Dive Brief:
- Choice Hotels International entered a strategic partnership with Orlando, Florida-based Westgate Resorts to bring 21 Westgate properties under its reservation system, according to a Thursday release.
- The Westgate properties span nine states, including nine hotels in Florida as well as resorts in Nevada, Utah, New York, Missouri, Tennessee, South Carolina, Virginia and Arizona. Through the partnership, the Westgate resorts will also be bookable with points on the Choice Privileges rewards program.
- These resorts join Choice’s upscale portfolio, which the hotel company has strategically expanded over the last year. Brand deals like this have become a popular means to gain scale in upper-tier segments, with hotel players including Marriott International, Hilton and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts also inking strategic partnerships in recent months.
Dive Insight:
Choice adds Westgate resorts in Orlando, Las Vegas, New York and Park City, Utah, among other U.S. destinations, amid a push in the upscale segment focused on enhancing guests’ unique experiences, according to the hotel company.
Guests will be able to “enjoy a range of exciting amenities and onsite experiences at Westgate destinations,” including water parks, horseback riding and skiing, according to Choice.
The portfolio addition builds on strides Choice has made in upscale in recent months, including relaunching several of its acquired Radisson brands and debuting logo and food and beverage upgrades across the portfolio. Its upscale Radisson and Cambria brands are also a focal point of the company’s 2025 marketing campaign.
The addition of the Westgate resorts brings the number of luxury and upscale full-service properties bookable through Choice to more than 1,000, the company detailed Thursday.
Brand deals have become popular across the hotel industry as a means to grow portfolio scale and ramp up loyalty membership, hospitality pros explained to Hotel Dive in August.
Wyndham, for example, entered a long-term development partnership with Reside in October set to expand its portfolio of upscale extended stay offerings. And Marriott entered a strategic licensing agreement with Sonder in August that will boost its upper-tier portfolio by some 9,000 rooms.
Marriott also recently acquired Postcard Cabins and simultaneously executed a long-term agreement with Trailborn, assuming their portfolios.
Hilton and Hyatt Hotels, meanwhile, executed both brand partnerships and acquisitions in 2024 that expanded their portfolios and engage loyalty members.
