Sports Illustrated, Hello Kitty, Elle and FILA are among the spate of consumer brands that have recently announced forays into the lodging business. It’s part of an accelerating movement that is seeing non-hospitality brands jumping into bed with the hotel trade.
The trend for lifestyle, retail and fitness brands to get into hospitality started in the beginning of the 2000s and by 2018, it had picked up steam. Now, after a pandemic pause, consumer brands are back at it, in the continuing quest to leverage partnerships in order to amplify their messages and reach a larger audience.
According to Katie Johnson, vice president and global brand leader, Independent Collection, Hyatt, “We’ve seen (consumer) brands go and dip their toes into the space, some successfully and some not.” She notes that for ventures to work, brands need to work with a partner who understands the hospitality space. “If they don’t team up with the appropriate operator, it’s going to be challenging.”
The history
The idea of a consumer brand sticking its name on a hotel is nothing new. In the early 2000s, a spate of fashion brands, from Versace to Bulgari to Armani, sampled the hospitality waters. While projects were announced with great fanfare, nearly two decades later, these brands, collectively, are represented by only a handful of hotels. On the publishing side, most magazine titles had been entering hospitality via F&B. Elle, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Monocle have all opened cafes, although again, replication has been constrained. In 2018, Country Living Magazine, based in the United Kingdom, announced a partnership with Shearings Leisure Group to develop Country Living Hotels. However, as a result of the pandemic, Shearings, the operator of the hotels, went into administration and Country Living is no longer involved in the hotel business.
The post-COVID wave
This spotty history hasn't deterred a new wave of non-hospitality brands from surging in post-COVID. This spring, the companies that own the licensing rights to Elle and Sports Illustrated announced new lodging ventures.
Authentic Brands Group (ABG), a brand development, marketing and entertainment company, introduced the development of Sports Illustrated Resorts. Plans are underway for premium resort and entertainment developments in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (opening 2023), Orlando, Florida and coastal Mississippi.
According to Dan Dienst, executive vice chairman, strategy, ventures and tactical operations at ABG, “The vision for Sports Illustrated Resorts is to create a portfolio of immersive lifestyle properties that will become go-to destinations for individuals seeking active vacation experiences.” The concept is expected to expand to eco-adventure lodges, on-campus university locations, and upscale golf resorts.
Meantime, Elle Hospitality, a licensed arm of the fashion magazine, is also opening up shop. Owned by France’s Lagardère Group, Elle Hospitality will run Maison Elle, an urban boutique brand featuring “affordable rates and personalized service,” according to a press release, while Elle Hotels will consist of “high-end regenerative resorts.” According to the company, the commonality of the two brands will be an emphasis on latest trends to be evident in the decor and design.
Elle Hospitality is collaborating with real estate and hospitality group partners ACTUR, STUDIO V and Whitney Robinson International to develop properties.
The first Maison Elle is scheduled to open in Paris in October. Studio V will own and operate the hotel, a 25-room property near Arc de Triomphe. The prototype of the Elle Hotel brand is set to open in Jalisco, Mexico in 2023, developed in partnership with ACTUR.
According to luxury branding expert Piers Schmidt, it’s no surprise that the media industry is thinking hard about this business model. “As the physical presence of magazines diminish, these branding exercises can increase the brick-and-mortar presence of the magazine, allowing them to maintain relevance and new ways to manifest their brands in the physical world.”
But luxury real estate consultant Chris Graham throws in a word of caution. “I’d imagine that translating a lifestyle successfully off-the-page into a living environment isn’t as straightforward as it sounds and requires some creative mastery to ensure that the hotel’s staff, environment, and experiences adhere closely to the brand’s values at every touch point. This is especially important for the brand, as the management of the hotel will normally be outsourced to a professional third-party operator.”
Schmidt is skeptical whether non-hotel brands “get it.” For example, citing the Elle Hospitality announcement press release, he notes that the venture seems to be a “ combination of trendy jargon and cliches… a mish-mash of nothing. First it’s a lifestyle brand. Then it talks about regenerative retreats, which have nothing to do with Elle’s mission. Then it’s affordable, which is also out of sorts with the brand. It just seems like they are playing buzzword bingo, using the key words of the moment.”
Whitney Robinson, who runs one of the Elle Hospitality partner companies, and previously was editor-in-chief of Elle Decor, disagrees. He said, “The consistency in what we are offering is all about being reactive to what is going on in the world today….which is very much in what happens in the fashion world.”
Fashion and felines
As for Hello Kitty and FILA, the path to success may be a little more logical. Both are currently planned as one-off projects, affiliated with larger developments currently under construction (a theme park and a company headquarters, respectively). Furthermore, both are opening in China, which may increase the odds of success. According to Graham, “Since the Millennium, China has embraced high-end status brands with enthusiasm, becoming the world’s largest market for luxury consumer goods. This move by Hello Kitty and FILA reflects the strong consumer demand and popularity of these two brands in the country. Clearly the developers believe that these brands will resonate with audiences and attract large numbers of guests.”
Both brands are partnering with hospitality giant Hyatt, which will manage the ventures under the JdV by Hyatt independent collection brand. The Sanya Hello Kitty Resort will open in 2025’ish, part of a new theme park located on Hainan Island in China. The FILA HOUSE will be developed as part of the new Shanghai headquarters of ANTA, the company that owns the sportswear brand. The headquarters complex is envisioned to be a destination for sports retail as well as a space to showcase the latest trends in sports apparel.