In early 2025, Marriott announced that it was acquiring “innovative lifestyle brand” CitizenM for $355 million — and now those hotels have officially integrated into the Marriott Bonvoy booking platform.
Founded in 2005 as an independent hotel brand, CitizenM’s CEO, Lennert de Jong, told TPG that CitizenM has always treated its brand like a real living person. “We were a baby, then we managed to have the baby survive its first years, the first hotels,” de Jong said. “Then we became a toddler [with] an occasional tantrum: You know, what are we going to do with this brand? How is it going to work in New York?”
With over 35 hotels open around the world and the opportunity to join the world’s largest loyalty program, it’s safe to say CitizenM raised that child right. “And now,” he said, “it’s time to send off our beautiful teenage girl to college.”
Over the last few years, Marriott (along with all the other major hotel brands) has been snatching up lifestyle brands left and right. So, it wasn’t a surprise to see CitizenM join the mix, especially considering the scale of the brand and its properties in prime locations and trendy neighborhoods across cities like London, New York City, Paris and beyond.
But beyond what de Jong calls “superior locations,” what really sets the brand apart is its vibe, its ethos and its unique, tech-forward and streamlined approach to hotels.
“We [named] our brand after mobile citizens, people that travel a lot, and we looked at the frustration that the people have,” de Jong explained. “We focus on the things that really matter and we take away the things that frustrate you.”
For starters, the check-in experience is quick and efficient. It often relies on a painless self-check-in model via a touchscreen kiosk.
Rather than a traditional lobby, guests will find a vibrant living room-like space with plenty of seating, tons of visually appealing elements, games, books and a bar-restaurant dubbed CanteenM. The intention behind this space, described in its marketing as “curated chaos,” is to make guests think: “Wow, I want to invite a friend over here to hang out with me.”
CITIZENM
The guest rooms at CitizenM are also a bit unconventional. Previously, TPG described the rooms as small and narrow but fun and functional. Guests will find a huge bed typically pushed against a large window framing an Instagram-worthy view; there will also be a TV on the wall, storage under the bed, a very small toilet and shower hidden behind an opaque wall, and a small sink area in the primary space. For the most part, these rooms are cookie-cutter across all of the brand’s hotels. It’s safe to say they’re not for everyone, but everyone should give them a chance.
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The bedrooms are intended to be efficiently designed and aesthetically pleasant, de Jong explained. And while they’re small, de Jong argues that if they have all those great design qualities, does size really matter? When you’re in your house, “You go out of your bedroom, you go into a living room and you make yourself a cup of coffee. It doesn’t matter what time of the day it is, you get something out of the fridge,” he said. “And that’s how I would describe what CitizenM does.”
Today’s CitizenM guests run the gamut, from road warriors clocking dozens of nights per year and staying near major business districts to the cool kids who travel the world to sip coffee and cocktails in the world’s hippest neighborhoods. Being able to welcome both types of guests — and everyone in between — was very much by design.
“I think it’s really a lot of brands — well, maybe not even brands — a lot of experiences that you have every day are kind of vanilla because they try to be everything, or, you know, they try to be something for everyone,” he said. “Whereas CitizenM tries to be everything for someone.”
Now with Marriott Bonvoy’s reach of over 230 million members, that “someone” is about to be a whole lot of “someones.” But don’t expect a traditional Marriott Bonvoy experience at CitizenM properties: The nature of the brand calls for a unique approach to joining a traditional loyalty program.
“Bonvoy members are used to a differentiated experience. Whether you check into a Ritz-Carlton or a Moxy, you know, they’re distinct experiences, and the way that you get your benefits might slightly differently per property, but overall, the benefits are the same, right?” de Jong said.
DARREN MURPH/THE POINTS GUY
However, since CitizenM uses a streamlined and tech-centric self-check-in process, the brand’s computer systems will handle all the work for members through a specially designed program that links CitizenM and Marriott Bonvoy. There, guests with elite status can choose different room categories (think: a high-floor room at the towering CitizenM Bowery New York) or a food and drink credit to be used at CanteenM.
“We’re gonna try to maintain as much of our friendly, human ambassador approach [as possible]. But at the same time, we are going to recognize transactional obligations we have toward every different status within the [Marriott Bonvoy] ecosystem.”
Marriott Bonvoy members will also earn elite night credits (on qualifying stays) and the standard number of Marriott Bonvoy points (plus more for higher elites). They’ll also receive other standard benefits at CitizenM’s properties around the world.
At the time of writing, award pricing at popular CitizenM locations fluctuates with Marriott Bonvoy’s dynamic pricing. While it seems that some properties are still uploading award availability, TPG found nights at CitizenM London Shoreditch (a personal favorite) from 40,000 points per night and CitizenM Paris Opera as high as 67,000 points per night.
Now, only time will tell if de Jong and his team sent their child to the right “college” — and whether Marriott Bonvoy loyalists will take to the unconventional brand.
Curious to know if he had a favorite property that might seal the deal for newcomers to CitizenM, de Jong quickly said, “It’s always difficult. It’s like, ‘Who’s your favorite child,’ you know?” But still, he had more than a few good things to say about the brand’s Paris and New York City locations. We’ll certainly be checking them out as soon as we can.
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