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| The Grand Hilton Seoul will be rebranded to the Swiss Grand Hotel staring next year. / Courtesy of Grand Hilton Seoul |
By Kang Seung-woo
Korean hotels are parting ways with global hotel brands as they believe the brands themselves are losing appeal with customers.
The latest property to join the movement is the Grand Hilton Seoul. It will use the Hilton brand until the end of the year and be rebranded as the Swiss Grand Hotel starting next year. The hotel has been connected with the U.S. hospitality company since 2002.
"Thanks to growing interest in staycations, the number of local customers has been increasing steadily. Given that they choose a hotel based on comfort, location and benefits over a brand itself, we believe we could be competitive in the market with an independent hotel brand," a Grand Hilton official said.
"We are set to provide the highest level of service that meets the five-star rating."
The Namhae Hilton also changed its name to the Ananti Namhae in January 2018, while the Hyatt Regency Jeju also converted to the Shore Hotel Jeju.
Two Walkerhill hotels also ditched the brands Sheraton and W of the global hospitality giant Marriott International in 2017 and turned into the Grand Walkerhill Seoul and the Vista Walkerhill Seoul.
Speculation was rampant that Shinsegae Chosun Hotel that operates four Marriott-brand properties ― the Westin Chosun hotels in Seoul and Busan, the Four Points by Sheraton Seoul Namsan and the JW Marriott Seoul ― might part ways with the Westin brand, but it renewed the contract recently to retain the name.
However, the company plans to launch five new hotels by 2023, but it has yet to decide whether to go into partnership with global hotel chains, according to its officials. Last year, Shinsegae opened its first standalone brand L'Escape Hotel in Seoul.
"The reason more local hotels are ending their relationships with popular global brands is that the benefits of using those brands are not as significant as expected," a hospitality industry official said.
"In addition, some owners are unhappy about complying with strict instructions from brand headquarters to meet their standards."
In addition, with online travel agencies (OTAs) gaining a bigger presence in the hospitality sector, local hotels are relying more on these platforms rather than focusing on partnership with global brands.
"The local market is a competition between OTAs and international hotel chains and properties with a higher portion of local customers tend to attract guests through OTAs and promotions," the official said.
"Hotel brands are important, but hotel-goers are paying a growing amount of attention to rates and reviews."
However, some expect independent hotel brands may struggle to lure customers.
"When they belong to international hotel brands, they have more opportunities to attract online visitors to their websites, but if they are independent properties without traditional and unique features unlike time-honored hotels in Europe, they may have difficulty attracting customers," another industry official said.
"In the long term, the business strategy might be risky."
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