Hotel Concepts: How to Build a Successful Hotel Brand

The hotel industry as we know it is changing. The upheaval of the last couple of years and the rise of Airbnb have redefined the hotel concept framework. 

Hoteliers now face a choice. They can keep to the old ways and find themselves outpaced or they can embrace a new world of innovative hotel concepts.

In the hospitality industry of today, guests and customers expect more from hotels. It's not enough to simply offer a room with a bed and bathroom. 

Your hotel concept must offer something different that focuses on guest experience and provide a truly memorable stay. From check-in to check-out, your hotel concept must be at the forefront of your guests' stay.

To reach these new guests, hoteliers at every level of the hospitality industry are implementing innovative hotel concepts. In this blog, we'll be exploring some of the most innovative hotel concepts in the industry, the lessons they teach us, and how you can apply these lessons to your own hotel.

What do we mean by hotel concept?

When we talk about hotel concepts, we're talking about the story the hotel wants to tell its guests. In basic terms, a hotel concept is a summation of every aspect of any one hotel. This includes its decor, its guest experience, its rooms, its amenities, and its location. Even small things, like the art on the walls and the little bottles of shampoo in the shower, have something to contribute to the overall hotel concept.

From the lobby to the hotel rooms, your hotel concept should be clear to see and easy for your guests to understand. A student hotel focused on backpackers will have an entirely different vibe from a boutique hotel. A Japanese hotel may offer completely unique concepts like pod rooms which are very rarely found elsewhere in the world.

Why does having a hotel concept matter?

All hotels can benefit from having a strong hotel concept. Independent hotels, boutique hotels, and even large hotel chains all need to have an underlying theme and mission to truly stand apart out from the crowd.

Think of a hotel concept as a brand identity that can inform your choices and help you run the business to an exact standard. Your concept will help you decide how much to charge for rooms, the guests you market to, and the services you provide, whether you offer any extra amenities like a spa or working spaces.

The most innovative hotel concepts can delight and attract customers from all over the world. Truly innovative hotels market themselves through word of mouth and visiting one can be a vacation in and of itself. A great example of this would be the famous Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, where guests can stay in rooms built entirely from ice.

If you have access to the budget and aren't afraid to think outside the box, your hotel concept can be whatever you can think up. Don't be fooled into thinking that hotel concepts need to be complicated for the sake of being complicated, however. The hotel industry is full of simple but effective concepts that do a lot with a little.

Building an innovative hotel concept

All hotel concepts start as a simple idea that becomes fuller over time. When building a concept for your own hotel, you should start with a list of individual ideas and mold them into a greater whole. Below, we've compiled a list of what you should be thinking about as you formulate your ideas.

Story

Behind every successful business in the hotel industry is a good story. Your concept should tell your guests this story and ideally leave them emotionally invested in the hotel. There are many different ways to tell your story. It's up to you how you convey it to your guests.

If you're an older hotel, your marketing materials could tell the history of your building and how it has played a role in the local culture. A new hotel can tell its story through creative choices like its interior design or that perhaps it was built to be eco-friendly.

People

Without people, hotels would simply be empty buildings. The people that make up your hotel (the staff, your guests, hotel management) should play a major part in building your concept. The hospitality industry is entirely person-focused and you need to ensure that your hotel meets the needs of everyone who comes into contact with it.

It can help to think of your hotel as a little microcosm of a community. A successful concept attracts staff that takes pride in their work and guests looking for a place to stay that matches their personal vibes. Celebrities will want to stay in a luxury hotel while students may simply be looking for a place to sleep with accessible wi-fi.

Space

The physical space your hotel occupied can have a huge influence over your concept. Some concepts will require a lot of space while others will be able to fit in cozier conditions. In either case, you must use the space you have available in a way that makes sense for what you're trying to achieve.

You must also consider where your facilities are placed throughout the hotel. For instance, you'll very rarely find a swimming pool that isn't either outside, on the first floor, or on the roof. It also won't be a good idea to place your spa near the car park or a busy main road.

Identity

In any business, good branding can be the difference between success and failure. Your identity is ultimately what will set you apart from other hotels. Everything from the color you paint the rooms to the uniforms your staff wear is an opportunity to express your unique identity to your guests.

Think about the elements that make up your hotel and how you can translate that into a recognizable brand. Once you have a solid idea of your identity, push it out everywhere. Ensure your social media and website also embody your brand. Basically, put it anywhere your guests might be exposed to it.

Marketing

Even the most innovative hotel concepts will fail if they neglect their marketing. You need to be able to reach your guests through a variety of channels while still maintaining your mission. You must also ensure your marketing serves your hotel in a clear and memorable way. Marketing luxury hotel rooms with a strategy more suited to a hostel concept simply would not work. Your hotel needs a clear plan, placed in the right channels to get the attention of your potential guests.

With hotel marketing, you should be using an omnichannel attack plan. You should take advantage of both digital and in-person marketing channels to reach the most amount of people as possible. If you're struggling to do this by yourself, a marketing agency will be able to help you come up with ideas.

Digitally, you should be active on social media and have prominent placements on booking websites. Identify your audience and place advertisements and content on the most popular platforms for their average age bracket. Make sure you tailor your content to meet the tastes of the platform you're marketing on.

In-person, you should host events that welcome the local community into your business. If you have a bar or restaurant, you could offer special themed nights based around locations like London and Paris with themed food, drink, and entertainment. You might also locally advertise special room rates for unbooked rooms.

Services

When developing a hotel concept, it’s easy to get swept away by the big picture. As you build your hotel, it's important to keep the needs of your guests in mind. The services you offer and the facilities in your hotel are just as important, if not more so, than your branding or your story.

When thinking about your intended guests, consider what they will need and what they will expect. The services offered by a luxury boutique hotel will offer much more than a simple hotel room. Some of the most innovative hotel concepts include services that the average person wouldn't even think of. In some luxury hotels, some guests will be able to enjoy benefits like personalized art on the walls and doggy daycares.

Bear in mind that most hotels won't offer services like the ones we've mentioned above. For the majority of travelers, all a good hotel needs to offer is polite service from the staff, a well-kept and quiet room, and a comfortable pillow. 

An innovative hotel POS

Building a hotel concept is difficult work. Make things easier for yourself by investing in an Epos Now Complete Solution. This top-of-the-line point of sale (POS) system allows you to offer your guests impeccable service and keeps your rooms full.

If you'd like to know more about Epos Now, get in touch with our expert team below.