I’m fascinated by how hotel chains develop brands. While some of them, like IHG, Hilton and Marriott, are clearly trying to cover the spectrum of hotel types, others have a lane and stick to it. I’m not expecting the Four Seasons to open up a budget hotel any time soon. I’m also not looking for a new luxury property from Motel 6.
However, some hotel chains have branches that extend far from the tree trunk. For instance, we’ve enjoyed stays at quirky Ascend Hotel properties, which fall under the more value-based Choice Hotels umbrella. Undoubtedly, Wyndham Rewards is the champ of having upscale brands under a dollar store umbrella. Most of Wyndham’s hotels are Travelodge, Super 8, Days Inn, Microtel, Baymont, Ramada and LaQuinta. However, they also have upscale brands like the namesake Wyndham Grand and Registry, Dolce, TRYP, and Trademark Hotels.
Much has been made of the Wyndham Rewards partnerships with vacation rental company Vacasa, which allows you to use rewards to book vacation homes, cabins and condos. However, Wyndham Rewards also has partnerships with other vacation rental companies.
While my participation with Wyndham Rewards was from to points I earned for LaQuinta stays, I’ve kept an eye on the program. I feel that Wyndham Rewards has made more positive changes over the past few years than any other loyalty program.
Therefore, I was intrigued when I heard of a new lifestyle hotel brand affiliated with Wyndham Rewards. Even more interesting is that the hotels aren’t mentioned anywhere on the Wyndham website.
Origin Hotels
The Origin Hotel Collection is a small group of boutique hotels located around the United States.
With hotels in Austin, Lexington KY, Red Rocks CO, and Westminster CO, and planned expansion to Atlanta, Baton Rouge and Kansas City, Origin Hotels looks to capture the boutique hotel vibe by having interesting outposts in trendy locations.
Designed for explorers, by explorers, the Origin Collection brings hotels as unique in personality as they are in place to cities across the country. Serving as a portal into each local scene, Origin allows guests to venture out, connect with one another, and truly experience the local community.
Origin Hotels is hooking into a growing trend of being pet-friendly at all its locations. So feel free to bring your furry friends along for the trip (size limits apply.)
For those who have been collecting Wyndham Rewards points, all of the Origin Hotel locations are bookable for award stays. A quick search showed most dates cost 30,000 points per night.
Depending on the cash price for the hotel, it may or may not be a good idea to redeem points for a free night.
It’s impossible not to compare a new hotel chain to an existing one, but I can’t help getting a Kimpton vibe from the lobby area with a splash of Moxy and AC Hotels thrown in for good measure.
Origin Hotel Austin – Photo Credit: Jane Yun
With only four locations and three more in the pipeline, Origin Hotels has time to figure out what it wants to be when it grows up. Whatever it is, I think it’s a welcome addition to the Wyndham Rewards portfolio. Maybe when it gets a few more locations, they’ll even add it to the website.
Cover Photo: Origin Hotel Austin – Credit: Jane Yun
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
