There are now hundreds of hotel brands worldwide, but what do they mean for the traveller and what can you expect when you stay in one of them?
This series of articles from Business Traveller explains….
What is Marriott’s Autograph Collection?
Marriott’s Autograph Collection is a collection of upper upscale and luxury, independent hotels in major cities and upmarket resort areas.
It has the advantage of being part of hospitality giant Marriott International’s portfolio of brands, currently at 30 and counting, but also allows for a real diversity of hotels within it.
From the traveller’s point of view, this can be an advantage. As Tina Edmundson, Global Brand and Marketing Officer at Marriott International, commented in 2021:
“We know guests are seeking to immerse themselves in the richness of the locale, to discover what defines the destination, and to experience one-of-a-kind hotels.
“Our Collection brands provide travellers with … truly authentic experiences, enveloped in the convenience and amazing benefits of being part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio.”
From the hotel owner or operator’s point of view, it means they can keep, for instance, the historic name of the hotel without having to rebrand it simply as a “Marriott Hotel’.
While the hotels within the group are independent in feel, Marriott has always maintained that they are required to go through the same hotel and operator approval processes as other Marriott full-service hotels, and need to “demonstrate continued high guest satisfaction and quality assurance scores to remain part of The Autograph Collection”.
When was it launched?
Marriott International launched its Autograph Collection in 2009.
From the start it was positioned as a new brand of “upper upscale and luxury, independent hotels”.
The aim then was for the hotels in the collection to have “distinctive personalities in major cities and desired destinations worldwide”. Autograph Collection hotels would “allow the [Marriott] group to attract guests that would not have typically considered a branded concept”, while allowing member properties to tap into Marriott’s global reservations system and Marriott Rewards loyalty programme (now the Marriott Bonvoy programme).
How many hotels are there in the Autograph Collection?
There are now over 240 hotels in 41 countries in the Autograph Collection.
Recent openings include
Marriott opens Autograph Collection hotel in Houston
Marriott debuts Autograph Collection in Corfu
What is staying in an Autograph Collection like?
They are all different, but here are some of our reviews of staying in Autograph Collection hotels:
Hotel review: Sankara Nairobi, Autograph Collection
Hotel review: Bankside Hotel, Autograph Collection
Hotel review: The University Arms, Cambridge
Hotel review: The Pantheon Iconic Rome Hotel, Autograph Collection
What other Collection brands does Marriott have?
As a result of Marriott’s takeover of Starwood Hotels and Resorts in 2015, Marriott gained the Luxury Collection and Tribute Portfolio which was launched by Starwood in 2010.
