Can't Make This Up: W Hotel Dubai Rebranding As V Hotel Dubai

Don’t you think all those huge W’s everywhere could just be sawed off to make a V?

Nope, there's no way this is legal. Nevermind the fact that W is often called "double V" in some languages instead of "double U." This is...a dumb move...

A bad hotel is a bad hotel no matter who manages it. Why does Habtoor think they're going to do any better under the Hilton umbrella than Marriott?

This sounds like some desperation on Hilton's part to win the hotel management contract. I can imagine Hilton coming in with an initial pitch on the redevelopment requirements, Habtoor saying that rebranding cost too much, and then the Hilton team thinking "how on earth do we minimize signage changes, etc.". Almost sounds like someone randomly through out the ridiculous idea of keeping half of the W...and then somehow that actually became the idea.

In Dubai I much prefer the Park Hyatt though. A bit outside the main scene but feels like an oasis vs. some massive tower.

Do you suppose Hilton will try to operate it according to the same standards (look/feel) as Starwood, essentially doing the same thing they were sued for -- stealing the branding and operations manual for W from Starwood?

I can’t imagine this would fly for very long and would be VERY surprised if Hilton took the decision to launch “V” as a chain. Aside from the almost certain lawsuit, I wonder if they seriously think they could poach W customers? While they are not to my taste personally, W seems to have a pretty loyal following and I can’t imagine many people would see such a lame rip-off and choose that instead in a given city. A “V” brand would have to compete purely on price.

This is likely to be a unique circumstance in a city now without a W hotel, where the property wants to maintain whatever existing customer base they have. It’s still an idiotic idea.

I'm a millennial and don't like the W brand to much. I feel they try to hard to be edgy and cool. I would say my overall favorite SPG brand is Le Meridien in additional to the less "old school" St Regis properties.

This is so stupid it's hilarious! I personally wouldn't consider staying at any of these hotels just because of the lame name copy.

I'd love to know the Ivy League brains trust that came up with this.

Habtoor Palace, LXR Hotels & Resorts - is a mouthful. Wouldn't Waldorf be the natural choice, especially due to the "classic" styling?

V Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton. I find Curio Collection by Hilton too staid and not that interesting to begin with. Now let's append "V Hotel" to it - what a mess! The irony is that the W brand was striking at the time it was created by being so simple and yet so clear in terms of what it stood for. Perhaps V stands for Very confused.

Hilton trying to buy their way into cool / trend / luxury...not happening

In the topic of name rip off and lazy branding, check out the "Wisney World" project launched last month in Cambodia....if it ever takes off.

This specific hotel name is V Hotel. Is it a part of the Curio Collection.

All Curio collection hotels are "hotel name, Curio collection by Hilton"

There is nothing in the press release that suggests V is going to be full fledged Hilton brand.

Could the following actual hotel name be more unique? Yes. However V is not a seperate Hilton hotel family brand.

"Are they seriously buying a W and turning it into a V? Really?!?"

Nobody is buying anything, Al Habtoor is just changing management contracts and rebranding the property.

I think V is just plain hilarious! Way to go Hilton!

I was thinking the same as Franklyn. What makes you think there’s going to be some sort of “V Hotels” brand within Curio? None of the information you’ve shared suggests that to be the case.

Dubai doesn’t need half of those hotel rooms. They’re all empty. I haven’t seen any city at this size with that amount of branded hotel chains.

Somebody please tell these empty suits / executives that the whole 'W Hotel' concept peaked at the same time that myspace did. The market has moved on.

Please stop hyperventilating over nothing. Hilton just scored a big coup and is rubbing it in for the $75M cash settlement. By rebranding this "W" as "V", the message is clear: "Ahead of W". 🙂

Someone forgot to inform the Al Habtoor Group that Hilton has a "weak" loyalty program and that they should have stuck with Marriott, which will have a better program "in mere weeks." LOL. Hilton, the company that is synonymous with 'hospitality', strikes again and natives are agitating. You'd think they'd know better now how formidable and competitive Hilton has been under their current handpicked CEO, Chris Nassetta. Marriott may be bigger after acquiring the failed Starwood franchise but it is not better, by any stretch of the imagination.

Is it some sort of April Fools day in Dubai?

Some things are satirical...ever heard about the statistical software S and R.

Interesting: Google Maps is already displaying the new hotel names.

Now I’m hoping that Delta starts a new “crossover rewards” type of partnership with Hilton since they lost Starwood to United.

Just quick clarification

The new agreement is a franchise agreement not a management contract, so Habtoor is doing everything themselves now with Hilton just providing the branding, marketing and distribution.

No doubt the constraint of franchising affected the choice of brands. Starwood for instance, did not allow certain brands to be franchised (you can't franchise a W for instance, so they have stricter brand controls) and this for certainly part of the reason the Marriott breakup happened.

In terms of distribution ability, of course Marriott is stronger and has a stronger loyalty program. Hilton is weaker in these aspects but to counter it has fewer downsides in terms of cannibalisation (these 3 properties were sort of middle of the pack in Marriott's Dubai footprint but are easily some of the best in Hilton's - top 5 for sure).

The biggest factor (which will be a downside) of course is that bulk of the bookings (especially in a complex of this size) do not come from direct channels but from OTAs and GDS etc. There, price, brand and location are king and whilst location stays the same, the brands have been swapped out for MUCH weaker ones.

Hilton, at a stretch matches Westin's brand equity (they're similar enough -ish) though a missed opportunity for Hilton to launch their Hilton+ brand they've identified as a white space.

V does not have nearly the cachet or the name recognition of W, this will be brutal. Infact, if anything, there is already confusion with the Five hotel group (which has a great lifestyle property on the Palm and uses V as it's logo).

Habtoor Palace, LXR (right now using Waldorf backend) does not have anywhere near St Regis brand equity and recognition.

It's a struggle to see why a regular joe would ever pick a V over a known W or Habtoor Palace which looks like a random brand to them over a St Regis. No one recognises W or Habtoor Palace as Hilton brands.

Interesting data point: Ever since the breakup, Habtoor Polo Resort ADR has crashed by nearly 50%.

Forgot to state this:
On the upside for Habtoor, franchising comes with lower associated fees. So if they can run these well, they generate more money. The hotel market is going to get way way more crowded though and will continuously add supply for forseeable future.

That gives owners one of two basic strategies: Try to fill as many rooms and keep occupancies up and let rates crash and make money on volume. OR accept the low occupancies as the new market reality in medium term and try to control operating and acquisition costs (reflagging to pay lower fees would be part of this strategy).

LOL. I just love the constant reverse Darwinism in these forums. SPG was the strongest program, and yet, it is no more today, and Hilton, the "weak" one, just is stepping all over what was prime SPG land in Dubai.

The demise of the strongest? There is no such thing. Inferior entities that cannot compete disappear. RiP SPG. 🙁

Seems like the St Regis will be rebranded as a Waldorf Astoria according to booking ( https://www.booking.com/hotel/ae/the-st-regis-dubai.es.html)

@Vineet thanks for bringing a gun to DCS' knife fight!

Looks like Hilton picked up half empty properties that don't want to comply to any brand standards. But since it's more of a budget-heavy chain, they leapt at the opportunity to get in business with some quality properties. If they were worth hanging on to Marriott wouldn't have let them get away!

Why stop there when they could be rebranded as "UU Hotel" or "VV Hotel"? 🙂

LOL. Grasping at straws, as Hilton again and again comes up with slick and winning moves that make any attempts to disparage the company or its loyalty program fall flat, crash and burn...