Industry leaders explore the intricate balancing act of maintaining brand consistency while allowing room for the individuality and uniqueness that hotels need to flourish in an ever-evolving market.
Owner
Douglas Artusio, chairman and CEO of Dellisart, said it’s a balancing act between brand consistency and honoring a hotel’s uniqueness.
“Brand consistency is essential for building trust, loyalty, and recognition among guests, but it can also limit the creativity and flexibility of individual properties,” he said.
Owners need to look at their individual property and see how adopting a brand standard might affect the bottom line. “Increasing guest satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy can lead to higher occupancy, revenue and market share, but you need to look at how it affects operational costs, best practices and quality standards,” he said.
Any financial incentives need to be negotiated during the license agreement and renewal with the brand, he added. Additionally, there are incentives with certain brands for individual employees who meet or exceed brand standards. For example, he said each property has a quota per month for loyalty program sign-ups. If a specific employee exceeds their sign-up quota, the brand offers financial incentives that fluctuate depending on the specific achievement number.
As for how to ensure fairness (on both sides) when it comes to brand standards, Artusio said that on the brand side regular on-site evaluations are conducted to measure how well the hotels are complying with standards. Brands will also monitor guest feedback from emails and online platforms.
On the other side, owners can share feedback with brands through brand committee meetings. There are various data sources available for analysis, Artusio added. These include online reviews, social media, loyalty programs, revenue management systems and more.
“These help to measure the performance, impact and return on investment of the brand standards. Owners can share their feedback with their ownership board members, who in turn negotiate directly with the brand for specific improvement and modifications of the standards,” he said. “The level of consistency and differentiation a specific brand wants to achieve across its portfolio of properties may determine how flexible or rigid the brand standards are.”
Brand
Yotel underscores the importance of balancing brand consistency with hotel uniqueness. Rohan Thakkar, chief development officer of the brand, said that while Yotel has guidelines that maintain consistency across hotels through logo usage, color schemes, typography and overall design language, the brand’s guidelines do allow room for adaptation.
“These variations are usually seen within the public spaces of our properties—a key area where our guests spend valued time, but also play host to a series of curated events and programming and therefore need to resonate with the local culture and environment,” he said. “From an operations perspective, we tailor our in-room amenities to align with the needs of our guests, who are modern travelers, on the go, in bustling cities across the world. Yotel needs to move as fast as its guests.”
Yotel has recently started its franchise journey. As such, the brand has implemented a practice where hotels that surpass the established standards are acknowledged with company recognition. “Rather than offering a financial incentive at this early stage, we highlight these exceptional properties as exemplars within our portfolio,” Thakkar said. “However, as we continue to evolve and refine our franchising program, financial incentives are indeed under consideration as part of our expanding offering.”
Yotel will also gather feedback from all its stakeholders, both internal and external, on a continuous basis. Feedback comes in the way of guest reviews, ad hoc conversations during property audits and quarterly ownership meetings. About six to 12 months after a property’s opening, the brand will conduct a follow-up review. This post-opening evaluation enables Yotel to leverage the lessons learned and insights gained from operating the hotel over a significant period.
“The first quarter of each year holds particular significance for us, as this is when we dedicate focused time to revising existing brand standards,” said Thakkar. As Yotel gears up to expand its footprint further, a move toward regionalizing brand standards is on the horizon, a transition that would entail a collaborative effort involving inputs from all stakeholders to uphold the overarching brand identity while ensuring contextual relevance.
“By continuously refining our brand standards based on real-world experience, we ensure that our offerings remain aligned with the evolving needs and preferences of our guests and partners,” Thakkar said.
Operator
From an operator perspective, Michael Heaton, president of Waterford Hotel Group, said that brand standards serve as important part of maintaining the owner-brand relationship.
“As an operator with owner experience, we understand the importance of following brand standards. When we follow the brand rules, we drive guest satisfaction scores,” said Heaton. “This gives hotel owners more flexibility with the timing of renovations and other expenditures. By maintaining the quality of the product and ensuring guest satisfaction, we represent the brand well and capture our fair market share. This, in turn, gives owners more leverage in discussions with their brand partners.”
Heaton said brands will partner with operators that share their commitment to excellence—and the relationship only grows from there. “The incentive for operators is to become an approved brand operator and build a strong partnership. The brand trusts that the operator will maintain the standards they set forth, which in turn attracts loyal guests to the hotels,” he said.
That said, evaluation and revision of brand standards is always an ongoing process, he said. Brands will gather feedback from guests and other stakeholders to identify areas where standards can be improved. Brands will also monitor the industry and anticipate future trends to ensure that their standards remain relevant.
“As an operator, I can be confident in knowing that the brands are committed to providing guests with a positive experience and their standards are up to date,” Heaton added. “We believe that the relationship with our brand representatives is important because it allows for both solicited and unsolicited feedback, as well as full transparency. This is because a partnership requires both parties to be open and honest with each other as they work toward common goals."