ABTN speaks to Jérôme Destors, director of hotel IT for Amadeus Hospitality Solutions, about why launching in new locations can be problematic for established hotel brands.
With the possibility of new global locations and an influx of travellers from emerging economies visiting developed markets, what challenges does this pose to hotels?
The aftermath of the global financial crisis has loosened the grip that Western nations had maintained on global tourism. There is an indisputable rise in travel to - and from - growth markets. These markets include not only the usual suspects of Brazil, Russia, India and China but also other South and Central American and Asian countries, not to mention the middle east and central and eastern Europe.
With the possibility of new global locations and an influx of travellers from emerging economies visiting developed markets, it is no wonder that these new frontiers pose both a siren-like appeal and a challenge to hotels seeking to globalise their businesses. The dual opportunity of new frontiers and a new, affluent clientele in established destinations is tempered by a dual challenge of how global hotel brands can enter these new markets successfully and build a brand that is relevant to local needs but consistent with global brand values.
How can global hotel chains understand the key to balancing the specific needs of guests from new markets, whilst maintaining global brand characteristics?
Both aspects of this challenge rely on building a flexible and personalised guest experience, whatever the global location. As hoteliers will know, this requires a nuanced approach, balancing fundamental brand principles with local customs and remaining sensitive to the needs of a new traveller segment.
One example of a globalised company, which has managed to retain the fundamental characteristics of its brand, whilst also catering to the needs of a new and developing market, is McDonald's.
McDonald's products are beef-centred; however, in India it was necessary to adapt this in order to operate in a country where cows are sacred. McDonald's "Indianised" 70% of its menu with new, primarily vegetarian options such as the McAloo Tikki burger and the McCurry pan, and emphasised the core aspects of its brand that characterise its service the world over but which will also appeal to the Indian consumer. In doing so, the company built its brand around the idea that its outlets are fast, clean and family-friendly, and established a presence in a new market without having to sacrifice the experience anticipated by global visitors already familiar with the brand.
How can hotels engage with these new travellers?
Successful global hotel chains know that the key to balancing the specific needs of a guest from a new market, whilst maintaining global brand characteristics, is to offer your customer a robust brand and a memorable guest experience that is consistent in quality, regardless of local variations.
There are two ways to achieve this - one is to consider the guests origin and show respect for their social traditions and customs. For example, in Japan, employees are expected to behave in a formal and professional manner, never engaging in small talk with a customer. This is very different from the American service expectation which is much more ‘friendly' and where employees are often trained to engage in small talk.
The other way is to ensure the guest has an experience in line with the local traditions of the area they're visiting. For instance, a guests' breakfast will be served to the table in a hotel in Beijing, in accordance with Asian preferences for personal service, but as a buffet in Paris, where self-service is more prevalent.
Executed well, the guest's experience should leave them with a clear impression of the core brand values in all locations, the values that characterise it and the service it consistently offers.
How can technology aid hotel brands in maintaining uniformity of service standards globally?
Various technologies are available to create uniformity. An above-property solution, which centrally administers changes such as pricing promotions to coincide with holidays or back office changes to hotel management systems, ensures that a globalised brand does not need to coordinate their hotels worldwide to effect these changes.
They can simply administer the change centrally, and it will become effective in an instant at the worldwide locations of their choice. This in turn ensures the guest experience is consistent; if they have used the booking engine with one hotel, for example, it will be familiar and standardised when they book a room at another hotel within the brand.
A pay-per-use transactional model is scalable, and as such allows brands to expand globally at a rate that keeps pace with the market situation: with such a modular system, it is easy to incorporate new properties as soon as they are acquired with easy configuration rather than expensive programme changes. The combination of these two technologies enables fast growth whilst maintaining standards, and allows a brand to administer their properties in a manner that capitalises on the opportunities globalisation offers.
How can social media play a part in this engagement?
Marketing depends on research, and research is monitoring - that is, listening to what people are saying online. Hoteliers commonly use rate comparison tools to get valuable information to feed their revenue management systems. However, there is no reason why they cannot be using keyword systems to pick up on broader conversations beyond their own branded and competitor branded terms, right now. Furthermore, they could be using these systems to alert their marketing departments and build on-the-spot promotions in their Central Reservation Systems to be available immediately on their web sites, advertised on Facebook and communicated via Twitter.
If marketing is talking online, then Property Management Systems (PMSs) could evolve with concierge applications enabling guests and hoteliers to communicate more easily prior to or during a stay, including links to Facebook. For example, after guests have checked-in, a message could be sent from the PMS to their Facebook inbox to welcome them to the hotel and provide them with more information or even offers at, or around, the hotel.
Social media can also help with sales. By harnessing the volume of conversations hoteliers can show, through what people are saying, why those peoples' peers should consider them. Guest books used to do this on a one-to-one basis but now social media can do this instantly and globally. Imagine the power of enabling guests to post their comments, pictures and videos in an online resource, in much the same way they do now on TripAdvisor. This would necessitate changes to the hotel chain's content management system, making them robust enough to host new content and the necessary workflow and security to accommodate that. Equally, the brand website needs to support this extra public content without disrupting the navigation and response time.