Have you ever looked at the different brands of water lined up on the shelves at the supermarket and pondered on which product to purchase? When faced with a buying decision, does price become the next best factor to consider? In this case, instead of price, differentiation turns out to be the necessary aspect to reflect upon as manufacturers are dependent on the differences between types of water, be it spring, sparkling, distilled, alkaline or mineral to sell these waters at a higher rate to earn more.
This analogy applies similarly to hospitality brands. Food & Beverage (F&B) establishments and Hotel Groups can turn into common commodities if guests are simply paying for a hotel room or footing the bill for food served at varying prices.
At this rate, guests would feel bored, start losing interest, and eventually, these existing brands will become “outmoded”. Additionally, when there is an emergence of new entrants, it causes a higher chance for businesses to cease operations.
Therefore, how does one differentiate itself to ensure relevance in the hospitality industry?
Differentiate through innovation
Firstly, the primary goal of the hospitality industry is to create a seamless experience for all guests who visit their premises. As such, it is continuously innovating to improve services. One example is seen through the initiation of Smart Hotel Rooms, which integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Voice Recognition Technology used at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts in Greater China.
READ: Five Ways Smart Hotel Rooms Will Make Travelling Easier
Besides InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Hilton has presented an app with a Mobile Smart Key where guests can now choose their rooms before arrival, head directly to their rooms and unlock their doors upon arrival through a digital key. This fuss-free approach has certainly saved time and manpower, especially providing to tired travelers or busy working professionals.
Another form of innovation would be the fusion of the retail and hotel aspect. Well-known Japanese lifestyle and home brand, MUJI, launched its very own MUJI Hotel whose aim is to deliver a physical experience of allowing guests to “live inside a MUJI store”. All rooms are filled with MUJI products - bedding, furniture, toiletries, and utensils which can all be found in-store for guests to purchase. This is a perfect illustration of how creativity and innovation can be tied together to allow first-hand exposure to the brand while enticing guests to revisit.
In F&B, a familiar name - Starbucks Corporation has progressed to introduce Starbucks Reserve where it experiments premium coffee as a form of art that encompasses brewing, aging, infusing, and blending. Even though Starbucks is very successful, they continue striving to be a great representation of hospitality where customers remain at the forefront of their business. They form a special connection with guests by delighting their senses with the scent of brewed coffee, freshly baked pastries, friendly attitude, and warm service. This way, they are no doubt one of the world’s famous coffeehouse chains!
READ: Guest experience: Towards authentic immersion
Differentiate by exploring new prospects
Secondly, hospitality brands are moving towards their new roles of active transformation in the industry. Being involved in collaborative partnerships, a brand that advocates social causes - Naumi Hotels, works with charities that provide food to children all over the world and engage women in employment opportunities. Other than reaching out to social enterprises, a mission-driven global hospitality company - Eaton Workshop constructed physical and digital spaces such as an internal recording studio and theater to encourage collaboration. By doing so, they invite like-minded individuals and guests to participate in their programs as well as work together with artists to perform and record music.
In terms of F&B, businesses are going beyond to come up with new methods to capture the attention of guests. In the past, food trucks were used to experiment and produce novelty ideas. Now, rather than operating a regular brick and mortar food store, spaces in existing bars, abandoned properties, theaters are transformed into Pop-Up restaurants. Due to the low operation cost, this alternative allows restaurateurs to generate feedback before devoting themselves to open a full-fledged store. Besides, some restaurants are participating in an intriguing sensory concept of “dining in the dark”. As the name implies, one would consume meals in the dark, which fills the mind with curiosity and unbiased opinion towards the food.
Hotel Concept Framework
Lastly, a useful framework for hospitality companies is the Hotel Concept Framework which incorporates the strategic, operational, and marketing elements of a hotel concept. A hotel concept does not look at space planning alone but takes various aspects into consideration, for instance, service design, storytelling, and communication strategy. As a result, the success of a hotel concept is derived from the combination of both “soft” and “hard” elements.
To successfully implement a hotel concept, firstly, identify key opportunities. This can be obtained from the history of the hotel, assessing competitors, and engaging in conversations held with the right stakeholders (People). Secondly, construct the brand concept. At this stage, the whole customer experience should represent the core idea of the brand. Thirdly, establish the operational concept. The reviewing of Story, Space, Services and Channels elements takes place at this point. Lastly, finalize the brand and operational concepts. In this phase, Identity (visual and verbal) are designed using the Content elements.
Moving forward, it is important for brands to revisit their value proposition as they go beyond offering their products and services due to the competitive, ever-changing landscape of the hospitality industry. To seek continuous growth, professionals can consider restructuring themselves by stepping out to differentiate themselves, integrate unique strategies along with using the Hotel Development Framework in their business!