Franchisers like Marriott, Hilton, Wyndham, and Starwood (which controls the Sheraton, Westin, W, and St. Regis names) can take as much as 12 percent of a hotel's nightly revenue right off the top. So whenever a brand ups its standards and mandates expensive property improvements like a new bedding system or a lobby redesign, a percentage of owners refuse to pay and go shopping for a new sign. Whenever a hotel building changes hands, the new owner may look for a new deal and a new brand. Management companies such as Interstate Hotels are often hired by the real estate owner and told to choose the brand flag.

In the case of Washington's Fairfax Hotel, ownership shifts have caused most of the reflaggings. In the early 1980s, the building's owner adopted the Ritz-Carlton brand. They fell out a decade later, and Ritz recruited Sheik Abdul Aziz bin Ibrahim to buy the hotel. Ritz and the sheik began to clash shortly after Marriott purchased Ritz-Carlton in 1995 and Ritz withdrew as the management company in the middle of an August night in 1997. The sheik brought in Starwood to manage the hotel, then Starwood bought out the sheik in 1998. A Boston company purchased the building in 2006 and shed the Westin affiliation last week.

Confused? You ain't heard nothing yet. Consider New York's Hotel Pennsylvania. The McKim, Mead, and White-designed building was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1919 and management was handled by Ellsworth Statler, one of the first great names in 20th-century lodging. Statler's company bought the building in 1949 and merged with Hilton in 1954. That's when the hotel was renamed the Statler Hilton. Hilton sold the building 15 years later and it became the New York Statler. In 1983, a consortium of airlines bought it and renamed it the Penta. Brief stints as a Ramada and a Best Western followed. It resumed its original name in 1998 after still another ownership change. The only constant at the Hotel Pennsylvania? The phone number, Pennsylvania 6-5000, best known as the name of a 1930s Glenn Miller tune.

Velcro Hotels aren't limited to big cities. In Toledo, Ohio, a hotel opened on Summit Street in 1985 and was called the Sofitel, a brand controlled by Accor, the French lodging giant. Three years later, it became a Marriott. Then it was a Holiday Inn, a Crowne Plaza, and a Wyndham. In 2005, a new owner called it the Toledo Riverfront. The building changed hands again last year and a new management company brought Crowne Plaza back as the brand flag.

My personal favorite Velcro Hotel is in Stamford, Connecticut. The 32-year-old building on Hartford Avenue has been a Howard Johnson, a Days Inn (twice), a Grand Chalet, and a Fairfield by Marriott. It was also briefly known as the Stamford Hotel. Last year, a new owner hoisted the La Quinta sign on the building.

The bottom line on these bottom-line concerns? Get used to it. In these difficult times, there'll be more Velcro hotels than ever before as panicked hoteliers cut corners and switch flags.

The Fine Print… This year's most notable reflagging: After a festering contract dispute with the owner, St. Regis departed as manager of a 14-month-old, $140 million resort in Fort Lauderdale. Ritz-Carlton stepped in a month later and the property magically morphed into the Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale.