The New Economics of Hotel Brand Expansion: Why Scale Alone Is Not Enough

Major hotel groups have doubled their brand counts since 2014 to an average of 24 brands in 2024, while loyalty membership grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15%. Yet since 2019, the fastest-growing portfolio by brand count (15% CAGR) delivered the weakest median RevPAR growth at just 0.3%, indicating more brands do not necessarily drive stronger RevPAR.

This trend is visible in aggregate: brand count across the six major U.S. hotel groups has grown at a steady 7% CAGR since 2013, roughly doubling from 13 to 25 brands, while industry RevPAR growth has moved in the opposite direction. The COVID-19 pandemic temporarily obscured this divergence, as the sharp RevPAR collapse in 2020 and subsequent recovery distort the trajectory, but the underlying pattern is clear — each successive wave of brand additions has coincided with a step down in pricing power across the portfolio.

The past two years reveal year-on-year growth fluctuations as the industry stabilized. The index reached 102 in December 2025, indicating a modest 2% increase compared to the same month last year. Overall, as of year-to-date December 2025, global travel for the full year also rose by 2% relative to 2024. While performance across some regions and sectors may have slowed slightly, the resilience of others lifted the global aggregate and the travel industry remained stable even amid challenging global conditions.

This report examines whether the global hotel industry has entered an era of brand overexpansion — and what that means for brand clarity, loyalty effectiveness, and long-term value creation. It explores the structural incentives that fueled proliferation, from asset-light growth models and Wall Street expectations to owner demand and competitive shelf-space strategies. It then tests whether those incentives still hold in a world shaped by AI-driven discovery, personalization pressure, and tightening margins.

For marketing and strategy leaders, the stakes are practical. Brand architecture influences pricing power, loyalty engagement, visibility in AI-led search, and the efficiency of marketing spend. This report provides the analytical framework to assess whether expansion is strengthening your system — or eroding differentiation.

What You'll Learn From This Report

Whether adding more brands improves hotel performance
How brand expansion affects differentiation
Whether portfolio growth strengthens or dilutes loyalty
The role of soft brands in long-term brand equity
How AI is reshaping hotel discovery and visibility
What drives loyalty in crowded portfolios
When growth leads to internal cannibalization
Whether future competition will reward scale or clarity

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