Understanding your customers goes far beyond having a sturdy brand; while safety, cleanliness and an awesome night’s sleep remain the head three priorities for hotel guests, in line with Richard Solomons, chief executive, Intercontinental Hotel Group.
“We must understand the client better and ensure our brands describe and deliver what they wish,” he explained.
“We announced two new brands last year and had huge interest around those, because it’s clear that it’s no more of the identical – the brands are targeting well,” he said during a session entitled ‘Hotels: where next for the world’s biggest hotel brands’ at the second and final day of the 13th Global Summit, organised by the sector Travel and Tourism Council.
The top three requirements in hotels – forget the logo and its message – are safety, cleanliness and good night’s sleep.
But the question is how will we deliver a targeted, more personalised service” Solomons asked.
“I think what must have is a transparent corporate strategy, and determine where we’re going as an organization; in addition to decide how, where and why we deliver value.
“The brand is set definition; again as an industry we’re attempting to entice everybody on a regular basis.
“This creates commoditisation within the industry and types aren’t clear. What a brand stands for, who your consumers are and the way you relate to them are the major factors within the industry today,” he continued.
The Global Summit is being hosted by Jumeirah at Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi.