Over the last handful of years, major hotel companies have been launching new brands left and right in attempts to expand offerings for travelers.
Earlier this year, we learned about Series by Marriott, described as a way to “bring strong, regionally relevant brands and hotels into the Marriott portfolio,” according to Marriott’s development website. It’s touted as a way for midscale and upscale hotels with an independent spirit to get a slice of the Marriott Bonvoy pie — and to gain access to the company’s hundreds of millions of loyalty members.
Like Marriott’s Autograph Collection and Luxury Collection, Series by Marriott is a collection brand, meaning it might include a relatively small group of independent hotels with a local focus, or often a boutique vibe.
Now, Series by Marriott is finally heading to the United States through a partnership that will see five properties by Found Hotels (owned by Hawkins Way Capital and managed by FCL Management) convert into Series by Marriott properties. Located in buzzy U.S. cities, the following five properties will join Marriott Bonvoy over the next year:
- Found Hotel, Miami Beach
- Found Hotel, Chicago
- Found Hotel, Nob Hill in San Francisco
- Found Hotel, Santa Monica
- Found Hotel, San Diego
These design-forward hotels are trendy, efficient and focused on offering a stay rooted in the property’s local community. Some properties even offer community kitchens and coworking spaces, catering to the on-the-go digital nomad crowd.
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“By aligning FOUND Hotels with Series by Marriott, we’re preserving the brand’s unique identity while leveraging Marriott’s global reach and valued loyalty system,” Ross Walker, managing partner at Hawkins Way Capital, said in a statement. “Together, we’re fostering a model for approachable, local, lifestyle hotels that meet the needs of today’s traveler in the country’s most sought-after areas.”
Lifestyle hotels catering to savvy, often younger travelers focused on being in the heart of a destination have been front and center for hotel brands like Marriott in recent years. Just this year, Marriott snatched up the Dutch brand CitizenM, where compact rooms and vibey lounge spaces are popular with travelers. Those hotels are in the process of rolling out to book with Marriott Bonvoy points as you read this.
Hyatt, too, announced a similar new collection brand, Unscripted by Hyatt, in the first half of 2025. Unscripted, Hyatt said, offers a “flexible, collection-style approach where each property reflects its own identity and local flavor yet remains unmistakably Hyatt in quality and care.” Sound familiar? All just another way to say independent hotels with access to a popular loyalty program.
This should all be good news for travelers looking to earn and burn points, though. These brands are easy and inexpensive to convert for owners, and frequently more about signing the paperwork and offering the hotels a home in the powerful booking engines that make up loyalty programs.
Considering the high cost of building new hotels or converting to a well-known brand that might require extensive (and expensive) changes to the property, expect to see more independent chains like Found get into the loyalty action.
So far, Series by Marriott has signed agreements to bring a few hotels in India — The Fern, The Fern Residency and The Fern Habitat — into the Bonvoy ecosystem. But surely, many more are in the works.
Bottom line
Five independent, boutique hotels across the United States will soon join Marriott Bonvoy as part of the new collection brand, Series by Marriott. Though it’ll take some time before these lifestyle hotels are bookable through the loyalty program, it’s another strong signal that more independent brands are antsy to have access to member-heavy loyalty programs. And as we see it, having more hotels where you can earn and burn points is a win.
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