In business—and in life—branding is everything. In the hotel industry, a brand will tell guests everything they need to about a hotel and what kind of stay they can expect. That is why picking the right brand for a property is so important.
But, for ownership, a brand partnership means a lot more, from relationships to initiatives and policies that can bring profits to their properties. To help owners understand what they need to know, Glenn Haussman, founder/host, No Vacancy Live podcast, moderated the latest Hotel Business Hot Topics session, “The Power of Branded Partnerships,” in partnership with Red Roof.
The panel featured Heather Carnes, EVP, communications and chief strategy officer, AAHOA; Bruce Ford, SVP, director of global business development, Lodging Econometrics; Robert Goad, SVP, revenue strategy, Red Roof; Matt Hostetler, chief development officer, Red Roof; and Mayuri Patel, a hotelier and franchisee.
“Brand value is everything, especially when you are in a franchise world,” said Hostetler.
Finding the right brand has become even more difficult in recent years as Ford noted that branding has hit a “big revolution” with 147 new brands launched or premiering new products in the U.S. since 2016. “That is an unprecedented growth curve that has sustained through the pandemic,” he said. “It’s not at the pace that it was pre-pandemic, but we are still seeing new brands. Many companies are continuing to try and spread their wings if you will, through their value proposition, offering multiple chain scales as well as multiple product types in those multiple chain scales and continuing to leverage not just the business-to-business relationship, but the business-to-consumer relationship, which is both unique out there in the business today.”
AAHOA’s Carnes said that what her organization hears most from its 20,000 members is that the most important aspect is relationships. “We know this to be true in the industry,” she said. “We know the hospitality industry is built on relationships, but when it comes to finding the right brand partner and really choosing who they’re going to do business with, it is strong relationships. [It] is knowing that you have a brand that’s going to be supportive of you as a unique and individual entrepreneur and really encouraging and lighting the flame for those entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams.”
Patel said that communication—especially when it is readily available—is key. “It is really important as a franchisee because if you have a problem, you want somebody to be able to assist you. If you don’t have that, you’re not going to be able to succeed in the franchise environment.”
Goad said that his work in revenue optimization is a benefit that provides hotel owners with a major advantage versus working on their own. “We really dive as deep as we can for our franchise owners, finding ways to take away some of those responsibilities, those tasks that can be easily overlooked or forgotten,” he said. “When you’re standing at the front desk, there are so many distractions from the phone to your customers which are the most important things you should be focused on at that time.”
For more on the session, including how brands can help with technology, labor and DEI, make sure to check out the November issue of Hotel Business.
