Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has added a new brand called the Tribute Portfolio – its second collection of independent hotels, the first being The Luxury Collection.

Starwood is hoping to entice the highest quality four-star hotels around the world to become members of the Tribute Portfolio, by allowing operators to remain independent but offer Starwood’s distribution, loyalty and sales platforms.

Starwood’s CEO Adam Aron expects to have 100 hotels signed up to be part of the Tribute Portfolio brand by 2020, initially focusing on North America and Europe before branding out in other regions within the first year.

Aron detailed the benefits for Starwood: “Our mission with Tribute Portfolio is very simple: bring great hotels in great destinations to our Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) members, who make up more than half of all Starwood stays. Tribute Portfolio will provide a clear opportunity for us to grow our SPG member base and deliver more loyal guests across all of our Starwood hotels worldwide.”

In terms of the brand’s growth, Dave Marr, senior VP of brand management for Starwood, said: “Nearly 50 per cent of upper upscale hotels in the US are independent. Likewise, 60 per cent of four-star hotels globally are not affiliated with a brand flag. This provides Starwood with a vast landscape to grow the Tribute Portfolio.

In the last decade, The Luxury Collection brand has tripled its footprint, growing more than 60 per cent in the last five years via Starwood’s meticulous selection process – one which will be used to define which independent hotels join the Tribute Portfolio too.

The first Tribute Portfolio-branded property in the US is the Royal Palm South Beach Miami, owned by Chesapeake Lodging Trust and managed by HEI Hotels & Resorts. Recently restored by Lauren Rottet of Rottet Studio, the hotel – which dates back to 1939 – has 393 guestrooms, two swimming pools, cabanas, a gym, plus meeting and event space. A new restaurant at this hotel is opening in Q3 2015, conceived by design firm Munge Leung.

The Vandre Nouveau Hotel, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, is a hotel that will open in 2017 in Asheville, North Carolina, in the BB&T Bank building – which draws inspiration from modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The hotel is a partnership between McKibbon Hotel Group and Tower Associates. It will host 150-keys and more than 4,000sq ft (372sq m) of event space.

Starwood is working with Rockbridge Capital to open three additional Tribute Portfolio hotels. First, in 2016, the Noel Place Hotel will open in the Printers Alley area of downtown Nashville, Tennessee. After a full renovation, the property will offer 166 bedrooms. A new build hotel, also set to open in 2016, will be located in Savannah, Georgia – complete with 173 guestrooms, an outdoor swimming pool and an 11,000sq ft (1,022sq m) indoor/ outdoor rooftop bar.

Additionally, in 2017, a 100-bedroom Tribute Portfolio hotel will open in Charleston, South Carolina.