TMR Exclusive: Starwood’s Luxury Collection Ad Campaign Defers to Travel Agent Concerns

ASTA’s summer battles with Marriott and Hilton over ad campaigns that urged consumers to book direct for the best rates—rather than using a travel agent—seem to have made their point. A new $4 million campaign by Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ The Luxury Collection brand simply tells readers to “explore the collection at the luxurycollection.com.”

It comes on the heels of a campaign from sister brand Sheraton that offered neither a website nor an 800 number, but just invited guests to “come stay.”

The Luxury Collection ads, viewed today by Travel Market Report, will break in October issues of Condé Nast Traveller (UK), Departures, Financial Times, Town & Country, Travel + Leisure, and WSJ Magazine.

Hoyt Harper, Global Brand Leader for The Luxury Collection speaking to TMR said, “We’ve always supported our travel agent partners. We encourage guests to book through whatever means is most convenient (to them). (Our goal is) to be their brand of choice.”

The campaign unveils a new logo and brand identity, and new positioning as “hotels that define a destination.” It will continue with Bloomberg Pursuits, Centurion, Departures, and Robb Report into 2016. According to officials, in addition to “top-tier titles in the United States and the United Kingdom,” it will have global reach via media in Mexico, Argentina, Austria, Germany, China, and Japan.

The ads follow some $700 million in investment in the five-star Luxury Collection properties by the group and the owners of the individual hotels—and come less than two weeks after sister brand Sheraton revealed a new $100 million campaign.

Keeping Agents in the Loop
At ASTA, president and CEO Zane Kerby applauded Starwood’s efforts to be supportive of the travel agency community by launching a campaign that “does not advise consumers to only book directly with the company as some other advertising campaigns have done.”

Kerby vowed that ASTA will “continue to get clarification from, and publicly call out, suppliers that fail to explain to consumers whether booking direct includes directly through their trusted travel agent.”

By booking through a trusted ASTA travel agent, he emphasized, “consumers receive expert guidance and support before, during, and after their journey. Without a trusted travel agent, consumers are on their own.”

Image: Balderai