According to statistics from Smith Travel Research, a research firm in Henderson, nearly 2,500 hotels changed brand in 2011. While that represents just a 5% sliver of all US hotel properties, it was still a 39% increase from 2010. 

"In the aftermath of the recession, travel patterns have changed," said Bjorn Hanson, divisional dean and clinical professor at the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at New York University. "Owners think about repositioning, with some trading up, others forced to trade down." 

Five-year leases on properties opened in 2006 and 2007 are expiring now. Typically hotel brands do not own the hotels. Hotels may have a contract with a management company or a hotel owner may have a franchise agreement as per a report in New York Times.

"The new brand promises either lower fees or offers more flexible standards that provide the hotel with ways to be more efficient or greater reach in a market," said Henry Harteveldt, chief research officer and co-founder of the Atmosphere Research Group in San Francisco. 

Operators reflag, he said, to take advantage of benefits they are not getting from a current brand. 

While experts say most conversions run smoothly, some may hit snags, at least initially. "The new personnel coming in are competent, trained and supervised," Hanson said, "but they may not be familiar with the technology or what's in the drawer at the front desk." 

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