I recently came across this brand pyramid chart. While incomplete, I find it is pretty useful to compare the various hotels of multiple groups in their categories.
—But, wait a minute, did you know that this is just an excerpt from the complete newsletter that is available here? Sent out once a week, original viewpoints, insights and interesting things to read.—
A year ago, I shared some thoughts on how the hotel industry struggles to build genuine brands. I argued that most “brands” in hospitality are manufactured identities with little depth or long-term investment behind them. Despite clever names and glossy brochures, hotels too often lack the persistent narrative and consistent execution that true brand-building requires.
Since then, I came across the “Hotel Brands Pyramid” (presented by the CEO of Leonardo hotels, to give credit where credit is due). This framework tries to position the brands according to their place in the quality and experience spectrum. For consumers, at least, it brings a bit of clarity.
Now, instead of squinting at a laundry list of unfamiliar hotel sub-brands per “holding company” and trying to guess their defining traits, the pyramid helps us see where each offering fits into the overall market. It’s not perfect—some brand nuances still feel arbitrary—but it’s a step toward something tangible. In a world where Marriott, Hilton, Accor, and IHG spawn new brand identities at will, this simple, structured hierarchy might be the closest thing we have to meaningful differentiation.
Don’t get me wrong: this doesn’t solve the fundamental problem I highlighted last year. Creating a true brand still demands a clear narrative, relentless consistency, and constant reinforcement—efforts the hotel industry often shies away from. The pyramid won’t magically transform a scattershot approach into a focused brand strategy. But it does at least help us, as consumers, navigate the chaos, making it a bit easier to “get” what a Kimpton or a Sofitel might mean in the grand scheme.
In the end, many hotel brands remain wrappers for investment vehicles, rather than deeply built, consumer-centric identities. The Hotel Brands Pyramid doesn’t solve that, but it’s a reminder that there are ways to bring a measure of logic and comparability to a world where brand building is still too often an afterthought. Maybe that’s a start.
