FEATURE
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FEATURE
EXTERNAL CONTRIBUTORS
Building a relationship
with the local community
Why collaboration with the local community can strengthen the positioning of your hotel
through strategically affiliating your brand with respected peers. By JULIA DAVIES
strategy as an independent, A allows for you to market your hotel to you are offering in return. Keep in mind
boutique hotel is building another client base that you previously what you would like to get out of the
relationships with our local community. didn’t have access to, something that partnership with clear objectives, and review
By both curating an authentic experience is especially valuable in a newly GDPR- these regularly to ensure the partnership
for our guests and providing them with a compliant world. If you’ve appropriately maintains its viability.
taste of our local area, while simultaneously aligned your brand, audiences should have developing goodwill with stakeholders, similar profiles and buying behaviours, that you would like to work with, the
building relationships with neighbouring ensuring you can still use the same next thing to do is build a rapport and
organisations can provide multifaceted messaging without having to alter your demonstrate that it will be a mutually
returns if executed effectively. brand’s tone of voice. beneficial arrangement. Research and
key part of our PR and marketing
Whether it’s with a local event, a product
Building destination partnerships also
From a financial viewpoint, partnerships
from partnering with them as well as with
Once you have identified local brands
building relationships will take time, but
or a tourist board, there are a variety of may produce cost savings, with the ability without it, you’ll struggle to support your
opportunities for every hotel to forge a to capitalise on others’ skills and resources pitch with tangible advantages. Joining
partnership that suits its needs. Destination and reduce the reliance on additional business groups, attending local events
partnerships can entail anything from suppliers. Economies of scale can be or simply inviting your target organisation
hosting a one-off drinks reception with a achieved for material goods and sharing to experience your hotel can be a lead-in
local gin distillery, to creating an integrated of intellectual capital can provide local to a more conversations. PR agencies can
campaign with a world-renowned brand that insights that previously could have been also be helpful for making connections and
conveniently boasts the same destination overlooked. Working with other tourism coming up with ideas for partnerships to
heritage as your hotel, and depending on brands could even result in positive break down the barriers between your hotel
your aims, can be tailored to fit the outcome coopetition, amplifying the reach of each of and a potential partner.
you are seeking. your brands through joint marketing efforts and additionally promoting your wider Risks
Benefits destination to achieve a greater and longer- There is of course the possibility that the
Not only can collaboration strengthen term market share than your own singular identity of the brand you’ve chosen evolves
the positioning of your hotel through efforts would. into a different entity that is no longer
cohesive with your own. To avoid this, look
strategically affiliating your brand with
respected peers, it also adds to your Identification and implementation for well established companies to partner
own offering by creating an experience, Identifying brands that align with your with, where messaging is consistent and
something that is becoming increasingly hotel is key to a successful collaboration. brand awareness is strong. However, if you
sought after in the travel sector as guests By assessing their brand values, target do decide to partner with a young brand,
look for more than just a standard hotel audiences and public perception, one can avoid long-term agreements as it may still
stay. These experiences can then be utilised establish if there is strong brand synergy, be developing its place in the market.
for hooks for further marketing activity and essential for effective collaboration. It is press coverage, appealing to consumers worthwhile assessing the mutual gain Measurement
and media alike to bolster your hotel’s between the potential partner and your Like all good marketing activities,
profile. offering – focus on what you have to gain measurement is essential in order to
April 2019
www.hotelowner.co.uk
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