Avoid the Top 3 Mistakes Made When Rebranding a Hotel
By Tom Baker, Managing Principal
If you’re looking to increase your ADR or attract new clientele to your hotel, a rebrand may very well be in order. This process has many steps and can be intimidating, but a well-executed rebrand of your property will doubtlessly lead to renewed interest and an increase in bookings. Done well, a proper rebrand can precipitate staggering growth. Avoiding some of the most common mistakes of a rebrand will go a long way towards ensuring your project’s ROI falls within your target range and your hotel can glide seamlessly into its successful future.
We’ve listed the top three most overlooked rebranding mistakes we’ve encountered here for your convenience. Avoid these when moving forward with your rebrand to save time, money and countless related frustrations:
1. Leaving Old Business Listings Untouched
When you embark on a rebrand, don’t forget that there are likely hundreds of business listings for your hotel in the internet universe, some automatically created by booking platforms and search engines. These listings will all need to be addressed and updated so that guests don’t encounter obsolete or incorrect information or worse, old photos. Some of the most common sentiments in negative reviews include complaints regarding incorrect information on booking sites. A rebrand is the perfect time to ensure your potential guests will be getting what they came for. Be prepared to embark on a tireless scoring of the internet to find them all (and remember that if your guests will be visiting from other countries, you’ll need to check at international listings). Another tip: Opt for a completely new and fresh website to match your rebrand. A website redesign will help you reach out to, and better communicate with, your potential guests while putting your very best foot forward.
2. Guessing Your Guests Instead of Knowing Your Guests
Observational information is useful, but don’t decide to rebrand your hotel in rural Alabama to appeal to urban-dwelling Millennials just because it’s the current trend – hire a company to dig deep into the pros and cons of your hotel’s location first. Are there annual conventions nearby? Who attends them? Are there corporate headquarters in the area? Avoid the temptation to use a focus group of one when deciding what will appeal to your best guests. The best way to accomplish this is to hire a company who provides customer profiling services using collected data. The report they’ll deliver will give you the direction you need and will likely be quite eye-opening.
3. Valuing Economy Over Quality When Selecting A Hotel Consulting Agency
Rebranding is a step toward renewal and growth. Compromising on a consulting agency will absolutely hamper your efforts. Research shows hiring an asset manager/project manager ultimately saves time and reduces stress during a rebrand, because they’ll be able to handle everything from the gruntwork to the tasks best reserved for experts, enabling you to focus on creative decisions and your continued operations.
The AHA Takeaway
Beyond this list lies many more often-overlooked stumbling blocks to a successful rebrand. With our combined decades of experience in rebranding and all other facets of hospitality, we’re here to guide hotel owners and management like you through the entire rebranding process and well beyond. We’ll help ensure you don’t overlook these common mistakes during the rebranding process, arriving on the other side of it pleased with the result.
Let’s talk about your vision. Use the quick form below and I’ll personally reach out.
– Tom Baker, Managing Principal