One of the most important things when establishing a hotel is the brand name, as a strong brand will prove to be a great asset in the long run. Your brand should say something about what you are offering and entice guests to want to stay with you. It must set you apart from the crowd and show that you are unique and capable of meeting the needs of your clients.
When coming up with your branding, you need to consider who your target audience is, what they want from the hotel and how you will satisfy their needs. These are all topics you should have covered in your business plan and you need to have them to hand when deciding on branding.
Memorable and unique branding can bring amazing benefits to your business, including the ability to attract customers purely because of your reputation. This provides fantastic value and could set your business up for the long term. If you do make a mistake with branding, it is important to know when to rebrand. It can be expensive to do so, particularly when you add up the individual costs of changing websites, signs, stationery, adverts and other marketing materials. However, the results can be well worth the investment, with an increase in occupancy rates and revenue if done correctly.
One thing you need to be very careful with is deciding on the price of your rooms. This should suit your brand – in other words, an affordable rate if you are a budget hotel or a higher one if you are offering luxury rooms. If you need to rebrand you should be careful about moving between price bands, especially if you are moving upwards. Increasing the price of your rooms after a rebrand can lose the market you have gained and leave you starting over again.
Your brand is important because it can either help or hinder your ability to secure hotel finance. Lenders will always be more likely to give their backing to a strong brand that clearly identifies its target market and plans how to please them. If you don’t have this kind of clarity you should look back at your business plan and strategy. We can assist you with this, as well as helping you with all other aspects of your hotel, guest house, bed and breakfast or equestrian finance and funding needs.
