Dive Brief:

• My Place Hotels of America relaunched its Trend by My Place brand at its 2026 convention in Miami Wednesday, introducing a three-tier platform that gives independent hotel owners and candidates looking to convert into a franchise the pathway to do so “without heavy capital requirements,” according to a news release.
• The three tiers offer conversion opportunities for owners across different segments of the market, per the release. They include Trend Hotels, designed for owners of modern select-service properties; Trend Hotels & Suites, for owners of transient and extended stay properties; and Trend Inns & Suites, for owners of “well-located” upper economy and midscale properties. 
• The relaunch comes as conversions remain a solid growth vehicle, with major hotel players seeing conversion-fueled portfolio growth in the second quarter of the year. It also coincides with My Place’s strategic portfolio expansion in the extended stay category.  

Dive Insight:

The Trend by My Place brand provides independent hotel owners a path into a national franchise system “without the excessive capital disruption and forced standardization that define much of the conversion space,” per the company. 

“We built Trend for the owner who has spent years growing a property and does not want to hand it over to a brand that treats it like a template,” My Place CEO Ryan Rivett said in a statement. “The best franchise relationships protect what an owner has already earned and add real value.” 

Trend franchisees gain access to the My Place commercial platform, including central reservations, systems and technology and national sales, per the release.

Trend originally launched in June 2020 but took a back seat during the pandemic while My Place focused on other areas of growth, according to a company spokesperson.  

The brand’s revival “marks the next phase of a broader growth strategy for The Rivett Organization,” which is the parent company behind My Place, per the release. 

The relaunch also arrives as conversion activity across the hotel industry is “at its strongest pace in years,” per My Place. According to Lodging Econometrics’ Q2 2026 U.S. Construction Pipeline Trend Report, conversion projects were up 15% year over year during the quarter. 

Several other hotel companies have launched their own conversion-friendly brands in the past year, amid a landscape that favors conversions over new construction due to rising costs.

In June, Hilton launched Undergraduate, a college-town focused brand that has ambitious plans to scale. And earlier this year, IHG Hotels & Resorts debuted its upscale Noted Collection, building on the success of other fast-growing conversion brands.