Your brand is your corporate identity as well as your public persona. Familiarity with your hotel brand promotes certain guest expectations, so it’s critical to develop and maintain brand guidelines, communicate those to staff and be consistent in applying them so a guest’s experience is always consistent and satisfying.
“Happy guests are not only a mark of success, but also vital for generating revenue and building brand loyalty. By upholding these standards, owners can boost hotel performance and help ensure delighted guests return, fostering long-term business growth and allegiance to our brands,” said Stephanie Kendrick, VP of brand operations, Ramada by Wyndham and Travelodge by Wyndham.
Consistency is Key
Adhering to brand standards is primarily a matter of consistency. “Setting the expectation with your brand standard is paramount because it creates the necessary consistency that is the baseline of great service and for guest and team loyalty,” said Caroline Dyal, SVP of operations at Crescent Hotels & Resorts, a management company with about 110 hotels in its portfolio. “It is a blueprint for providing the service that differentiates the hotel.”
When management companies have large portfolios consisting of diverse brands, such as Hotel Equities, it is essential that they are on top of any brand changes. “In fact, it’s one of the critical items our brand partners count on us for: to ensure compliance with their brand standards and guidelines. Along with our regional and above-property operations team that monitors compliance with brand standards through in-person and virtual property visits, we have a dedicated brand performance leader who assists in monitoring new brand initiatives for compliance,” said Peter Tziahanas, the company’s EVP of operations.
Property teams conduct quarterly brand standard audits that accompany the quarterly visit, he added. “Brand standards are tried and true methods contributing to a hotel’s success, so it only benefits us as operators to prioritize compliance.”
In order to maintain consistency, Tziahanas noted that best practices are shared between property leaders, in real-time from the corporate support team and through the brand updates section of the company’s internal e-newsletter.
When hotels are franchised, there could be more flexibility in brand consistency. “We want to ensure that our guests have a clean, comfortable and safe stay, while offering our hotels the opportunity to maintain individuality in their markets. Our franchisees know their customers better than we ever could, so hihotels believes in offering the flexibility to customize the designs, amenities and experiences based on their diverse market demands, while maintaining a base level of standards. This is a winning combination for our franchisees and their guests,” said Gary Gobin, hihotels director of operations.
Training Your Team
To ensure consistency, all team members need to be aware of what the brand standards are, and many hotels incorporate brand standards into overall service culture training, which is what Sonesta does. “The entire program is built so that it can be delivered at each property through different touchpoints,” said Elizabeth Harlow, Sonesta’s chief brand officer. This includes an owner and operators’ guide and webinars; video content to show teams during training sessions; and reference collateral like posters to support the standards.
At Wyndham, Kendrick said that most of the company’s brand standards are shaped in collaboration with Franchise Advisory Councils, comprised of experienced hotel owners; they share best practices for implementation and assessing the ROI of these standards. “This collaborative approach ensures that our standards are not only relevant but also beneficial to our owners' bottom line,” she said.
“We stay really collaborative and if there’s a new standards rollout, we make sure the team understands it,” added Dyal.
Monitoring Compliance, Leveraging Data
Beyond training, regular monitoring ensures that the brand guidelines are being followed. Many hotel companies set up quality assurance programs that evaluate areas for improvement or that track deviations from brand standards, from annual evaluations to onsite visits to regular team meetings.
At hihotels, the company hires an assurance and marketing program director that visits each hotel annually, to inspect, score and make recommendations for improvements.
Another way that hotels check consistency in employing brand standards is through guest surveys to help identify pain points. “We consistently monitor guest feedback by staying current with industry trends, monitoring reviews and information provided by our hotels," Gobin said. "Our franchisees have a direct pulse on the needs of our leisure and business travelers, so they share information with the corporate team. In fact, we established an advisory council that consists of a group of our hotel owners, who provide excellent information and ideas that help direct our brands."
“Guest service scores are really a great barometer. If things are going sideways with our standards, we will evaluate and do a training to see why standards are missing,” said Dyal, adding that each property within her company’s portfolio has a ‘brand champion’ who is responsible for communicating any rollouts or brand changes to their teams.
“It's crucial for us to keep pace with evolving guest demands because what was once considered an amenity can now be a deciding factor, prompting guests to check out immediately and never return," added Kendrick. "For instance, it wasn’t that long ago that Wi-Fi was an indulgence that guests paid for. Now, strong Wi-Fi is an expectation with many travelers having three or more devices to access the hotel’s internet."
Along with guest feedback to track compliance, Tziahanas said that Hotel Equities utilizes brand tools and systems. “The brand data is rolled into our companywide business intelligence tool that delivers real-time data in dashboard form. This includes analytics from brand audits, where we are able to thoroughly explore where we are performing well and where there are opportunities for improvement. Internally, there is a huge emphasis on the importance of quarterly audits in identifying gaps before the annual audit occurs,” he said. “Being diligent with these allows our property leaders to raise any questions or concerns to the brand as well as with the corporate support team to ensure everyone is on the same page.”
Brand Initiatives at Work
Royal Sonesta mascot program: This unique mascot program adds a playful and memorable touch to the guest experience, creating lasting impressions and delightful interactions for families and children.
Bronze Lions by renowned artist, Edward Kemeys, stand tall outside the Art Institute of Chicago, date back to 1893, and are said to be guarding the city's most precious pieces. Sonesta's Sovereign of Chicago serves a different purpose, standing watch over The Allegro Royal Sonesta Hotel. (Sonesta) - Leveraging outdoor spaces at Sonesta ES Suites: ES Suites brand encourages travelers to connect with one another through thoughtfully designed outdoor spaces, featuring games and activities that foster community and interaction.
- hihotels’ loyalty program stands out by offering instant rewards rather than accruing points, enabling guests to save directly on reservations. Additionally, they provide a discount program granting access to savings at thousands of nationally recognized businesses, all at no additional costs to their franchisees.
- Modern travel is increasingly about cultural tourism—what guests want to experience, learn and taste while they're on the road. Wyndham believes there's been a shift in food and beverage preferences. Rather than expecting hotels to provide full meals throughout the day, many guests now prefer a quick coffee before exploring local breakfast spots, and the company is catering to reflect that with their brand standards.
This article was originally published in the July/August edition of Hotel Management magazine. Subscribe here.