We often talk about how chain hotel sameness is replacing distinctive independent hotel experiences. Here’s a classic example.

A recent Wall Street Journal article explains how the storied march of the ducks at the Peabody Hotel Orlando is being discontinued by Hyatt, the hotel’s new owners.

“We’re respectfully retiring the tradition because it’s not a Hyatt tradition,” said Hyatt’s head of global strategy. “We do not believe it will have any business impact whatsoever.”

The duck tradition—a twice daily march of the ducks through the lobby to the fountain—dates back to the 1930s at the Peabody Memphis. Marriott also ended the tradition at the Peabody Little Rock when it became the Little Rock Marriott last year.

The Wall Street Journal continues, “The deal is the latest example of how the hotel industry’s consolidation continue to homogenize the look and feel of the nation’s traditional lodging landscape. In the past, the hotel industry included many properties that sported wacky but cherished aspects of Americana, some deeply rooted in local and regional culture. But these oddballs are disappearing.”

Preserving that ecosystem of distinctive, meaningful travel—helping the “oddball” hotels compete and flourish—is what Stash Hotel Rewards is all about. It’s interesting to find that purpose so aligned with sentiments of the hard-nosed, bottom-line-focused Wall Street Journal.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Roger Schultz