Following the merger of Benchmark Hospitality International and Gemstone Hotels & Resorts, the company launched a new corporate identity and four distinct brands. Now Benchmark, the hospitality company includes over 70 hotels, resorts and conference centers with 8,000 guest rooms and 10,000 employees.
Benchmark CEO Alex Cabanas explained why the Benchmark identity should be used as the parent company name.
“To benchmark against something is a common practice and suggests a reference to the best—the high water mark in time,” Cabanas said. “Benchmark means the standard by which all others are measured.”
Benchmark divided its properties into four brands: Benchmark Resorts & Hotels, Gemstone Collection, Benchmark Conference Centers and Owner Advisory Group, or OAG.
Benchmark Resorts & Hotels is the company’s existing portfolio of upscale properties in the U.S. and Caribbean. The new Gemstone Collection will incorporate properties from both Benchmark and Gemstone that are known for individuality, style and reflecting each unique destination.
Benchmark Conference Centers, originally introduced in 2014, is a collection of hotels and resorts with built-in conference space and noted meeting venues. Each Benchmark Conference Center must meet IACC-certified standards.
OAG is a platform that offers owners asset management expertise to drive hotel performance by accessing resources through the company’s operating platform and using its real estate expertise to provide owners new ways to increase the value of their hotel’s operations and real estate investments.
“Our goal was to create an identity that reflects the global leadership, exceptional properties and dynamic synergies and opportunities the merged company now brings to its owners, guests and employees,” Cabanas noted.