Series by Marriott is a go for launch: Fern Hotels are rolling out with lower Bonvoy Earnings

In May 2025, Marriott announced a new hotel brand called “Series by Marriott” – a “mid-scale to upscale collection” brand with an initial rollout in India, facilitated through a strategic partnership with Concept Hospitality Private Limited (CHPL). CHPL’s flagship brands include The Fern, The Fern Residency and The Fern Habitat; these brands will be affiliated with Series by Marriott.

Marriott begins rolling out Fern Hotels using its distribution platform.

CHPL and Marriott intend to integrate many of the Fern-branded hotels into Marriott’s global platform, providing them with access to Marriott’s international distribution, reservation system, loyalty programme (Marriott Bonvoy), and global marketing capabilities. At the same time, the properties retain some of their local identity (e.g., The Fern) while being rebranded as “The Fern …, Series by Marriott”.

With over 84 operational Fern hotels in India (and dozens more in the pipeline), CHPL brings scale. The partnership with Marriott adds thousands of rooms to Marriott’s India portfolio in one stroke. For Marriott, this is not merely about adding luxury hotels—it’s about capturing the mid-scale to upscale segment, where demand in Tier 2 and 3 cities, as well as emerging travel markets, is skyrocketing. For Marriott Bonvoy members, it means more options, in more places, under the Marriott umbrella—but with some trade-offs (which I’ll cover soon).

The “Series by Marriott” promise (and what to expect)

Here’s how Marriott describes the brand: properties affiliated with Series by Marriott will offer “basics done well,” consistent services, but in a value-conscious way—the idea is to create regionally relevant hotels, locally rooted brands, plugged into global systems.

Guests will basically gain access to Marriott Bonvoy, global reservations, possible elite benefits, and trusted standards. Owners/brands achieve scale, operational support, and loyalty integration, while maintaining enough flexibility to preserve their local identity. Marriott gains a growth vehicle: Since building new luxury hotels is costly and time-consuming, converting existing, trusted mid-scale hotels through an affiliated brand enables faster expansion.

The Fern Hotels & Resorts (via CHPL) is the key partner in this rollout. Some key points:

• The Fern and its affiliated brands have ~84 hotels operational, plus around 31 in the pipeline across India.
• Under the deal, many of these hotels will rebrand as “The Fern … Series by Marriott”. The affiliation means they will join Marriott’s global systems, yet retain the local “Fern” name.
• The scale is significant: the deal will add approximately 6,000 rooms (or more) to Marriott’s India footprint through this partnership.
• The Fern brings strong experience in Tier 2 & Tier 3 Indian markets, along with an eco-sensitive brand positioning; Marriott sees this as a differentiator for its brand strategy.

The following hotels are already bookable via Marriott Bonvoy / marriott.com

• The Fern Residency Bhiwandi-Pimplas, Series by Marriott
• The Fern Residency Bodhgaya, Series by Marriott
• The Fern Kochi, Series by Marriott
• The Fern Mumbai, Goregaon, Series by Marriott
• E-Square The Fern Pune, Series by Marriott

Fern Hotels are being integrated in the following cities as well at the time of writing: Ahmedabad, Sheshadaripuram, Daman, Dapoli, Kasauli, Gandhinagar, Jaipur, Jambughoda, Jamnagar, Kamrej – Surat, Kolhapur, Mira Road, Mussoorie, Saputara, Pune, Rajkot, Jim Corbett, Goa, Solapur and Vadodara.

What loyalty (Marriott Bonvoy) wise you should know

The following benefits are being offered to those who book through Marriott.com and are members of Marriott Bonvoy.

• Five (5) base Points for each U.S. dollar spent on Qualifying Charges.
• Members will be awarded one (1) Elite Night Credit for every two (2) Qualifying Nights for each Qualifying Stay completed.
• Elite Welcome Gift / Points

Bottomline

The launch of Series by Marriott via The Fern Hotels & Resorts is a strategic move by Marriott. The hospitality giant is not just going luxury, but is doubling down on the growth opportunity in mid-scale/upscale markets in India. You will see approximately 100 hotels added over time, with more than 80 being added relatively quickly. However, remember that from the Bonvoy perspective, the hotel only offers 50% in terms of Elite Nights and only 5 points per dollar.

What do you think of Fern getting into the Marriott fold?

Book Fern Hotels on Marriott.com Here

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