Some in its management group were previously senior executives in the music business.

Journalist Laura Powell started covering the travel industry for CNN in the 1980s. Her focus is on international travel news and trends. Read more of her work at . Twitter: @dailysuitcase.

For social media purposes, the number of characters in a name counts.

After the split, Radisson SAS, a collection of European design hotels, needed a new name.

"And since this generation is so enamored with texting and tweeting, hotels really have to think how names will play in the new media world."

The change of spelling from moxie to Moxy achieved that.

"The odder the name, the less likely someone has already captured it," says Cornell professor Dev.

"Hotel companies are lazering in on consumer needs by using psychographic data in a big way," says Matthew Von Ertfelda, Marriott's vice president for insight, strategy and innovation.

Within the United States, only 32 states out of 50 allow capital punishment. Thirty-five executions were carried out in the United States in 2014, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Nine prisoners are on death row in Utah at present.

The letter that started it all

Millennials driving the trend

"We incorporated a bright persimmon red in the design and the logo, in order to reflect the (Vib) brand's bold personality," says Lew.

According to Chekitan S. Dev, a professor at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, hotels traditionally have been named after an owner or a place.

"That's important in terms of intellectual property protection."

And then there's the vibrant Vib and a new venue, Venu, soon arriving in Dubai.

According to Steigenberger Hotel Group, coming Jaz in the City properties will be "hip and happening hotels" that "move to the rhythm of today's curious global traveler" who has a "desire to embrace authentic experiences in a city hotel."

On Tuesday, the Utah legislature passed a bill that would allow executions to be carried out by firing squads if lethal injection drugs are not available. The move comes amid drugs manufacturers either having stopped producing the necessary chemicals or prohibiting their use for the death penalty.

Moxy, the new Marriott partnership with IKEA, is going after "a sassy, determined, individualistic consumer," according to Marriott's Von Ertfelda.

According to Von Ertfelda, senior creative director Maria Rezende-Heiston selected hot pink for the Moxy logo to "appeal to those who aren't afraid to express themselves" while using a "curved font to convey a sense of rhythm, fluidity and independence."

Radisson Blu was introduced in 2009. Instead of using blue or bleu, the company opted for a trademarkable spelling.

Spelling is often set into an uncommon form to retain meaning while being trademarkable.

So what's behind this influx of idiosyncratic hotel names, replete with misspellings and unexpected word usages?

But another reason for purposeful misspellings may be legal.

The state banned execution by firing squads in 2004. The reason behind the move was to put an end to "spectacles with media and curiosity seekers" that executions used to turn into, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center explained.

Political Motive Behind US Utah Bill to Restore Firing Squad Execution / Sputnik International

"At the same time, though, our lawyers noted the name had to be 'ownable and trademarkable.'"

W's target customer was a fashionable, high-energy individual -- someone who'd now likely be described as having a millennial psychographic.

Hence Vib, which is derived from "vibrant."

"It is only because the state wants to assert that it will not back down on executions solely because of the restrictions on lethal injection drugs. The bill to allow the firing squad is largely a political statement and is unlikely to result in widespread use of this method," Richard Dieter, executive director of the non-profit organization Death Penalty Information Center, told Sputnik.

Psychologists say the millennial psychographic is made up of independent-minded, adventurous individuals in search of new experiences.

Firing squads are usually composed of volunteers, often with a background in law enforcement and with expertise in firearms, Dieter explained.

But there's nothing random about them.

Vib? Venu? Why modern hotel names are often short, vague and misspelled - CNN.com

Starwood defined the brand by adding its "Whatever, Whenever" tagline to the simple W logo.

Four months to choose name

Pick a noun, any noun

Color also plays a big part in hotel branding.

Vib -- short for Vibrant -- is Best Western's attempt at a hip new offering.

Hospitality brands are crafting their marketing strategies accordingly.