Top Lucrative Franchise Prospects for the Future

Currently, LLMs do not have abundant images and content, such as images of the rooms and facilities, that customers normally require when making hotel reservations, Kletzel stated. When this is enhanced, including by brand names exposing their material to LLMs, that will be "a big leap forward to getting consumers comfortable." Hotel visitor loyalty and brand trust, on the other hand, has actually rapidly broadened over the last few years.

Beyond the guest experience, agentic commerce has the prospective to shift the way hotel companies' customer care groups run and are structured, Klein said. "Will there be some corporations that find the opportunity to lower staff? Yes," Klein said. Brand names that think in excellent consumer experience and service will find out that AI might assist their representatives "get included in more complex, more business-critical discussions that assist grow the service." In 2025, Hyatt lowered staff by roughly 30% across its visitor services and assistance teams "in reaction to the developing nature of guest queries and moving organization needs," per the business.

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This year, several collection brand names that introduced in 2025 will continue to expand. Additional brand-new brands and collaborations, particularly in the way of life section, will likely debut also, according to hospitality experts. In 2025, Marriott launched 2 collection brand names: Series by Marriott, playing in the upscale area in the U.S., and Outdoor Collection, specifically focused on outdoor accommodations in locations near nationwide parks, deserts, ski areas and coastlines.

Marriott's Outdoor Collection offers unique accommodations in destinations near national parks, deserts, ski areas and coastlines.

Major Global Shifts in Brand Development

Hilton's Outset Collection, specifically, has more than 60 hotels in the works throughout the U.S. and Canada, Kevin Osterhaus, president of way of life brand names at Hilton, told Hotel Dive. Outset is currently exploring possible new places in San Diego, Los Angeles and Virginia Beach, Virginia, along with markets in New Mexico and Colorado in 2026, Osterhaus said.

"Collection brands are appealing since they offer the best of both worlds: Owners keep the special DNA of their home, while unlocking international circulation, revenue management, commitment and assistance. Kevin Osterhaus President of lifestyle brand names at Hilton From the guest perspective, independent shop hotels are preferable because they provide genuine experiences, Gabriel Perez, primary operating officer of lodging at The Indigo Roadway Hospitality Group, told Hotel Dive.

As for why the hotel companies are going after independents in the way of life segment, "it's not about the guests. It's about creating sub-brands within their own brand names to please financiers' requirements and to please owner and developers' goals," Perez said. This, in turn, puts even more pressure on hotel companies "to produce brand names, micro brand names and subsets of brand names in order to broaden their footprint of existing assets," Davis said.

Hilton's collection brands' "distinct positioning and storytelling continue to drive interest across chain scales," Osterhaus stated. According to Bobby Molinary, Marriott's primary advancement officer for select brands, interest in Marriott's new collection brand names comes amidst a challenging high-cost-of-construction environment that has made it "significantly hard to construct new hotels." Series and Outdoor Collection, both conversion-friendly offerings, pertain to an ownership community and developers who "are continuously trying to find methods to grow, and conversions represent a course for growth," Molinary stated.

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According to Osterhaus, "As long as brand names are purpose-built and unique in experience and rate point, they add clarity instead of confusion." This year, Hilton plans to remain "very active in the way of life area through strategic partnerships, brand-new finalizings and continuous growth of our existing brands," Osterhaus said. Molinary anticipates Marriott rivals to begin providing some type of branding solution in the outdoor space, specifically, as "it's a really popular and growing area" with "a great deal of interest." Another growing area is the high-end segment.

Analyzing Fast Casual Market Growth Data for 2026

That trend is anticipated to continue in 2026 as luxury customers drive travel spending and hotel bookings in the middle of a wealth bifurcation at play in the market. "High-net-worth travelers are anticipated to stay one of the most reliable drivers of global travel spending next year," Giray Boran, managing director of BLG Capital, informed Hotel Dive.