How should a hotel change its branding and design strategy when it changes from having one hotel in its portfolio to two or more? Or indeed should it change at all?
DLK Partners’ client Sleeperz Hotels have recently added a hotel in Newcastle to its portfolio to sit alongside its original hotel in Cardiff. Sleeperz launched its first hotel on the brand statement: ‘ Stay in style for less’ as the hotel’s rates were definitely in the budget sector, but the offering was not.
One of the key selling points of the original hotel was whilst it never pretended to be something it wasn’t, i.e. a five star luxury hotel, it did offer guests a level of style, comfort and service that one normally associated with a more expensive hotel. The personal service level was very important, and was something that the owners were keen to continue when the second hotel opened. The architecture of the hotels, whilst not miles apart, was not identical and this too summed up the Sleeperz approach to running a hotel.
So how could the design of all the new literature help with this conundrum?
Obviously the most important factor was to keep the Sleeperz brand identity and message consistent throughout both hotels, but the owners were adamant that like their approach to architecture, they did not want a ‘one size fits all’ take on all the new marketing and hotel collateral. DLK’s approach to design was to utilize all the formats, colour ways etc that had been used previously, but to add the appropriate hotel location to differentiate the pieces. This subtle addition of either Cardiff or Newcastle added the personal touch that the client required – you might be staying in a chain of hotels now, but this hotel whilst it adheres to the Sleeperz principles – is still run as an individual hotel and treats its guests likewise.
It seems you can now stay in a truly independent chain of hotels.
