NEW YORK CITY — Less than half a year after Marriott International President and CEO Anthony Capuano teased a new transient midscale brand, the company has announced new details on the project, if not an official name, during the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference.
Currently working under the name Project Mid-T by Marriott, the new concept will be focused on conversion opportunities in the U.S. and Canada with options for new-builds, as well. No further information, including an official launch date, was made available on the convention floor.
Capuano first mentioned the brand during Marriott’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 earnings call with investors. “Leeny [Oberg, Marriott’s CFO] and I tend to climb over each other with enthusiasm to talk about midscale,” he said at the time. “We think there's a tremendous market opportunity from a demand perspective. There is a deep appetite from our franchise community. We think the cost of developing midscale will help our partners navigate what is still a challenging financing environment.”
During the company’s first-quarter earnings call, Capuano noted that conversion-friendly brands are particularly important given some of the challenges in the debt markets. “The reality is [that] given the climate for new-construction debt in the U.S., having a platform that can easily pivot between both new-build and conversion opportunities, the timing seems ideal to launch something in that space,” he said.
According to the company, Project Mid-T by Marriott will offer a “light operational model” and “functional modern design” to help owners capitalize on growing consumer demand, while taking advantage of Marriott’s sales, distribution and marketing engines.
The brand will use a “kit of parts” conversion approach and will have a furniture, fixtures and equipment program designed to adapt to various building configurations. The 10.5 percent bundled fee will include franchise royalty, per-square-foot, loyalty and marketing fees.