The issue it seems is no hotel owner wants to own the fourth Hilton in any given city. So the chains create new brands. It's weird because you don't see McDonald's franchisees telling McDonald's that they want a different brand to differentiate them from the McDonald's owned by someone else a mile away.
It's interesting that you compare to fast-food, because, certain brands, like Taco Bell, have attempted to create specialty-brands, like Taco Bell Cantina (which, as far as I can tell, just means they also serve alcohol?) If it were stand-alone, would McCafe count? I digress...
I think the fast-food franchising model is the best example. McDonald's franchises but, for the most part, you can't tell which McDonald's are corporate and which are franchises. I think there are a couple reasons for this.
First, as far as I know, McDonald's generally doesn't allow a franchisee to own and/or operate a franchise from a competing chain, like Burger King. That certainly isn't the case with hotels.
Second, as far as I know, there's no equivalent to hotel management companies. If you own a McDonald's franchise, you operate it. Whereas you have a significant number of hotel owners who are totally detached from the management and operation of their hotel because they use Aimbridge or some other big management company.
McDonald's and Starbucks are successful because they have very high standards and quality control. In fact, Starbucks doesn't franchise at all.
Marriott and other big chains are now more like car companies. Sure, Ford or General Motors may impose requirements on a dealer for how the showroom looks or what services they have to provide, but the experience between dealers selling the same car brands varies significantly.
'Starbucks doesn't franchise at all.' Not sure about that, probably depends on your definition of franchising.
'The authority to open and operate Starbucks stores in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which includes Türkiye, belongs to the Kuwait-based Alshaya Group.'
https://alshaya.com.tr/en/brands/starbucks
Starbucks does not franchise. It does license; such as your example or HMS Host with airports and highway rest areas. There is a difference between licensing and franchising.
It's purely a question of defining the setup- Alshaya themselves refer to [part of] it as a 'Starbucks franchise'. https://www.alshaya.com/en/media-centre/alshaya-news/alshaya-group-acquires-the-starbucks-franchise-in-greece-and-cyprus-and-becomes-the-new-exclusive-owner-and-operator/
You do see it in the gas station business. BP didn't want to have a gas station at every intersection so they brought back the retired Amoco brand instead. Same gasoline, different brand name. Ditto for Exxon & Mobil stations. The ARCO brand, formerly just out west, is now available for midwest and eastern independents to use as an alternative for the Marathon brand. Marathon used to do that with the Speedway brand but they sold that off a few years ago.
"For example, among the major hotel groups, Four Seasons is probably the brand with the most consistent service standards."
That's because Four Seasons does NOT franchise.
I think that Novotel and Ibis are both very major and pretty consistent. Holiday Inn Express was mentioned as well and I can see that being consistent although I haven't stayed in one since before the pandemic.
The fact that you think they don’t franchise means they’re succeeding, because they actually do. They didn’t always, and nearly went bankrupt because of it, but have for many years. One of the New York locations is famously owned by Ty Warner, for example, and there’s been some recent articles in the news about the owner of the Nevis property (Bill Gates) being sued by residents. Fort Partners also owns a number of properties in and beyond Florida.
Four Seasons does NOT franchise. They operate on a asset-light management model, meaning they operate properties owned by someone else. That is NOT franchising.
I’m gonna add a comment in the form of a letter that I recently wrote to Hilton regarding the disastrous state of the Doubletree in Times Square, West. My experience was hardly worth the cookie. I got a check-in, and I am hard-pressed to understand how Hilton can hold its head high.
Dear Hilton Guest Relations,
I just spent the night at the DoubleTree Times Square, and the experience was completely unacceptable.
After checking in around 7:00 p.m., I entered my room (36XX) and immediately found it excessively hot. Because I was in a hurry, I contacted the hotel through Hilton’s text/chat service and asked that someone check the temperature and the air conditioning. The agent assured me that this would be taken care of.
When I returned around 10:30 p.m., the room was 86 degrees.
I called the front desk repeatedly, but for nearly an hour I could not reach anyone. The phone would ring, place me on hold, and then disconnect. When I finally reached the desk, I was told that an engineer would be sent to my room immediately.
By 11:30 p.m., no one had come.
I then spent another hour and a half trying to reach the front desk. I finally got through around 1:00 a.m. The employee offered to relocate me to another Hilton property. Given that I had to be up only a few hours later, I explained that moving hotels at that point was not a reasonable solution. I asked instead for a fan. She assured me that one would be delivered to my room.
No one ever came.
I was left in an 86-degree room with no functioning air conditioning and no assistance from the hotel. Ultimately, I had to take a cold shower in the middle of the night simply to cool down enough to sleep.
What makes this even more troubling is that the employee told me this was a “one-off.” A quick review of the hotel’s online reviews, however, suggests that problems with room temperatures and air conditioning are neither new nor isolated. If this is a known and recurring problem, representing it to a guest as an isolated incident is deeply concerning.
This was not a minor inconvenience. The hotel failed repeatedly at every level: the room was not reasonably habitable, my initial request was not addressed, the front desk was extraordinarily difficult to reach, the promised engineer never arrived, and the promised fan never arrived. I ultimately spent the night uncomfortable, exhausted, and unable to get the sleep I needed.
This experience was beyond inexcusable, and frankly, I would be embarrassed if I were responsible for this property.
I expect Hilton to do more than simply apologize. I believe I should be fully comped for this night, and given the extraordinary failure to respond to the situation—and the fact that I was effectively left without a usable hotel room—I also expect additional compensation or consideration.
I would appreciate a prompt response explaining how Hilton intends to address this matter.
Sincerely,
The shitification of everything has not spared the hotel or travel industry.
I used to have the same opinion about FS service until a FHR stay at the Four Seasons Sydney. The size of the hotel and level of service felt more like a JW Marriott than a Four Seasons.