Marriott has just announced that it’s greatly expanding outdoor focused lodging options, with the acquisition of one company, and a long term agreement with another company. Major hotel groups seem to be looking to expand in this area — recently we’ve seen Hilton Honors partner with Autocamp, and we’ve seen World of Hyatt partner with Under Canvas.
In this post:
Marriott acquires Postcard Cabins, partners with Trailborn
Marriott is expanding its outdoor focused lodging options, thanks to two new deals with players in this segment. Marriott is acquiring Postcard Cabins, formerly known as Getaway Outposts, and Marriott is also launching a long term agreement with Trailborn.
Postcard Cabins has 29 locations with a total of 1,200 cabins, situated within two hours of major US cities (find all the locations here). The idea is to offer unique, tiny cabins that are nature focused, allowing guests to disconnect from daily life.
Trailborn currently has three locations, near Rocky Mountain National Park, the Grand Canyon, and in Highlands, North Carolina. There are also properties under development in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, and Mendocino, California. Once those open, there will be a total of 559 rooms.
Here’s how Leeny Oberg, Marriott’s Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Development, describes this:
“Marriott has long been committed to offering incredible travel experiences for every trip purpose. As guests are increasingly interested in nature-immersive travel, we are excited to build on the incredible breadth of our portfolio and welcome the Postcard Cabins and Trailborn portfolios to Marriott Bonvoy as we deliver more accommodations and experiences in awe-inspiring destinations. Whether you’re looking for bespoke lodging near natural wonders, an elevated camping experience, or off the beaten path excursions in nature, our planned outdoor-focused collection is expected to offer a broad array of options for seasoned adventurers and first-time explorers.”
Marriott will launch outdoor focused collection in 2025
In 2025, Marriott plans to launch an outdoor focused hotel collection, anchored by these deals. It remains to be seen exactly what that will look like, but presumably it means yet another brand is being added to the Marriott portfolio.
The expectation is that both Postcard Cabins and Trailborn will join Marriott Bonvoy at some point in 2025, at which point members will be able to book these properties through the Marriott website and mobile app, and will also be able to earn and redeem points, and take advantage of elite perks.
It remains to be seen how exactly this will be executed, and how robust the Marriott Bonvoy integration will be.
Bottom line
Marriott has announced a significant expansion when it comes to outdoor focused lodging. The company has acquired Postcard Cabins (formerly known as Getaway), and has a new long term agreement with Trailborn. These properties are expected to be integrated into the Marriott portfolio in 2025, so we should learn more details in the coming months.
What do you make of Marriott’s outdoor focused expansion?
$36 "service fee" to book a two night stay in NH. What a crock. They want me to pay for booking directly on their own site. No thanks.
Are they renting RVs yet?
Yet another example of how Marriott is no longer a hotel company and now merely a booking channel. I would be mad if I owned a bunch of traditional hotel properties because Marriott is taking its eye off the ball. The company needs to fix its hotels.
What next: buying restaurants?
As you often comment, the hotel owners are Marriott's customers. Not the guests. Why would they want to fix the hotels and disaffect its customers? Silly goose.
Because why should I as an owner invest in my property and be a good Marriott owner if the company fix all the bad properties?
Won't fix *
wait until you learn about Hot Shoppes
I'm aware of how the Marriott family started but it's been a very long time since they were in that line of business.