Hilton steps up a gear for expand its offering in the luxury and lifestyle segment. Every few weeks since the start of the year, the American group began by signing a partnership with Small Luxury Hotels of the World to integrate hundreds of luxury hotels into its distribution system and loyalty programme. Then Hilton entered the glamping arena with an agreement with AutoCamp, a top-of-the-range player in outdoor accommodation with caravans and tents set in the middle of the great American outdoors.
Alongside these partnerships, this global hotel heavyweight is also putting its hand in its pocket with the announcement in recent days of the acquisition of the Graduate Hotels lifestyle brand from the AJ Capital fund, for nearly 200 million euros. No doubt most business travellers will not have had the opportunity to come across this brand on their travels, apart from those involved in the academic world. Launched in 2014, the Graduate Hotels brand has in fact developed in a niche market - that of the university sector. major university campuses - near which it has set up its boutique hotels, blending contemporary design with retro touches.
Since its beginnings alongside the University of Georgia in Athens and Arizona State University in Tempe, the school has grown to include around thirty establishments. Berkeley and soon Princeton, Oxford on both sides of the Atlantic - close to the University of Mississippi as well as the dean of British faculties - but also Cambridge on the other side of the Channel: the Graduate chain, which will become the American group's 23rd chain once its acquisition is completed later this year, can boast some excellent references.
In addition to Curio, Tapestry and Canopy, Hilton's other lifestyle brands, this teaching with a less than academic positioning is encouraged to spread its know-how. " With thousands of universities and colleges around the world, we estimate a potential market of 400 to 500 hotels for the Graduate brand." said Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta.
