Two Brands, One Roof: Why Dual-Brand Hotels Are on the Rise

Dual-brand hotels reflect the hotel industry's new priorities: leaner costs to build and appealing to different types of guests.

Hotel developers are increasingly pairing two brands in a single building to tame construction costs, creating a model that promises high returns partly by being less dependent on any one type of traveler.

This approach, known as dual-brand hotels, allows developers to share expensive infrastructure like pools, gyms, and elevators.

"In today’s development environment with high barriers to entry on infill land and elevated interest rates, maximizing the yield on a site is imperative to getting a project built," said Adam Dahan, vice president of business development at hospitality management company Azul Hospitality.

Marriott has more than 400 co-branded properties open. Hilton has more than 125 dual-brand properties globally and over 100 in development. Across the U.S. sector, several hundred dual-branded hotels are in the works, CoStar said.

Dual-brand hotels promise developers a faster route to profitability by reducing upfront construction costs and long-term operational overhead. Marriott’s model, for instance, emphasizes shared infrastructure while keeping guest experiences distinct.

"From a design perspective, what we would typically expect with dual brands is to have separate guest experiences across the two different brands," Paul Thomas, vice president of international development for Marriott Intern