Reputation is something that holds a lot of weight in the world of business. According to a new report released by Deloitte examining “brand promise”, it might actually mean a lot more than originally thought. The idea of brand promise is a concept that many travelers find immensely important, so important in fact that they are willing to quickly forgive brands they already view highly.For hoteliers, brand promise means not only knowing what you brand stands for, but also consistently delivering on that promise. Think of it as a standard or an expectation for what your brand represents. For hotel brands, figuring out what makes your product different from others in the space and then focusing on doing those things well is the real key to thriving in the marketplace.However, only defining what those things are is not enough - hotel brands must be able to translate that brand promise into a tangible experience for consumers. When brands can accomplish both a differentiated brand promise that is in alignment with the expected guest experience, there is a heightened level of loyalty and commitment on the part of consumers.[caption id="attachment_3945" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
When expectations and reality about a brand or product are vastly different.[/caption]As a matter of fact, Deloitte reports that even just a 1% difference in a hotel’s strength in reputation can change alter whether or not a guest would recommend a hotel to a friend by 3% or whether they would rebook at the same property by 4.5%. That is a lot of pressure to put on your brand’s reputation, but also big benefits to see as a result.Furthermore, if something goes wrong at a hotel with a strong brand promise, guests are much more forgiving of a less-than-satisfying experience than they would be at a hotel with a weaker brand promise.While it may seem obvious, guests who experience a problem at any hotel are less likely to return than if everything had gone smoothly. But what is interesting about Deloitte's research is that it indicates that guests are highly influenced by whether or not they believe a hotel holds “high prestige” or not. Of guests who did experience a dissatisfying hotel stay, 20% said they would still return if they considered the property to be “high prestige” versus only 9% at a “low prestige” hotel. So to put it plainly, having a strong reputation helps to preserve your strong reputation because it is what people expect and associate with your brand.As we discussed earlier this year, creating a quality brand experience is about more than guests. Employees and employee empowerment are things that are absolutely central to a strong brand promise. A brand promise is a vision, a set of values and standards that must be drilled into your employees through training and education. A brand culture that permeates how employees engage with each other and with guests will build a strong foundation for a successful brand promise.This is something that differentiates great hoteliers from good hoteliers - the effort put into defining their promise, but also the effort it takes to educate and empower staff to be able to make that promise an integral part of every moment of a guest’s stay. Employees that are invested in your brand and in the culture will take personal satisfaction and ownership in providing an elevated guest experience. Hotels must be able to make the culture and brand promise clear, accessible, and relevant to each staff member to create such an environment.So what are some actionable ways that hotels can work on executing their brand promise? The best course of action involves measuring, monitoring, and training.Measuring how well your brand promise resonants with both guests and employees is a good place to start. Do your employees believe that they are committed to your brand standards? What about their fellow employees? What is the feedback that you are getting from guests? Do they seem to feel that you are doing a good job delivering on your promise? This will be abundantly clear by looking at your recent hotel reviews.Secondly, you have to objectively monitor how well you are creating standards and culture that would operationalize your brand promise. Make sure that you are measuring tangible data points and regularly scheduled evaluations to ensure that standards are being met.Finally, successful brands view training the same way that they would as any other line item designed to improve the guest experience. By making sure your operations policies and procedures are regularly reviewed for consistency and effectiveness, you are reinforcing your promise to your customers and strengthening your brand’s reputation.
Reputation is something that holds a lot of weight in the world of business. According to a new report released by Deloitte examining “brand promise”, it might actually mean a lot more than originally thought. The idea of brand promise is a concept that many travelers find immensely important, so important in fact that they are willing to quickly forgive brands they already view highly.For hoteliers, brand promise means not only knowing what you brand stands for, but also consistently delivering on that promise. Think of it as a standard or an expectation for what your brand represents. For hotel brands, figuring out what makes your product different from others in the space and then focusing on doing those things well is the real key to thriving in the marketplace.However, only defining what those things are is not enough - hotel brands must be able to translate that brand promise into a tangible experience for consumers. When brands can accomplish both a differentiated brand promise that is in alignment with the expected guest experience, there is a heightened level of loyalty and commitment on the part of consumers.[caption id="attachment_3945" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
When expectations and reality about a brand or product are vastly different.[/caption]As a matter of fact, Deloitte reports that even just a 1% difference in a hotel’s strength in reputation can change alter whether or not a guest would recommend a hotel to a friend by 3% or whether they would rebook at the same property by 4.5%. That is a lot of pressure to put on your brand’s reputation, but also big benefits to see as a result.Furthermore, if something goes wrong at a hotel with a strong brand promise, guests are much more forgiving of a less-than-satisfying experience than they would be at a hotel with a weaker brand promise.While it may seem obvious, guests who experience a problem at any hotel are less likely to return than if everything had gone smoothly. But what is interesting about Deloitte's research is that it indicates that guests are highly influenced by whether or not they believe a hotel holds “high prestige” or not. Of guests who did experience a dissatisfying hotel stay, 20% said they would still return if they considered the property to be “high prestige” versus only 9% at a “low prestige” hotel. So to put it plainly, having a strong reputation helps to preserve your strong reputation because it is what people expect and associate with your brand.As we discussed earlier this year, creating a quality brand experience is about more than guests. Employees and employee empowerment are things that are absolutely central to a strong brand promise. A brand promise is a vision, a set of values and standards that must be drilled into your employees through training and education. A brand culture that permeates how employees engage with each other and with guests will build a strong foundation for a successful brand promise.This is something that differentiates great hoteliers from good hoteliers - the effort put into defining their promise, but also the effort it takes to educate and empower staff to be able to make that promise an integral part of every moment of a guest’s stay. Employees that are invested in your brand and in the culture will take personal satisfaction and ownership in providing an elevated guest experience. Hotels must be able to make the culture and brand promise clear, accessible, and relevant to each staff member to create such an environment.So what are some actionable ways that hotels can work on executing their brand promise? The best course of action involves measuring, monitoring, and training.Measuring how well your brand promise resonants with both guests and employees is a good place to start. Do your employees believe that they are committed to your brand standards? What about their fellow employees? What is the feedback that you are getting from guests? Do they seem to feel that you are doing a good job delivering on your promise? This will be abundantly clear by looking at your recent hotel reviews.Secondly, you have to objectively monitor how well you are creating standards and culture that would operationalize your brand promise. Make sure that you are measuring tangible data points and regularly scheduled evaluations to ensure that standards are being met.Finally, successful brands view training the same way that they would as any other line item designed to improve the guest experience. By making sure your operations policies and procedures are regularly reviewed for consistency and effectiveness, you are reinforcing your promise to your customers and strengthening your brand’s reputation.
