Marriott’s “Middle Class” Hotel Brand With Few Standards Gets A Name

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.

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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?