IHG, Marriott, and Hyatt are racing to convert independent midscale hotels into branded properties, and the speed of that race should tell you something about who benefits most. The owners being courted with promises of loyalty contribution and distribution power might want to check the filing cabinet before they sign.
Booking Holdings just posted a year where room nights grew 8%, free cash flow hit $9.1 billion, and they're plowing $700 million into AI and loyalty to make sure your guests keep booking through them. The question every operator should be asking isn't whether Booking had a good year... it's how much of that year came out of your margin.
Hyatt's first international Hyatt Select property is a 140-room conversion in Berlin opening in 2028, and the brand is betting that "streamlined amenities" will win over European owners skeptical of American flag economics. Whether that bet pays off depends entirely on a number most franchise sales teams would rather you didn't calculate.
