BETHESDA, MD— Marriott International is moving aggressively to brand Renaissance Hotels & Resorts with distinctive design, service and food-and-beverage qualities, marking it as a flag that “has the body of a full-service hotel and the soul of a boutique hotel.” The move comes as Renaissance undergoes rapid growth: it started the year with 107 properties, having added 14 in 2000. Plans are to add another 13 this year and to continue that growth momentum going forward. Marriott has been strategizing to mark specific differences between Renaissance and Marriott Hotels & Resorts (MHR), which both sit in the same four-star, full-service tier since Renaissance was acquired in 1997. “Marriott International as a company is creating segments in the full-service segment. We recognize that different types of consumers are motivated by different needs,” said Sid Yu, Renaissance brand vp, noting that divvying up the full-service segment with two brands lets “Marriott International and our investors both win because over time investors will capture a larger share of the market,” especially since Renaissance is expected to garner incremental customers looking for more of a sense of place in their travel. “The Renaissance traveler is more interested in their travel experience, it’s more about ‘me,’” said Mike Janini, executive vp/brands, Marriott International. Yu, who cut his branding teeth while at Proctor & Gamble and Nike, said the market segmentation of MHR and Renaissance is borne of the same demographic trends that cause consumers to select different luxury car brands, like Lexus, BMW and Mercedes, or different airlines like United, Virgin and Singapore Airlines. “They are similar but different,” said Yu. “[Consumer] psychography allows them to make decision.” To stamp Renaissance as a brand with both full-service and boutique characteristics, executives have defined three pillars on which Renaissance’s identity sits, “design: ‘Savvy Service,’ and upgraded ‘street restaurants,’” said Janini. Specifying that Renaissance properties will not have a pre-set design package, Janini said that hotels under the flag will instead reflect the style of their locales. That means the new Renaissance going up in Hollywood, which will host the Academy Awards, will have an Art Deco design, while a property in Sonoma’s wine country will have a rustic style. “We will start with the story of the hotel and take our design inspiration from that,” said Janini, noting that in many cases Renaissance properties will be, and are currently housed in historical buildings. Meanwhile, Renaissance’s “Savvy Service” will be both “Asian and urban,” he said, and will be “very different from Marriott Hotels & Resorts’ “Spirit to Serve” mantra, which operates off the premise that “it’s an honor to be of service to others. “Savvy service is more Asian, with all the attentiveness of Asian service but very hip,” said Janini. Capitalizing on Renaissance’s strong food-and-beverage reputation, Marriott will upgrade existing and future restaurants to make them ”hot spots” in their neighborhoods, said Janini. Is Renaissance meant to mirror Starwood’s W brand or Kimpton’s boutique hotels, both considered to be hip in both hotel and F&B offerings and successful in drawing a strata of traveler interested in a non-cookie cutter environment? “Renaissance takes more of spirit of the independent boutique hotel, W is more branded,” said Janini, noting that Renaissance will differ from place to place. As for the Kimpton comparison, Janini stressed that while Renaissance may have the soul of a boutique, “it has the body of a full-service hotel” with large meeting space and other business-traveler attributes. “Travelers need a certain amount of amenities, they need business services,” said Janini. “With many of the great boutique hotels you have to trade off functionality. There are some great Kimpton and Ian Shrager hotels, but they have a product that may be a bit small
