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Most regional UK Marriott hotels to rebrand as Delta this autumn – what’s going on?

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Whilst there has been no formal announcement, Marriott International is switching most of its UK regional Marriott hotels to its Delta brand over the next three months.

Marriott International treats Delta Hotels as a ‘conversion’ brand, like Hilton’s DoubleTree or IHG’s voco. A ‘conversion’ brand has very few brand requirements, allowing hotels to defect from competitors with minimal investment.

It isn’t meant to be used for conversions within the same company ….

Most regional UK Marriott hotels to rebrand as Delta

Which Marriott hotels are converting to Delta?

Here is the list of Marriott-branded hotels outside London and their status. Marriott has confirmed the accuracy of this.

Regional UK Marriott hotels converting to Delta imminently:

City hotels:

  • Aberdeen
  • Bexleyheath
  • Birmingham
  • Bristol (City)
  • Durham
  • Edinburgh
  • Huntingdon
  • Liverpool
  • Manchester Airport
  • Newcastle MetroCentre
  • Northampton
  • Peterborough
  • Preston
  • Slough (Heathrow / Windsor)
  • Swansea
  • Swindon
  • Waltham Abbey
  • York
Most regional UK Marriott hotels to rebrand as Delta

Country club hotels:

  • Breadsall Priory
  • Forest of Arden
  • St Pierre
  • Tudor Park
  • Worsley Park

Regional UK Marriott hotels which are remaining:

City hotels:

  • Bournemouth
  • Bristol (Royal)
  • Cardiff
  • Glasgow
  • Leeds
  • Leicester
  • Manchester V&A
  • Portsmouth

Country club hotels:

  • Hanbury Manor
  • Lingfield Park

All of the London hotels are staying with the Marriott brand.

Where are there currently Delta Hotels?

There are already a handful of Delta Hotels in the UK, converted from other brands such as QHotels. These are:

  • Cheltenham Chase (ex QHotels)
  • Cheshunt (ex Marriott)
  • Milton Keynes (ex Hilton)
  • Nottingham Belfry (ex QHotels, below)
  • Telford (ex independent)
  • Warwick (ex Hilton, top image above)
Most regional UK Marriott hotels to rebrand as Delta

Why is this happening?

Good question.

Clearly, if you look at the hotels which are remaining, they are primarily ‘bigger city’ properties.

This doesn’t explain why Birmingham, Durham, Edinburgh and Liverpool have failed to make the cut, or why Bournemouth, Leicester and Portsmouth stay.

I get a feeling that it is a mix of:

  • The Marriott brand wanting to sharpen up its positioning in the UK, which explains the loss of the country clubs and some of the second tier properties
  • The Marriott brand downgrading some hotels which no longer meet its standards in terms of room quality, facilities etc
  • Marriott International potentially laying the groundwork for future UK expansion by clearing the way for new, better Marriott-branded hotels in some cities
  • Marriott International wanting to get some momentum behind the Delta brand, which is well behind target in terms of the number of UK openings – it is now seven years since the chain was acquired and conversion brands are meant to grow quickly

One thing that is interesting looking at the hotel list above is how few Marriott-branded hotels have opened in the UK in the last 20 years. Have any of the hotels listed above been built in this century? (EDIT: the comments say that Leicester opened in 2006.)

It isn’t clear why so many hotels have agreed to swap brands, given that the Delta Hotels name is less well known. It is possible that they were offered a sharp reduction in brand fees, and switching a large number of hotels at once will help establish the brand more quickly.

Is there a downside to staying at a Delta Hotel after the conversion?

Over time we can potentially expect the Delta properties to move away from Marriott standards in areas such as room service, room refurbishment etc.

In terms of Marriott Bonvoy benefits, little will change. You still earn points at the same rate, and it shouldn’t impact redemption pricing.

In terms of breakfast benefit, the rule is the same. Platinum and Titanium members of Marriott Bonvoy receive free breakfast if they choose it as their welcome amenity.

In terms of timing, the transitions will start in August, September or October depending on the hotel. I would assume that most hotels will remain open throughout given that the changes will be primarily cosmetic in the short term.

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You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

and for small business owners:

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points.

Category

Marriott Bonvoy

Comments (91)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • DickieDucker says:
    22 Aug22 August 07:30

    Thanks, Rob. I see what you mean, now. What is even stranger about all this to me, is that they’ve still not managed to even open the Telford Delta you listed, which has been in pandemic limbo for ages (it’s relatively close to me and would be much more useful for future runs, so I’ve been keeping an eye on it). Allegedly now opening in December this year, but still not bookable.

  • Bill says:
    22 Aug22 August 07:32

    I’ve got a stay at Worsley Park starting next week. I’ve not received any notification from the hotel. I spotted this issue when I attempted to add and additional night and the website informed me that the room occupancy was exceeded. So they’ve gone from permitting 2 adults and 2 children in a room to only permitting one child. I then spotted the banner at the top of the page saying the transition was imminent.

    • NorthernLass says:
      22 Aug22 August 09:50

      There was a conversation about the IC PL doing that over the weekend (only allowing 1 child, not transitioning to a Delta!) HFP should name and shame these places!) I know Worsley Park, it hosts a lot of football teams and weddings and shouldn’t really need to adopt such a penny-pinching approach.

  • memesweeper says:
    22 Aug22 August 07:41

    If Marriott are ‘sharpening’ the core brand this is good news. Although how ‘growing’ a conversion brand by cannibalism of existing hotels is seen as a win I do not know.

    For the hotel owners this could be bad news — I avoid Delta on the basis that there are no brand standards. Short term savings in refurbishment may not pay off long term.

  • The Streets says:
    22 Aug22 August 07:42

    Stayed at the Preston in the last couple of days and currently in the Aberdeen Marriott noticing the changes being implemented. I was upgraded to the suite in Preston and the spa has recently had a very decent makeover which I highly recommend.

    Not sure if it’s a coincidence with the changeover to Delta but the stay was booked with points and I rebooked when I realised the same night was reduced from 20,000 to 17,000

  • Alex G says:
    22 Aug22 August 07:42

    Don’t the hotel chains appreciate that the plethora of brands is just confusing for a lot of people?

    OK. Moxy, I get. And like.

    But Marriott, Marriott Marquis, JW Marriott. What’s the difference? (Rhetorical question and I’ve stayed in all of them.)

    And currently in the Harrogate Doubletree, which I prefer to either of the recent Hiltons that I stayed in.

    • The Savage Squirrel says:
      22 Aug22 August 08:49

      I always smile when one of the big boys launches ANOTHER brand. At 30 brands, Marriott is the most ridiculous of them all. Obviously past mergers play a role but then they launch even more! Nobody really understands the difference between them all and surely once you reasch 15+ then any hotel will fit reasonably well in one of the existing brands. Is there a “branding” department that needs to justify its existence?

      • Rob says:
        22 Aug22 August 08:54

        You are not the customer. Hotel owners are Marriott’s customers, and if someone was given exclusivity on, say, Moxy in Edinburgh then you want something else to offer.

  • Confun says:
    22 Aug22 August 07:46

    I can say that pretty much all the regional Marriott hotels are in a desperate need of refurb. Hopefully the Delta swish will be more than a new logo on the front and at least start a programme of improvements.
    Delta Warwick had a heap of work done although reflagged from a Hilton.

    Finally something will be done as those Marriotts do not deserve the brand when considered against the smarter London properties. Just a shame that we see the brand pretty much disappear nationwide

  • Ian says:
    22 Aug22 August 08:03

    I could have sworn that the Hilton Milton Keynes went independent.

    Unless that was under the Marriott brand.

    Certainly wasn’t aware of that.

    I suspect that they will lose a lot of bookings as the ordinary person will just think that it is no longer Marriott.

    • mkcol says:
      22 Aug22 August 08:16

      No it went straight from Hilton to Delta, quite some time ago.
      It was quite a dump as a Hilton, it’ll be interesting to see if they’ve invested any money or just settled downwards into Delta.

      Crossroads Motel sprung to mind when I stayed there on a mattress run.

      • RussellH says:
        22 Aug22 August 09:42

        Stayed there 18 months ago when we started to look for a house in the general area. Covid was in full flood, so it was dead quiet and hardly any facilities. “Breakfast” was grab-and-run only, though included in the price.
        Room was fine.

  • CamFlyer says:
    22 Aug22 August 08:34

    While it’s not clear that Delta is the right home, the logic is clear. My stay in one of these properties in 2021 was depressing. The room was ok, but the food was bad and service worse. They couldn’t even get my Bonvoy points right. We hoped it was due to it being only ~1 week after indoor dining was reintroduced after covid lockdowns. It definitely diminished my perception of the Marriott brand.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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