What's Next for Hilton? A Yotel Partnership, For Starters.

Like many industries, hospitality firms are often looking to expand. How they do that, though, can vary dramatically from company to company. In some cases, it involves acquisitions; in others, it makes use of strategic partnerships and shifts outside of their comfort zone. Sometimes, it takes the form of Airbnb beefing up its hotel presence; in others, it means opening properties that break from what a company has previously offered. And it doesn’t always work according to plan, as the end of Marriott’s partnership with Sonder showed.

This week, Hilton announced the next way it planned to increase the number of rooms it has available around the world — and it’s through an unconventional partnership with another hotel chain. The short version: Hilton is teaming up with Yotel, with the latter being the first company to be included in a new category of properties, “Select by Hilton.” Where this differs from other recent announcements in this vein has to do with what it isn’t.

Hilton’s announcement stresses that Yotel will remain independent. In a statement, Hilton executive vice president Christian Charnaux said that the deal “[connects] a beloved independent brand like YOTEL into the powerful Hilton Honors network and commercial distribution system, while preserving what makes the brand unique.”

The word “independent” occurs several times throughout the announcement — including the qualifier that Yotel “will continue to independently manage and license its brand at 23 hotels across 10 countries.” According to the announcement, this deal is also set to serve as a template for future Select by Hilton deals, with the goal of letting other companies know that they can, presumably, retain their independence while being plugged in to Hilton’s network.

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There are reasons for skepticism

In an analysis of the arrangement for Hotels, David Eisen wrote that this differs from some other recent deals in the industry, citing “Marriott International’s buy of citizenM last year” as one example.

With that in mind, this recent Reddit thread suggests there are a number of frequent CitizenM guests who are not thrilled with what Marriott has done with the company. Presumably, if Hilton’s arrangement with Yotel won’t involve any companies changing hands, it also won’t lead to the potential alienation of a customer base.

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Tobias Carroll

Tobias Carroll lives and writes in New York City, and has been covering a wide variety of subjects — including (but not limited to) books, soccer and drinks — for many years. His writing has been published by the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, Literary Hub, Vulture, Punch, the New York Times and Men’s Journal. At InsideHook, he has…