becoming the first Hilton-branded property on the Las Vegas Strip since the company spun off what would become Caesars Entertainment in 1998 — offering a contrast of sorts to the brand’s cookie-baking image.
“The brand’s 43 years old, but the cookie’s only 26,” joked Greenleaf. “We just had its silver anniversary.”
Follow Danny King on Twitter @dktravelweekly.