Several months back, Marriott revealed plans to launch a new hotel brand in the United States, with few brand standards, making it an easy conversion brand for developers. At the time, this was using the working name Project Mid-T, with the official name to be announced in the future.
Well, there’s now an interesting update, as Marriott has just named the brand… and it’s not a new brand at all.
In this post:
Background on Marriott’s Project Mid-T brand
Let’s start with what was shared over the summer. Marriott’s newest hotel brand has been using the working name Project Mid-T, and it will be in the midscale hotel category.
This brand is intended to be a conversion brand, for developers with existing hotels or even office spaces, which could inexpensively be converted into this new Marriott brand. The brand is aimed at middle class transient leisure and business travelers staying an average of around two nights. So, what will the key features of these properties be?
- Simpler fees for owners, so Marriott will charge a flat fee of 10.5% on revenue, rather than breaking up the fees into various categories
- Modern guest rooms with “essential” amenities, like an open closet, a work surface, and effective storage solutions
- A business friendly lounge with long communal tables, power strips, and TVs
- A basic fitness center with three cardiovascular machines and free weights
- A complimentary simple breakfast
Here’s how Diana Plazas-Trowbridge, Marriott’s SVP and Global Brand Leader for Select Service Brands, described the new brand at the time:
“We’re really focused on making it an easy process for the owner to convert existing assets into this new brand. For consumers, we’re meeting demand at a particular price point we weren’t reaching before with guestrooms with a few key signature items, simple fitness, complimentary simple breakfast, and open social spaces in the lobby.”
Project Mid-T will join City Express brand
Marriott has announced that Project Mid-T won’t be a new hotel brand after all, but will instead join the existing City Express brand. For context, Marriott acquired the City Express brand in 2023, which offers budget accommodations in Latin America.
So with this latest announcement, the City Express concept will be extended to the United States and Canada. The company describes this as its entry into the affordable midscale transient segment in the region.
Marriott claims it has received extensive interest from owners and franchisees, and the company anticipates having signed agreements, with possible hotel openings in the United States and Canada, over the next months.
City Express of course participates in Marriott Bonvoy, but stays there aren’t as rewarding as stays at most of Marriott’s other brands. Bonvoy members earn one elite night for every two nights stayed, and earn 5x points per dollar spent (rather than 10x points at most full service brands). I suspect the same will be true at properties in the United States and Canada.
What’s interesting here is that last year we saw Marriott announce the StudioRes brand, which is a budget, extended stay brand. Really StudioRes and City Express are very similar concepts in terms of being heavily focused on property conversions. The difference is that StudioRes is intended to be an extended stay brand, while Project Mid-T isn’t. To what extent consumer behavior reflects those goals remains to be seen.
Is expansion with few standards good?
It’s worth keeping in mind that new hotel brands are really created for hotel owners, and us guests are just the product. Marriott wants to grow at any cost, and the brand isn’t concerned about the quality or consistency of hotels.
With interest rates being as high as they are, there’s less new hotel activity at the moment among developers. That’s why there’s so much emphasis on conversion brands, since it’s the easiest way for Marriott to grow its key count. City Express will be Marriott’s lowest end hotel brand in the United States, and will be well below brands like Fairfield.
I’m always conflicted about this kind of growth. On the one hand, more affordable hotel options are a good thing, and it’s nice to be able to earn and redeem points. On the other hand, we’re no longer in the era where staying at a hotel belonging to a certain group guarantees a certain type of experience. Marriott will add just about anything to its portfolio, as long as the owners are willing to give the company a cut.
Bottom line
Several months ago, Marriott announced plans for a new brand in the United States and Canada, allowing developers to inexpensively convert existing hotels or office spaces into Marriott properties.
While the brand has been using the working name Project Mid-T up until this point, Marriott has now announced that this will actually join the existing City Express brand, and it’ll just expand geographically. I at least commend Marriott for not trying to come up with yet another brand, and instead expanding an existing one.
What do you make of Marriott expanding the City Express brand?
This is an attempt to replicate what Hilton is doing with Spark, which is (mostly) a conversion brand to capture the midscale market where Quality and Comfort reside.
Just yesterday NYC government announced the city needs 14,000 hotel rooms for migrants in 2025.
The charge per room is $352 per night.
Maybe Marriott with its Mid T is looking forward on this?
They are simply renovating buildings into hotels, wow. Well who knows how it will be in the future.
We've stayed at several Hyatt takeover hotels in London, converted from Crowne, so we're guessing the idea is out there for quick conversions.
Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment is an awful converted Crowne Plaza by an owner with a dodgy past, as reported by View from the Wing. It should have been flagged JdV or Hyatt Centric. The Hyatt Regency London Blackfriars isn't bad, but it isn't 5 stars. In London, Hyatt went from a little more than nothing to several properties literally overnight.
No property standards? This is bad for the brand in the long haul.
Cold shower, ran out of breakfast, anti-view room, dirty room, small room, uncomfortable bed, smelly pillows,
I can see it now.
If you read the release, there will be no TVs in the room and the breakfast will be a "simple breakfast," which almost certainly is just coffee and maybe a donut or pastry.
I notice its in the Transient segment. When I hear that term I think of halfway house or migrant shelter....which is probably what a lot of these will turn into after a few years
Or immediately. There are a lot of highly profitable contracts at the moment for hotels to give rooms to homeless in big cities and also illegal immigrants. An owner can make more money selling out his hotel to the government.
What's driving this Marriott (and other chains) expansion of brand names that are just a slew of unmemorable, bland, undifferentiated box hotels? Just simple more revenue?
In the case of Marriott, they're maxed out. Many markets have a multitude of existing brands. New owners or developers don't want to build the fourth Marriott or the fifth Fairfield in a given market. Marriott these days is about franchising and licensing, not ownership and not management. So, the only way you can continue to produce growth is to expand the number of brands and properties. And going low-end to the absolute bottom of...
In the case of Marriott, they're maxed out. Many markets have a multitude of existing brands. New owners or developers don't want to build the fourth Marriott or the fifth Fairfield in a given market. Marriott these days is about franchising and licensing, not ownership and not management. So, the only way you can continue to produce growth is to expand the number of brands and properties. And going low-end to the absolute bottom of the brand spectrum is one of the few areas Marriott can go without devaluing existing properties and brands.
In hopes that there will be so many names you won't realize you booked a Marriott. There's a reason why Comcast started referring to themselves as x finity. When the brand name is poison do the old razzle dazzle.
One thing they clearly got wrong: this brand won't be "mid-T", it will be "low-T". And referring to it as a mid-tier brand is misleading as well. This seems to be closer to the bottom, with lower standards than many properties in the Super 8 chain. Perhaps like Sleep Inns or Roadway (though clearly newer and nicer than Roadway, at least at first)?
That's assuming all of the properties are new-builds. Who's to say there won't be a conversions? I bet there won't even be TVs in the rooms.
This is definitely a brand to target conversions; I don't see new construction as viable for this economy brand.
It tells me two things:
1) Marriott is oversaturated with existing brands in many markets.
2) Developers/owners don’t want to build a Westin or a Sheraton because there are too many full-service hotels in a market or labor is too expensive. They can make more money on low-end brands with reduced labor costs.
Basically, Marriott has had to go way downscale to find growth in North America.
With the cost environment we've seen, and the massive number of Americans flocking to Europe for summer and other vacations, it isn't surprising they couldn't find growth at higher price points. Who is going to the existing Westins and Sheratons, let alone new ones? Same reason why we've seen new hotels pivot to being migrant shelters in the NYC area
In New York, the issue is the collapse of business travel. Same with Denver and San Francisco.
Europe is more tricky because (a) culturally the Marriott brand doesn't sync with Europeans who are used to free breakfast; (b) Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton have poor name recognition with many Europeans; (c) a Marriott or Sheraton in Europe is nicer than a Marriott or Sheraton in North America; (d) Marriott's European portfolio is still heavily focused on...
In New York, the issue is the collapse of business travel. Same with Denver and San Francisco.
Europe is more tricky because (a) culturally the Marriott brand doesn't sync with Europeans who are used to free breakfast; (b) Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton have poor name recognition with many Europeans; (c) a Marriott or Sheraton in Europe is nicer than a Marriott or Sheraton in North America; (d) Marriott's European portfolio is still heavily focused on the biggest cities and most popular tourist destinations; and (e) European labor costs are arguably higher than many USA cities.
At the end of the day, Marriott is still USA-centric. Once you get outside capitals, there's little Marriott presence. Especially at the upper end of the Marriott brand spectrum.
“ Marriott will add just about anything to its portfolio, as long as the owners are willing to give the company a cut”
I experienced this with my first (and last) stay with Marriott Homes & Villas. Pretty sure no one from Marriott ever inspected the place.
Wow. This design looks like Mariott bought a prison company and is now converting prisons into "hotels".
Who in his right mind would voluntarily stay in this facility?
It would take a bad lawyer and a strict judge for me to sleep here.
I didn't see it mentioned, are they promising interior corridors? Or are they going to take Quality Inn and Red Roof conversions?
Now that I am not traveling on OPM 60% of the time and a mix of cash and points the other 40%, I have gone more down market in 2024. Depending on location, most Interstate or airport stays are avid, Comfort Suites, and even some well-rated Sleep Inns (which reminds me of the...
I didn't see it mentioned, are they promising interior corridors? Or are they going to take Quality Inn and Red Roof conversions?
Now that I am not traveling on OPM 60% of the time and a mix of cash and points the other 40%, I have gone more down market in 2024. Depending on location, most Interstate or airport stays are avid, Comfort Suites, and even some well-rated Sleep Inns (which reminds me of the original Hamptons) and mostly a mix of ibis styles and Novotel when I am alone in Europe. But exterior corridors are an absolute non-starter.
Exactly! I can tolerate a lot of crap, but having my window facing a corridor is a NO! I want to be able to have my curtains open for light and panorama (even if crappy) and even have my window open.
So Marriotts attempt at Motel 6 and Some of the choice hotel brands?
What is the difference between this and Fairfield Inn?
The way hotels are adding brands these days it’s dizzying to figure out who has what.
Sounds like a few:
No breakfast besides coffee and maybe a pastry
Doesn’t sound like TVs in every room
No real gym - maybe a treadmill
No desk, just a surface
Almost certainly no housekeeping
Will be interesting to see if they require the front desk to 24/7 staffed. This will be more like a Red Roof or Motel 6.
It's quite a ways more downscale than Fairfield Inns, which are pretty simple but still quite nice usually. These places will be very basic - if you all need is a bed, shower and TV, this may be for you.
Maybe Marriott thinks M is for Mid-T or middle-market. From everything described so far, this new brand sounds mostly Meh.
I think springhill, courtyards and residence inns are small and overpriced anyway, curious to see how this shakes out. City express in mexico city was actually pretty good. I stayed at their all suites property in the city. Full 2 bedroom, 2 bath suite. The breakfast sucked, but location and points value was pretty good. If they happen to open an all suites location, i can see those being good value on a budget.
City Wok?
I don’t like the fact that they won’t give an award night for each night stay. That’s not right. It does sound like a lower-class hotel, too (maybe like FNT Delta Diamond is saying like a Red Roof Inn or Motel 6). Just the way they describe the breakfast makes me not want to eat there.
This is literally Motel 6 and Red Roof Inn space. I wonder if we will see City Express in predominately Hispanic areas.
That aside, what I find fascinating is they don’t award a night for every night stay. We have always been told owners only pay for points. So what is the cost-savings for an owner if Marriott doesn’t award a Bonvoy night for every night stayed by a guest?
Interesting. I didn't know that hotel owners pay for points. I always assumed the owner just paid whatever franchise fees, and Marriott awarded the points. Does this mean that if e.g. a higher tier elite stays there, it actually costs the hotel more money, since those elites get more points awarded than a non-elite member? And that they would actually prefer random visitors who don't have bonvoy accounts at all, since that means no points...
Interesting. I didn't know that hotel owners pay for points. I always assumed the owner just paid whatever franchise fees, and Marriott awarded the points. Does this mean that if e.g. a higher tier elite stays there, it actually costs the hotel more money, since those elites get more points awarded than a non-elite member? And that they would actually prefer random visitors who don't have bonvoy accounts at all, since that means no points have to be purchased?
Hotel loyalty programs are interesting since they're so much more complex than airline programs. Airlines own all their flights (well, aside from their regional partners) so the accounting is all integrated. Whereas the major hotel groups are, at this point, basically a booking site, a loyalty program, and some pooled joint marketing funds, with the hotels themselves being independently owned. How the revenue and expenses of a loyalty program get divvied out to all the different entities would make for a great business school case study!
Yes, the owner of a hotel ultimately pays for the points that you get. As I understand it, the points associated with a stay are charged to a property by way of a fee that Marriott charges a property for participating in Bonvoy. And then any customer service recovery points that a property awards or points that are bonus points for a package or incentive are directly billed to that particular property. A property even...
Yes, the owner of a hotel ultimately pays for the points that you get. As I understand it, the points associated with a stay are charged to a property by way of a fee that Marriott charges a property for participating in Bonvoy. And then any customer service recovery points that a property awards or points that are bonus points for a package or incentive are directly billed to that particular property. A property even has to pay Marriott if they want their Marriott website updated.
You won't catch me staying in a US-based City Express anytime soon... but maybe the upside is that in this relentless expansion era from Marriott at least other brands won't be diluted? I hope?
My standards have perhaps gotten too high from Asian hotels with their sumptuous buffets, lol