S A L E S & M A R K E T I N G
The
GREAT BRAND
DEBATE
TO BRAND
( A brand by any other name would smell as sweet ... )
Best Western Hotels & Resorts knows how to craft a brand . In just the past six years , the company has introduced 10 brands , with newer ones ( like Glo and Vib ) comprising 40 % of its current pipeline .
“ We ’ re certainly focused on global growth , both in North America and Asia ,” says Ron Pohl , Best Western ’ s senior vice president and chief operations officer . “ The midmarket hotels in China are where the opportunity really lies .”
But how differentiated are these newer brands , both in the marketplace and even just among one another ? A description of Vib could easily be mistaken for IHG ’ s new midscale Avid or Red Lion ’ s Hotel RL . Design for the “ connected traveler ,” with “ social spaces ,” guest rooms have plenty of
USB ports and smart TVs . Pohl says the true differentiation is in target markets . While you ’ d find a Vib and Glo in Manhattan , you wouldn ’ t find a Vib in Des Moines , Iowa , for instance . Vib ’ s smaller guestroom makes it cost-effective for the urban areas it ’ s angling for .
“ We know there are an awful lot of brands out there today . Is there customer confusion ? I think there is ,” says Pohl , who adds that tapping into the right range of brands has worked for Best Western .
The game is homing in on what the consumer wants . Hilton ’ s launch of Tru by Hilton in 2016 aimed to fill a gap in midscale . Now there are nine Trus open and 470 in the pipeline , more than any newcomer in midscale , according to Alexandra Jaritz , global head at Tru .
As well , loyalty counts big for branding .
Hilton ’ s recently opened Tru by Hilton Las Vegas Airport : Tru has nine open properties since the brand ' s debut in 2016 .
“ As a new entry into the midscale segment , our research showed that travelers were more likely to book Tru when they found out it was part of the Hilton family of brands ,” Jaritz says . “ We also created the Midscale Advisory Group – a team of 10 dedicated Hampton owners – to work through every aspect of Tru by Hilton .”
While Piers Schmidt , founder of consulting agency Luxury Branding , thinks “ time will tell ” in terms of how brands created by the bigger hotel groups will fare , he also thinks they also deserve credit for a mentality shift .
Over the past 10 years , “ there ’ s been a really good ramp-up in innovation and improvement which is great for the consumer ,” Schmidt says . “ The traveler , the guest , has never had it so good in terms of a quality product .”
50 hotelsmag . com January / February 2018