Emotional loyalty rather than a repetitive transactional type of loyalty is the aspiration for hotel brands, which can be achieved through offering quality experiential hospitality.
That is according to a panel discussion at the IHIF EMEA conference in Berlin, Germany, on Wednesday. “That’s not subject to prices, change of certain trends,” said Antonio Gonzalez, CEO of Sunset Hospitality Group, an investment and management company with a presence in 16 countries.
The group launched Sunset Hotels & Resorts last year to oversee its hotel brands, including its flagship brand METT, and drive its four-strong hotel portfolio to more than 20 hotels and resorts by 2026.
Gregory Lanter, chief development, construction and property officer & CEO mountain strategy at Club Med, agreed: “How do we get the clients loyal today? It’s by providing this life experience, human experience. How do you do this? It’s not about the hard part of the product, it’s not about the facility. Everybody can do a good room, restaurant, bar... the human part of it is where you create the loyalty.”
That means providing the hospitality and staff that facilitate guests to make memories and experiences with the people around them: “They are looking for more than a room, food, swimming pool, someone at the entrance and reception being nice. They are looking for a human experience, a life experience, they want to feel alive.”
To achieve this, he said, Club Med focuses on recruiting staff with ‘human skills’ rather than necessarily the full technical knowledge, “somebody who has the capability to interact with the guests beyond the tasks of their day-to-day jobs”.
Gonzalez said that by focusing on experiential hospitality, brands have more touchpoints to differentiate themselves. “You can add that extra layer of services that make the whole experience different,” he said. “The more touchpoints we can have with the consumer... we can create a more durable experience and memory that translates into loyalty.”
He continued that, having transitioned from an F&B business into a hotel business, meant realizing the importance of considering those touchpoints not just when a guest is on-property but from reservation – and in any follow-up contact after they’ve left.
To read the rest of the article, please visit our sister site Hospitality Investor.