Hotel Branding

Complete Guide to Hotel Branding: 101+ Ideas to Attract Guests in 2025 January 6, 2025 Business When consumers are dealing with your hotel, either it is via an online ad or by coming to your website, they develop a perception about your business. Is your marketing clean and professional? Does your website look dependable and trustworthy? A potential guest may find the color tones of your site design to be very soothing and peaceful. They may feel the adventurous hero image on your landing page is refreshing and compelling. Bottom line: Customers are always mentally and emotionally connected to your hotel branding. Are they connected correctly? In this article, we deconstruct hotel branding and the role it plays in your hotel’s reputation. From creating an image of your brand to marketing a brand philosophy, we go through the ins and outs of what having a brand identity means as well as the impact it has on how an audience perceives your hotel. What is hotel branding? A hotel’s brand is what defines the hotel-that is, a representation of who it is as an identity that unifies multiple properties under its shared characteristics and values. This is one aspect in which branding involves identifying what separates one from another, hence branding of a hotel focuses on the aspects that distinguish one hotel from full service branding agency. According to author, marketer, and entrepreneur Seth Godin, a brand is “a set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another”. Hotel branding, therefore, refers to the image a hotel would wish to create with its target market. From the type of font used on online ads to the unique experiences your hotel is marketing to its potential guests, everything is encompassed within the concept of branding. Building a hotel brand: It helps in establishing a reputation for your business. When travelers hear your hotel brand name, they know what to expect-from the type of amenities available to the rewards programs offered. Creates a personal, emotional relationship with customers to a business. Because of this personal story and the shared experiences behind hotel branding, experiential marketing is appealed to travelers. It establishes the brand traits and values that the properties being connected under a single brand umbrella share. Conveys your values and ethics. Several hotels are adopting branding as a way to brand their philosophy concerning social issues such as sustainability and diversity. It sets an expectation for the level of service at the hotel. Is it a budget hotel or a luxury experience for guests? When a traveler hears your brand name, they should know the answer to that question. It establishes your brand promise by confirming what your hotel’s mission is, and how it intends to accomplish that mission. What is brand identity, and how is it created? Brand identity is the component that makes up hotel branding. A brand’s identity is the combination of the words, images, style, and tone a brand uses to share its message. Overall, hotel branding constitutes the design formed by each component of the identity of the brand. In fact, according to the Mehrabian rule, non-verbal cues create 93% of our perceived communication and only 7% of actual words in the communicated message. Thus, presenting a brand identity through which the hotel clearly indicates what it is all about could give it an edge in the market. Building blocks of the identity of a brand are: 1.Brand Identity: Your brand identity is the public face of your brand. It encompasses all your brand values, mission, vision, and everything your potential tourists can connect with. Everything: the brand name, colour palette, logo, fonts, etc. Your brand identity should remain relevant to your offerings and services. For instance, if your brand identity caters towards luxury stays, you can attract tourists of similar interests with a personalized luxury hotel branding strategy. 2. Brand name. Your brand name is the first part of your hotel that prospective customers will ever encounter, and the decision-making process involves choosing the right name, which is a critical part of determining the reputation of the brand. Your name needs to be authentic and original in establishing your brand and making a distinction from other competing hotel brands. It needs to ring in the minds of your target audience and leave a lasting impression. 3. Design style. What colors, images, or font is your brand using? The style that a hotel employs can say quite a lot concerning the type of property it may be. If you are an eco-friendly hotel, you are likely to consider a brand design that has natural tones and organic shape. A hotel located near a beach may probably use a palette that reflects that location, that is, softer beige colors that relate to sand. 4. Logo. Consider your logo to be some sort of shorthand for your company. A green hotel may want to use a leaf or an image of a tree to really push the sustainability factor for the brand. A beach resort may be like an ocean wave incorporated into its brand. 5.Typography. It sounds silly, but really the font you use says a lot about your business. Just like colors, shapes, or patterns, people associate certain feelings or memories with font types or make other psychological connections. To develop a brand identity, a font type is chosen that would evoke an idea or sentiment for your audience or make a certain connection to your hotel. Technology companies use modern fonts to create a futuristic image, while accounting or management companies often use more traditional serif fonts. Luxury and boutique hotels often use script fonts to create elegance and sophistication. 6.Brand Colours Every brand has its very own specific color story or palette, unique to it. For instance, suppose your hotel is a premium property. A mild color palette may even tell the same feelings to the tourists when they check