Almost 2 years ago I wrote a post about DoubleTree's new logo based upon an advertisement that I had seen for the brand and at the time nothing was announced, but it seemed as though Hilton was going to be giving the brands logo a much needed refresh.

Ever since that post went up, I hadn't seen or heard anything about the new logo and everything has been status quo.

Today however, Hilton Worldwide just announced what is essentially a brand relaunch for DoubleTree. Not only is Hilton updating the logo but they are changing the brand name to ‘DoubleTree by Hilton' – and with both changes I think they went too far.

Brand Name Change

The name change is similar to the naming scheme that Hilton uses for their brands outside of America. For example in Europe, Asia and Canada the DoubleTree, Hampton and Embassy Suites names are always followed with "By Hilton". This may make sense for overseas customers who are more familiar with the Hilton brand name, yet do not easily associate Hilton Worldwide's other brands as being a safe, clean hotel with similar quality standards as the Hilton name. At the least – it may raise the cachet of those other names by being associated with Hilton…

I don't think that equates to the same feeling for hotel guests in America. Sure, the average hotel guest wouldn't avoid DoubleTree because its now associated even more with the Hilton brand, I just think that in some cases it cheapens the already established brands of DoubleTree, Embassy Suites and Hampton Inn. A good brand is something that needs to resonate with the customer, make the customer feel good about frequenting the establishment; if they wanted to associate the brands closer to Hilton – why not just rebrand everything as a Hilton?

New Logo

Hilton's choice of a brown color for a new logo absolutely floors me – (notwithstanding the fact that the new logo reminds me of the South Carolina symbol of a tree and moon).

Why would a company whose name has the word tree in it portray a dead tree in their logo? Not only that, but green is the new black – green is the best subconscious reminder of eco-friendliness – brown on the other hand.. Well, that just makes me think of trees dying because of pollution and environmental waste.

Hilton Worldwide feels the new logo is "modern, and updated" and has "color palettes custom-designed for the brand".

I say "blah"

Whats Next

This rebranding of DoubleTree is the first phase of a complete overhaul of the DoubleTree brand which apparently hasnt had any major changes since 1995. I think it's also the first of some major changes that will appear thoughout Hilton Worldwide's brands in America.. I can see Hampton Inn and Embassy Suites joining the rest of the Hilton Brands (Home2Suites, DoubleTree, Garden Inn, and Homewood Suites) joining in on the party and having "by Hilton" plastered all over the name.

It's ashame, its almost as though Hilton doesn't have enough faith that their individual brands can stand on their own without being closely associated with Hilton.

Andrew Calvo is a Commercial Real Estate Advisor in New Jersey. I live in Tinton Falls, NJ. This blog is about my passions - primarily hotels, commercial real estate, and development, etc.

Since I have been in High School I've had numerous jobs, but the field which has always interested me is Real Estate, Hotel Development and Construction. I consider myself a zealot in that area - I try to absorb as much as I possibly can, take the experiences that I learn, or read about and use them in my life. 

www.passionsofazealot.com