Both bear challenges and opportunities and not every property matches a brand.
As with many things in hospitality, there are no black and white answers in the branded vs independent debate. A brand should bring capital, distribution, and innovation, not rules, fees, and cookie-cutter standards.
Avid travellers look for experiences from storytellers, operators who innovate, and owners who get close to the guest, yet brand standards are usually not designed to achieve that.
Each hotel needs to be evaluated individually to determine the best strategy. Owners who have a vision and are willing to roll up their sleeves, learn, and invest time and money can well succeed running an independent property. For all those not so sure, the right brand may be a safer way to go.
In this article we discuss the 5 key considerations in the decision making process.
Dan Voellm, MRICS is the CEO & Founder of AP Hospitality Advisors, responsible for all aspects of the firm. Based in Hong Kong he covers the entire APAC region. Dan works closely with key institutional and private owners of hotel properties, financiers, developers, and investors, and has gained a strong understanding of their investment requirement and approaches to assessing market values of investment properties. Dan further advises on property and concept development and strategy as well as expert witness testimony. Dan is vice-chair of the Urban Land Institute’s
(ULI) Hospitality Development Council in Asia Pacific and became a Professional Member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in 2016.
dan@ap-ha.com
