HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW
DECEMBER FOCUS: Hotel Law

How to Build an Unforgettable Hospitality Brand: Utilize the Symphonic Approach

By Mark Natale Chief Executive Officer, Smarthinking Inc. | December 2020

In a time of ever-evolving terms and meanings, we want to take a moment and focus on the concept of brands and brand building within the hospitality industry. If I asked you to define the term brand, what would you say? The logo? The tagline? The colors? Our work with hoteliers, developers, and directors of sales and marketing shows us that for the vast majority, those three components would define what brand means.

The reality is that a brand is so much more than that. Building truly remarkable brands is about much more than a slick tagline and exceptional materials – it's about creating living, breathing experiences that immerse the customer in a story. To be successful, take the time to define your brand terms.

Our favorite definition of a brand comes from Sergio Zyman, former Chief Marketing Officer of The Coca-Cola Company, who said, "A brand is essentially a container for a customer's complete experience with a product or company."

We couldn't agree more, and when viewed through this lens, you realize how much more breadth and depth is needed to create a memorable and meaningful brand. Preeminent brands are fanatically focused on the story and its daily execution throughout every experience. Philosophically, we see brands as stories, and those stories are told through the customer experience. The customer experience encompasses many things – whether its ads, websites, collateral, personal interactions, physical structures or packaging – the list goes on ad infinitum.

So, the question is, "How Do You Create an Unforgettable Hospitality Brand?"

Take A Symphonic Approach

Building remarkable brands truly is a symphonic effort. If you go to hear any philharmonic and only the winds or the brass play, it never feels as emotive or impactful as if the entire orchestra were playing together. The same concept holds true with brands (and in life for that matter). The careful and meticulous planning of these details playing together creates the depth and richness of a given product or service. We advise our clients to start working on these four sections of the orchestra to get your brand ready for prime time: Print Experiences, Digital Experiences, Physical Spaces, and Personnel Experiences.

Print Experiences

I know, I know… print is dead, right? In our experience, no! Obviously, the world is moving towards more and more digital experiences, but print still holds a strong place in people's minds and probably always will. You will always have some amount of print collateral within your property. Not only will you have traditional collateral pieces like menus, check-in forms, and in-room pieces, but you will also have non-traditional pieces like room keys, key jackets, napkins, and temporary signage.

Regardless if they are traditional or not, take the time to strategize how your particular brand will communicate through these pieces. How developed is your brand's tone of voice and how do you utilize it to create unique stories within each piece of collateral? Do you have specific paper standards that you utilize throughout your efforts? When trying to communicate with your audience, the power of touch cannot be overemphasized. Choose papers that help you convey your message and why you are unique. When done right, these pieces become guests' keepsakes from their time at your property.

We recently visited a client where we developed the brand for their bar amenity, and the bartenders told us how hard it was to keep the coasters stocked, as people were always taking them. These are the type of experiences that you are looking to create. No matter how small or insignificant something seems, there exists an opportunity to create an unforgettable experience for the guest. Don't forget – everything communicates.

Digital Experiences

This category grows larger every day, and not without reason – the digital landscape equips you with the unique opportunity to signal boost your brand with distinct precision, wide reach, and expansive KPI tracking at a fraction of the cost of a print campaign. With that said, elevating your digital marketing efforts to match today's ever-evolving industry standards is no easy feat, but the secret to success remains constant: strategy.

Effective digital branding requires critical thought beyond captivating visuals and catchy copy – Is the content on your website optimized for converting mobile traffic? Take it further: does your website respond well to the vast array of screen sizes of mainstream mobile phones? Even further: how well does your website accommodate the particular screen dimensions that make up a majority of your website's mobile traffic? Multi-layered questions like these are crucial to ensuring that your digital strategy is communicating your brand's identity accurately and skillfully not just on your website but across the digital realm, including email marketing, social media, and digital signage.

You should ask yourself: is your email marketing captivating? Is your social media content indicative of your brand's standards? Are the digital efforts within the physical property amplifying your guests' experience? Lastly, always question your intent – are your digital efforts thought through down to their very deployment, or are you simply attempting to meet new industry standards and out-tech your competitor?

Be thoughtful in your review of this, and all the categories outlined here. Doing things solely for the sake of doing things will surely create an experience for your guests, but the ultimate question is, is the resulting experience the one you want them to have?

Physical Spaces

The days of the monochromatic hotel experience are hopefully numbered. You know what I mean, right? Where the guest rooms, restaurant(s), spa, and bar are just slight variations of each other? In essence, you could change out the functional equipment of each amenity, and they would then be indistinguishable. As hoteliers, we have the opportunity to create cities within cities, essentially creating a myriad of experiences for our guests to discover throughout their stay. When you set out to build new physical experiences, are you utilizing the brand strategy to guide your efforts? Or are you just developing what strikes you at the moment?

A properly defined brand strategy will dictate how and what you are building to make your property distinctive. While we may all build similar offerings; you have the opportunity to rethink how the build could help define the brand. For example, when we were helping a client build a spa in the wilds of western Idaho, we though the spa pools could be completely different than what one typically experiences at a spa. So, we suggested that the pools be handmade using 78,000 pounds of local granite, creating these incredible hot springs right outside the hotel rooms. That spa went on to become the only Forbes Travel Guide-rated property of any kind in the state.

Take the time to think through what you are going to build as you have only one shot at this. Whereas print and digital campaigns can be redone relatively inexpensively and efficiently, you never want to start the building process over!

^{The Pools at The Cove Spa in McCall, Idaho}

People

Arguably the most crucial component of the orchestra, and also maybe the most neglected when it comes to getting the brand right, are the people. As hoteliers, our product is different from a consumer goods product, in that the only product that we are selling is the experience. So, to do it right, we need to meticulously craft that brand story and execute it each day through our staff. Think of the unique position that the hotel industry sits in. While countless industries and products are being relegated to online experiences or are being consumed in more private spaces, hotels still need to be seen to be believed. Literally!

Our product can only be consumed by being there. With that in mind, we owe it to our guests and staff to create the most compelling experiences possible. As with all great experiences, there is a bit of show business that must be crafted, practiced, and executed daily. There is an ancient Italian word (circa 1528), Sprezzatura that describes "a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it."(The Book Of Courtier by Baldesar Castiglione)

Essentially that is what your staff needs to have to deliver your brand properly. A command, ease, and deep understanding of your brand so that their delivery is second nature. So I ask you, does your staff understand the details of the programs that you are running and why they are special? Does your team understand why specific fonts, colors, and phrases are used consistently, while others are avoided at all costs? Are you teaching your staff how to bring the brand to life every day? Do you have branded (in all components) standard operating procedures? Or, are you using the employee standards from your last property? If so, you can do better, and it's imperative if you are going to thrive.

By defining, developing, testing, and executing these four components of the symphony that is your brand, you are assured to be successful in your efforts, ultimately attaining your goal of differentiating your brand from the others and being able to maximize your revenue and profits. Be ready to work. You will develop a brand; the question is, will you define the final brand, or will the final brand define you?

You will be creating all of the necessary components of your business: brochures, collateral, websites, physical spaces, products, staff and ads. Will you customize it to your vision, or will you simply develop what we call "stock"? You've seen it before, that completely forgettable brochure, that mildly offensive color scheme, the staff member who has no idea why they are truly there. Now is the time to ensure your brand is serving you to the fullest extent. Get to it!

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Financing That Closes: How Hotel Owners Can Win in Today's Tight Lending Market

By Jacqueline Villamil, Chief Executive Officer, Strategic Solution Partners

The hospitality industry is resilient, but the current lending environment is testing even the most seasoned hotel owners. Across the board, lenders are reviewing more deals, more carefully, and with a sharper eye toward risk. Loan-to-cost ratios on traditional debt have dropped into the 50–55% range. Equity—already the slowest piece of the capital stack—is taking longer to secure. Meanwhile, lenders are scrutinizing everything from sponsor experience to operational strategy before moving a deal forward. In a high-volume market, this scrutiny is understandable. Lenders have more applications on their desks than they can handle. They are prioritizing those that...

The Future of Digital Experiences in Hospitality for 2024

By Mary Barker, Senior Strategic Account Manager, Spectrio

With the drive to bring the world online, the hospitality industry underwent a profound transformation, adopting digital innovations and technologies at an unprecedented pace. As we reflect on the strides made in 2023, it becomes evident that technology has become an integral part of the hospitality experience.As we enter 2024, the industry is poised for another evolution, one that promises to redefine the customer journey through IoT integration and omnichannel experiences. This approach to customer management and guest engagement seeks to provide a seamless experience across platforms. Guests are increasingly looking for hyper personalized and high-tech streamlined services, and they're...

Infectious Diseases Caught During Travel: Risks for Hotel Guests and Employees

By Bendegul Okumus, Professor, University of South Carolina School of Hospitality & Tourism Management

Pathogenic microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi, play a role in the development of infectious diseases. As a result of their rapid and unexpected spread, these microorganisms can cause serious mortality in a community. There are numerous factors that influence health and the origins of infectious diseases which are often beyond the immediate reach of the health sector. These include the travel and tourism industries, as well as other sectors such as sanitation and water supply, environment and climate change, education, agriculture, trade, industrial development, and housing.The number and types of epidemics are increasing locally, regionally, and globally, whether...

Leveraging Creativity and Grit to Reveal Existing Hotels' Hidden Potential

By Paul McElroy, Executive VP of Design & Construction, Highgate

If you walked into the Pearl Hotel in Waikīkī in 2019, you’d see a fairly typical mid-century hotel with questionable architecture, lacking amenities and in need of major upgrades throughout. But that’s not what my team and I saw. We saw an underutilized asset in an ideal location with the potential to become a truly special, high-design oasis. That vision became what is today Romer House Waikīkī-a completely reconfigured space complete with an elevated pool oasis and an expansive lobby restaurant. It takes a unique (and rare) combination of creative vision, technical know-how, appetite for risk and buckle-down grit...

Creating Hospitality Cohesion With 90 Global Projects

By Grey Poplin, Global Brand Manager, Valor Hospitality Partners

In a world increasingly defined by diversity and cultural exchange, the hospitality industry stands as a bridge connecting people from all walks of life. Travelers seek experiences across the globe, and the concept of creating hospitality cohesion in projects spanning several continents and cultures has never been more important. While brands should aim to blend innovative design, unique storytelling and personalized experiences that speak to the property’s locale, it’s imperative to create a sense of harmony between projects when managing a multinational portfolio. Whether a hotel is nestled in the heart of a bustling city or found off the beaten...

A Visitor's Guide to Hospitality REITs

By Scott Bent, Partner, Frost Brown Todd, LLP

The hospitality segment of the real estate investment market is having a moment. So called “revenge travel” was a major boost in 2022 and 2023 following the pandemic, and, while many feared the industry would slump as pent-up demand burned off, it’s still going strong through the first quarter of 2024. Both Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, for instance, reported growth and strategic advancement for Q1, and there are signs the momentum may continue throughout 2024 and beyond. In its 2024 Travel Industry Outlook, Deloitte reports that Americans have come to highly prioritize travel...

What Hotel Job Seekers Consider Before Accepting An Offer

By Cheryl Mason, Keynote Speaker & Chief Catalyst, Catalyst Leadership Management

What comes to mind when you think of jobs in the hotel industry? Most people will say guest services, such as front desk clerks, reservations, or housekeeping services because these are the people they interact with the most. I refer to these people as hotel ambassadors, as they are the first impression of the hotel. But there is much more to the hotel industry. The hotel industry has more opportunities than most realize as job seekers are beginning to discover. These include administrative, budget, operations, marketing, management, technology service and support, maintenance, and food service; and all provide...

HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW DECEMBER FOCUS: Hotel Law

How to Build an Unforgettable Hospitality Brand: Utilize the Symphonic Approach

By Mark Natale Chief Executive Officer, Smarthinking Inc. | December 2020

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HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW
DECEMBER FOCUS: Hotel Law