Hilton to Acquire Graduate Hotels

This week, Hilton announced its intention to Graduate Hotels, which will add to its ever-growing roster of lifestyle brands.

Let’s take a look at what this means for Hilton’s portfolio, and what we might expect after the deal closes sometime later this year.

Hilton to Acquire Graduate Hotels

This week, Hilton announced its intention to add Graduate Hotels to its global portfolio of hotels. Hilton will pay $210 million (USD) to acquire all rights to the Graduate brand worldwide, and will enter into franchise agreement for all existing and planned Graduate hotels.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024, pending final closing conditions.

The brainchild of Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners (AJ Capital), Graduate Hotels is a chain of 35 themed properties found in college towns across the US and in the UK.

Catered towards college-goers and their guests, each property takes on a campus theme, whilst paying homage to the culture of communities they’re in.

As a design-driven brand, Graduate Hotels fits squarely into Hilton’s lifestyle portfolio, which includes Canopy by Hilton, Curio Collection by Hilton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, Tempo by Hilton, and Motto by Hilton.

Hilton sees the potential to grow the brand to 400–500 hotels, catering to colleges and universities around the world.

Hilton has not yet revealed at which market segment Graduate Hotels will fit into when it assumes ownership of the brand. However, as things stand, rooms in US properties average at $150–250 (USD); therefore, Graduate Hotels would probably be positioned in the premium hotel segment.

Existing Graduate Hotels, as well as those in the pipeline, are expected to be available for booking through various Hilton channels later this year. Likewise, they’re expected to eventually be integrated into the Hilton Honors loyalty program.

As the brand joins Hilton Honors, you can expect to earn and redeem points at Graduate Hotels. As well, you can expect member benefits, such as room discounts and free Wi-Fi at the minimum– though Hilton hasn’t confirmed the full list of benefits yet.

The Graduate Hotels Footprint

Graduate Hotels are found in college towns across the US, such as Berkeley, California near University of California Berkeley; Providence, Rhode Island near Brown University; and Evanston, Illinois near Northwestern University. As it stands,…