What’s Your Line? Concept Clarity Means Success

By Andrew Freeman, President, Andrew Freeman & Company

Mr. Andrew Freeman

A few years ago, a colleague of mine, an African-American woman, was staying at a large convention hotel in Chicago, which touted itself as one that specialized in the needs of traveling businesswomen. She wanted to refresh herself, and being relatively unfamiliar with Chicago, headed to the concierge desk for suggestions on where to get her hair done and find a pair of pantyhose. The concierge handed her a pair of light-colored stockings designed for someone with fair skin, and directed her to a nearby salon that clearly did not cater to women of color.  

“That was the disconnect for me,” she said later. “On the one hand, they were billing themselves as a hotel that attended to the needs of businesswomen; on the other hand they were showing me that that they were only paying lip service to a marketing concept.” 

As a concept consultant, I come across this disconnect often. Hotels frequently don’t do their homework and “walk the talk” - implementing their concept into every aspect of their operation. You can’t say you’re a hotel that caters to all businesswomen and then not cater to all businesswomen.  

My colleague’s experience illustrates one of my mantras in advising hotels and restaurants on how to wisely spend their advertising and marketing dollars: Concept Clarity. When put to the test, the message this hotel put out was perceived as inauthentic and thus they created concept confusion.   

My article in the Hotel Business Review "What’s Your Line? Concept Clarity Means Success" explores the absolute importance of concept clarity as it relates to every touch point in a hotel. Key tips and examples will be given to ensure your hotel is absolutely clear on its concept. 

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Sincerely,   

Andrew Freeman

President

Andrew Freeman & Co.

415-781-5700

andrew@andrewfreemanandco.com