The story of an ancient drum, adorned with intricate carvings depicting an island’s seafaring past. A curious traveller who dreams of creating a destination that combines his love for the Amalfi Coast with the vibrant spirit of his home. A secluded 12th-century monastery brought back to life in the forests of northern Vietnam. What do these three hotels have in common? Each is an independently imagined property with a distinct story and identity, yet also part of one the world’s major hotel collection brands.
Whether it’s Marriott’s Autograph Collection, Hilton’s Tapestry or Accor’s MGallery, hotel collection brands have been a quietly rising force in the world of hospitality in recent years, each promising a perfect marriage between local experience and global reach. On paper, it’s an elegant solution. Hotel owners maintain their property’s distinctive character while tapping into powerful distribution networks. Global brands expand their footprint without starting from scratch. Guests discover authentic experiences backed by trusted names.
“Our collection brands allow the original character of each hotel to shine, with flexible standards designed to answer the needs of independent boutique hotel owners and enhance the guest experience with a few light brand attributes while benefiting from the power of the commercial and loyalty platform of Accor,” commented Agnès Roquefort, Chief Development Officer, Luxury & Lifestyle, Accor in a recent article on the hotel group’s website.
Citing a 25% growth rate for this segment, the French hospitality giant has recently added two new hotel collection brands to its portfolio, Handwritten Collection and Emblems Collection, adding to its already hugely successful MGallery brand.
IHG has enjoyed similar success. Just three years after introducing Vignette Collection to the market – its first brand in this category – it is already halfway towards its target of 100 hotels in 10 years.
“As our Luxury & Lifestyle offer grows, Vignette Collection particularly supports the owners of independent hotels, retaining the individuality of their properties whilst accelerating business through IHG’s global scale and powerful enterprise offering,” said Jane Mackie, SVP, Global Luxury & Lifestyle and Premium at IHG Hotels & Resort in a recent article.
But while it sounds like a win-win solution on paper, the reality of bringing these hotel collection brands to life is far more complex. The moment a property decides to join a collection brand, it embarks on a journey of identity exploration that touches every aspect of its being.
Critically, it is about uncovering what makes each property genuinely special. Sometimes it’s hidden in dusty archives that reveal a building’s revolutionary past. Other times it emerges through conversations with the local community who know the history of the land the hotel was built on. This core story – when authentic and powerful enough – becomes the thread that weaves together every aspect of the guest experience.
“The storyline and narrative is the most important element with these kinds of hotels,” says Ong-art Ngamnarongkij, Founder and Creative Director of Purpose of Space – a Thailand based specialist in hospitality architecture and interior design.
“It becomes the backbone of the property. It helps us to create a sharp design narrative and then interpret that into the actual design more precisely.”
He believes that the strongest stories often come from unexpected places.
“For one of our ongoing projects in northern Thailand, we found an ancient palace wall foundation inside the property. From this we started to research and build a storyline around the Lanna people – their lifestyle inside the palace and how they lived, how they entertained themselves, how they used the space. We shaped the design and experience of the hotel as a journey of the past combined with modern elements,” he explains.
Finding these stories requires patience. In the rush to expand portfolios, there’s always pressure to settle for surface-level narratives that look impressive in pitch decks but fall flat in execution. The most successful hotel collection brand properties are those that resist this urge, taking time to dig deeper, to find the stories that truly resonate.
Writing a beautiful story is easy. Crafting a believable narrative that can truly inspire everyone – from architects and designers to marketers to operators – is what sets the exceptional properties apart.
“Travellers today seek more than a getaway; they crave something meaningful. Something that inspires and stays with them,” says Wayniq Urairat, Chief Strategist at QUO.
“As a branding agency, we take on this responsibility by telling stories grounded in truth. We delve deep – uncovering layers of history, separating fact from fiction, listening to whispers and legends – all to find that one kernel of a story. That kernel is like a precious seed. One that inspires others to nurture and care for. In time, it takes root, becomes stronger and grows into something unforgettable that others can appreciate.”
The translation from story to experience demands due care and attention. Beautiful design concepts can falter if they ignore operational realities. Powerful narratives can dissolve if branding agencies and ID consultants aren’t aligned. Success requires intricate, careful collaboration between all stakeholders.
Owner of an upcoming Hilton collection property in Thailand, Sadrudin Ali, says that the success of his hotel story was about everyone working together behind a common vision.
“As the owner, we relied upon our appointed branding agency and our interior design company to work closely with us to discover and develop a unique story for our hotel. Through this we could then start to imagine a cohesive experience across all touchpoints of the property that guests can enjoy,” says Ali.
As hotel collection brands mature, they face fresh challenges. The pressure to grow drives the creation of more specialized collections, each targeting specific passions or values. Yet the fundamental question remains unchanged: how to create spaces that feel both uniquely individual and reliably excellent?
Perhaps the answer lies in understanding that, at its core, hospitality is about connections. The best collection brand properties aren’t just about compelling stories, but cohesive cultural experiences enhanced through the lens of global expertise. They create those moments that could only happen in that particular place, at that particular time, yet delivered with an assurance that comes from decades of hospitality knowledge. Hotel collection brands don’t exist to standardize the unique, but to help it shine more brightly.
Catherine Edwards is the Chief Growth Officer for QUO, a strategic branding agency with offices in Bangkok, Saigon, Singapore, Riyadh, Amsterdam and London.