As more and more hotel brands pop-up, hotels are increasingly looking for ways to gain that special USP and extra ounce of competitive advantage. Here are three tips and ideas for hotels looking to give their brand a memorable edge.
Unique design
If you observe Marriott’s upmarket brand Bulgari Hotels, you’ll notice each property has the same architectural exterior design. Each property has a stylish form of mesh which makes each hotel instantly recognisable. Further, the design’s uniqueness means it is frequently shared by guests and popular pages across social media.
While not all hotels can realistically and easily refurbish their entire architecture, rooms can be designed in a unique style (see CitizenM hotels as an example), or unique pieces of art could hang in the hallway of each hotel, for example.
Something unique, and ideally shareable (so guests will be more likely to share their experiences), is ideal for establishing a recognisable and memorable brand.
Synonymous look
Your brand guidelines should be intact so that your hotel is instantly recognisable across the board. From social media, website pages and brochures, to email signatures, business cards and stalls, make sure you use the same logo, font, colour scheme and design templates where applicable.
If a luxury hotel has a fabulous black and gold website, but a few horrible graphics and images on their Instagram feed, there’s a distinct feeling of poor communication, and no synonymous brand image.
Schedule a brand review with your marketing and communications team every one or two months to make sure all typology and all visual aspects look perfect and represent the same desired brand image.
Unique line of products
Does anyone remember the enjoyable piece of chocolate left on your pillow that you’d savour each night you spent in a Marriott hotel? This is an example of a branded product adding an extra dimension to the brand, and making each guest’s stay ever-so-slightly more enjoyable and memorable.
It doesn’t have to be chocolate (there’s probably a reason Marriott stopped doing that, after all), but a range of hotel-branded products which guests either enjoy on the spot, or take home with them, is a great way to extend your brand. A few ideas include branded toiletries, biscuits, coffee or tea, sweets, champagne or beer, water, slippers, eye-masks, earplugs, or books (who’s read the book about Four Seasons?).
It’s all about enhancing the experience, making each stay more memorable and developing an influential brand.
