Starwood Launches 10th Hotel Brand with a Bonus

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. already encompasses nine separate brands, accounting for more than 1,200 individual hotels, in 100 countries.

That’s big. But in an industry where bigger is better, it’s just mid-pack size-wise. Marriott, Hilton, InterContinental, and Best Western all have around 4,000 properties in their networks. Wyndham and Choice have even more.

So it’s no surprise that Starwood today launched its tenth brand, Tribute Portfolio.

Promising owners, Starwood Preferred Guest members and guests the ability to “Stay Independent,” the Tribute Portfolio brand will be comprised of outstanding independent hotels and resorts. With a firm focus on four star, upper upscale hotels, Tribute Portfolio will complement Starwood’s The Luxury Collection brand and further solidify Starwood as the world’s most global high-end hotel company.

The first Tribute Portfolio hotel is the Royal Palm South Beach Miami. Additional hotels will be added “soon” in Asheville, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; Savannah, Georgia; and Charleston, South Carolina. The brand is expected to comprise 100 hotels within the next five years, mostly in North America and Europe.

According to Starwood, the focus will be on independent hotels in destinations where “Starwood has little or no footprint.” In other words, the Tribute hotels will increase Starwood’s geographic coverage. That’s good news for members of the company’s loyalty program: more opportunities to earn and redeem points.

Bonus for Tribute Stays

To promote the new brand’s launch, Starwood Preferred Guest members can earn 2,000 bonus points for stays at Tribute properties through July 15, up to a total of 10,000 bonus points during the promotion period.

This article originally appeared on FrequentFlier.com.