This is the final part of a two-part series, Design strategy for the next phase of boutique hotels. Read Part 1 of this series here.
Why does your brand have to exist? What is your brand essence? If you can refine these answers down to a sentence, a phrase or just a few words, then your job is already halfway done. By knowing your hotel’s essence, you will be able to refer back to it during all subsequent conversations about marketing positioning, upgrades to the physical product, new amenity or service introductions and any promotional plans.
Don’t panic if you don’t have this figured out already as it is deceivingly hard. You must factor in the key reasons for why travellers choose your specific hotel, what differentiates you from the competition on an emotionally driven scale, and how your current raison d’être will remain meaningful as time goes by.
Following these exceedingly cerebral conservations, the next step is to look at every operation to see how well each builds upon this brand essence—while at the same time identifying any discrepancies. Thirdly, before you can give any thought to the long-term direction of the brand, you must bring all those discordant elements in line with the core brand. This is where the development of a strategic design roadmap is critical, as it will allow you to stay on target while navigating multiyear advertising campaigns or tiered renovations.
The final step always pertains to the future and what it may hold for the hospitality world. While your brand essence may remain fixed, its expression will need constant updating so that your brand can continue to excite guests—even as, say, the most popular of certain marketing channels rise and fall, or as new technologies become widespread amongst consumers. For this, you must read the trades and attend conferences so that your industry knowledge remains up-to-date. You must allow time to meet regularly with the rest of the senior team to review long-term projects and how they are reflected tactically on the ground. With every new innovation or trend, you must ask your team not only about its relevancy to your product but also about how these innovations or trends might become part of your brand given the right perspective.
Brand directions to consider
Understanding the principles of design strategy may take some time for those of you that don’t have any prior experience. Much like building a business plan, however, it requires foremost some serious top-down thinking as to the overall direction of where the company—in this case, a hotel—will go. For this, I’ll offer five comprehensive and highly evergreen possibilities for boutique or lifestyle brands that can be embraced in the present, while also having strong potential for successful expansions in the future.
1. Technologically avant-garde
We all know that the guestroom of the future involves smart televisions and IoT integrations, but the majority of hotels are embracing these innovations at a glacial pace. But imagine if property devoted itself to be at the forefront of technological progress in a hospitality environment, all through the lens of improving guest service? We’re talking apps, frictionless mobile check-in, machine learning preferences, live chat concierge, intelligent thermostats, sustainable design practices, room service robots and a myriad of other initiatives that together will act synergistically to deliver an aspirational experience that invites guests to ponder what the future holds for their homes. Moreover, the avant-garde concept can extend to foodservice whereby hotels might strive to be at the forefront of nouveau-gastronomy by incorporating the latest in F&B such as lab-made meats, molecular cooking techniques or liquid nitrogen desserts. In this sense, the essence of forward-thinking tech must extend to every aspect of the hotel.
2. Service to the extreme
While the nature of modern guest service hinges so much on technological underpinnings that can be leveraged to derive further personalization of the hotel experience, it will still require the personal touch of a well-trained and attentive team to make it whole. If you want your brand essence to be that your property is unmatched in guest service, then you will need to re-evaluate every department’s everyday activities to see what can be upgraded. The good news is that boutique properties are generally smaller than the corporate brands, meaning that they can be nimbler in amending their SOPs (standard operating procedures) and all consequent retraining.
Service often begins even before check-in, when the front desk team monitors an arriving guest’s flight and either picks the visitor up at the airport with snacks in the car or is ready with a welcome refreshment the moment that customer is in sight of the hotel. Service extends to the minutia of housekeeping, such as gently coiling a guest’s laptop power cables or leaving an extra tube of toothpaste when the room attendant notices that the guest is running low. And right through to checkout, where a manager is present to say goodbye with a departing gift. There are so many intangibles that contribute to guest service that there is always room to improve if that is your overarching mission.
3. Funky, wild and brave
Not necessarily eschewing the latest technology or service standards, these properties can get by with being great and not exceptional in these two aspects by aiming to be the coolest, hippest, boldest and most outlandish that there is. Here the interior design takes center stage, as guests are invited to experience a space that is an attraction unto itself and is contemplated by equally provocative artwork, staff uniforms, food menus and perhaps a few unusual amenities. It still must follow a theme, though, which must be reflected in the brand essence and design strategy for any future updates. The key here is that you must analyze how your property will be seen from the buyers’ perspective as well as how it will be communicated second-hand. That is, by sticking with a theme, you must focus on being known as the best representative of one particular aspect of design—and not a hodgepodge of elements.
4. Universally local
Authentically local has been the rage in the foodservice industry for over a decade, as intrepid chefs become more conscious of food miles, organic, biodynamic and sustainable crops. It’s only recently started to make a serious dent in other hotel operations. But what if you set out to be the top curator of the best and most exclusive facets of your community? What if your brand essence was simply ‘everything is local’?
Starting with F&B, you might partner with nearby craft brewers or put an apiary on the roof, while all your ingredients (and thereby your menu) would slowly transition to farmers from within a certain radius. Spa products could also reflect the concept of universally local, as would all items should in the gift and sundry shops. Next, becoming hyperlocal can also mean that you are a patron of the artist community by showcasing various works as well as being ‘in the know’ to all exclusive neighborhood events. This is a game of partnerships whereby you must cultivate a local-friendly culture at your property as well as quid pro quo relationships with all adjacent businesses to encourage reciprocal exchange.
5. Wellness for everyone
The current generation of travellers is more health-conscious than ever before. People are demanding ingredient transparency; people are drinking less alcohol and smoking fewer cigarettes and people exercise more often. People want to experience hotels that embrace these ideals and inspire them to do even better when they return home.
Embracing the concept of a wellness hotel or resort means that your fundamental goal should be to make guests feel significantly better than when they first arrived. To reflect this holistically means clean eating and perhaps a complimentary vegetable juice bar, as well as a full assortment of exercise and meditation programs. It might also mean onsite physiotherapists with a free consultation set up shortly after getting settled. It might also mean workout equipment with instructional booklets (hopefully digitized) already in the guestroom. It might also that your public spaces are cell phone free to give visitors a bit of a ‘digital detox’. It might also full-day itineraries built into the room rate that guides guests through a complete regimen of activities to boost the mind, body and spirit. To do wellness right, you must embrace it at every level, as well as periodically update each interpretation to stay ahead of the latest standards.
