Marriott is now adding more and more hotel brands to its kitty, and some of these are coming through acquisitions. The hotel company has gone from 30 to 36 brands pretty quickly, and most of these are through buyouts, with one partnership coming in (with MGM). Another acquisition announcement just dropped.

Marriott will acquire lifestyle hotel brand citizenM

Marriott has agreed to acquire CitizenM, a select-service lifestyle hotel brand, for USD 355 million. Marriott will pay the money to purchase the brand and related intellectual property. CitizenM’s current owner will continue to own the hotels and lease them to Marriott, and then the whole chain will become part of Marriott. The transaction is currently expected to close within 2025.

CitizenM currently has 36 hotels with over 8,500 rooms in 20 cities across the US, Europe, and Asia Pacific, and another three hotels (600 rooms) are expected to open next year.

The citizenM brand is known for its genuine service, tech-savvy in-hotel experience, highly efficient use of space, and focus on art and design. The brand, founded in 2008, caters to a growing demographic of value-conscious travelers looking for technology-driven accommodations with features like clever in-room design, indoor and outdoor common spaces featuring immersive artwork and local artifacts, comfortably appointed living rooms that serve as collaborative workspaces, creative meeting rooms, grab-and-go food and beverage options, and lively rooftop decks.

Marriott CEO Anthony Capuano said this, on the occasion:

As we continue to drive best-in-class experiences for travelers, today’s announcement builds upon Marriott’s commitment to enhance options for guests and Marriott Bonvoy members. We are thrilled to add citizenM as a unique, differentiated offering to our select-service brand portfolio as we continue to strengthen Marriott’s foothold in this valuable market segment around the world. Marriott has a proven track record of growing acquired brands significantly by leveraging our global development ecosystem, the benefits of our industry-leading affiliation cost structure, and the power of our award-winning Marriott Bonvoy loyalty platform.

This is a net positive for Marriott, allowing it to offer more hotels. For CitizenM, I don’t know, as I’ve never experienced the brand since its arrival on the scene. The brand will eventually offer Marriott Bonvoy benefits, but there is time to get excited about that.

Bottomline

Marriott will acquire the CitizenM hotel brand to grow in the select service segment. This will mean CitizenM will get better distribution and that members of Marriott Bonvoy will get points. However, it could also mean that prices might go up at this brand.

What do you think of Marriott taking over citizenM?

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