Branding is one of the most crucial elements in hotel marketing, one of the reasons IndeCorp last month changed its corporate name back to Preferred Hotel Group. The multi-brand collection of hotels was founded 23 years ago as Preferred Hotels, a referral group for luxury properties in North America. It adopted the IndeCorp name in the late 1990s.

“The IndeCorp name really didn't describe what we did or who we are and was a wasted opportunity for promotion,” says Chairman and CEO John Ueberroth, who has been working on the reimaging since he took the group's top job last year. “The change also gives us the chance to better differentiate our product lines.”

The Preferred product lineup encompasses four brands, including a new one:

• Preferred Hotels & Resorts is the brand for upper upscale and luxury properties.

• Summit Hotels & Resorts, a brand IndeCorp purchased in 1999, includes properties mostly in center-city locations that appeal to business travelers and corporate meetings customers.

• Sterling Hotels, also purchased in '99, is a collection of properties for which Preferred offers sales and connectivity services.

• Boutique is a new brand that debuts this summer for smaller properties that Ueberroth describes as “hotels that don't come out of a box.” The brand will launch with 10 or 11 properties, some coming from the other Preferred brands. With a few exceptions, hotels in this group will have fewer than 100 rooms.

Since assuming leadership of the company, Ueberroth restructured and decentralized the sales and management functions to increase sales and market-specific support for member properties. The company's sales force, particularly in group sales, was bolstered throughout the world.