The Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand has overtaken Marriott Hotels & Resorts in terms of brand value, according to a new report from Brand Finance, an independent brand valuation consultancy. Hilton’s brand value growth was up 17 percent to $7.4 billion during 2018. The increase was driven mainly by strong revenue growth over the past year, analysts noted.
Meanwhile, Marriott experienced an 8 percent decline in brand value to $5 billion, according to the “Brand Finance Hotels 50 2019” report. Analysts pointed to the hotelier’s challenges in the North American market, including data breaches to loyalty program issues. The combined value of Marriott’s brands decreased 30 percent, according to the report. That was enough of a gap for Hilton to notch the top spot.
“Hilton’s strategic approach to brand growth has allowed it to extend its lead as the world’s most valuable hotel brand,” said Savio D’Souza, valuation director at Brand Finance. “At the same time, endorsement from the flagship brand has rendered benefits across the portfolio as Homewood Suites, DoubleTree and Hampton have seen their brand values soar.”
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When combining the value of the six Hilton brands analyzed in the report, the value amounts to $14.7 billion. Researchers noted that’s a nearly $2 billion premium over Marriott’s $12.9 billion portfolio. Overall, Hilton’s brands saw overall value grow 41 percent, while Marriott’s portfolio of brands decreased 30 percent.
In the Hilton family, Homewood Suites led the bunch, with its value rising 99 percent to $800 million. DoubleTree followed with a 79 percent jump to $2.1 billion, while Hampton Inn rose 78 percent to $3.2 billion. By comparison, the report found the three fastest-declining brands were all in the Marriott family: Westin (-46 percent); Residence Inn (-46 percent); and Sheraton (-44 percent). Seven of the 10 bottom-performing brands belonged to Marriott, which contributed to the hotelier’s declining value.
However, the Hilton and Marriott portfolios are ranked well ahead of the third-ranked brand company, Wyndham Hotel Group, which saw an 8 percent drop in brand value to $7.3 billion. Additionally, researchers noted that Marriott International’s recent announcement of entering the home-rental market is a promising move to take back market share from Airbnb and could contribute to an uptick in brand value over the coming year.
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Rounding out the top five brands in terms of value are: Holiday Inn, which rises in rank from No. 4 in 2018 to No. 3 this year; Hyatt, which dropped from No. 3 last year to No. 4 in 2019; and Hampton, which jumped from the No. 10 spot last year to No. 5 this year.
