US: Global hotel brand Hilton is expanding its inventory into the outdoor hospitality segment by partnering with alternative lodging brand AutoCamp.
While more details will be disclosed in the next few weeks and months, Hilton confirmed that its Hilton Honors loyalty members will be able to earn and use their points on stays, as well as enjoy exclusive, members-only benefits at AutoCamp locations. AutoCamp destinations that will be available through the Hilton partnership include: Russian River; Yosemite; Cape Cod; Catskills; Joshua Tree; Zion; Asheville [from the spring]; Sequoia [from this summer]; and Texas Hill Country [from early 2025].
Based in Santa Barbara, California, AutoCamp, which appointed David DiFalco as its new chief operating officer [COO]in January, aims to blend the spirit of outdoor adventures with the hospitality and design-forward thinking of a boutique hotel.
Through an exclusive partnership with Airstream, an American brand of aluminium travel trailers, AutoCamp offers custom-designed Airstreams, as well as luxury tents and other types of unique accommodation. Each AutoCamp also features The Clubhouse, which includes F&B options served from The Kitchen, and merchandise and retail items from a boutique market.
Other amenities can also include communal fire pits, swimming pools, group meeting spaces, trails and more.
Chris Silcock, president, global brands and commercial services at Hilton, said: “This is the first time a major hospitality brand and outdoor lodging company have come together in this way to create even more choices for travellers while redefining the outdoor hospitality experience.”
The partnership increases Hilton’s available inventory, shortly after the company announced a collaboration with Small Luxury Hotels of the World and a potential deal to acquire Graduate Hotels from AJ Capital Partners has also been rumoured.
There has been talk that Hilton was looking to make its mark in the short-term rental space since the hotel brand poked fun at the segment in the launch of its first global brand platform – ‘Hilton. For The Stay‘ – in 2022.
The brand platform launch, which featured businesswoman and philanthropist, Paris Hilton, the great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, the founder of Hilton Hotels, was part of a wider advertising campaign launched by Hilton, entitled ‘It Matters Where You Stay’, where the company combines humour with an emphasis on the importance and security of booking a hotel stay.
Meanwhile, Hilton’s vacation home ownership brand Hilton Grand Vacations agreed to buy Florida-based brand Bluegreen Vacations for $1.5 billion, including debt, in November.
