Why the brand? The challenge for mid-scale hotels

Abstract

The European hotel market nowadays experiences remarkable changes. The well-known hotel brands seem to increase their market share in the European markets which used to be characterised by the domination of independent hotels. In the era when the hospitality industry tends to be dominated by the proliferation of these “mega”- international, well known - hotel brands, what can be the future of the independent, middle size, local hotels in this war of “mega brands”? By focusing on mid-scale hotels in a business tourism destination like Göteborg through conducting in depth interviews with local hospitality experts, we tried to find and emphasise the importance of the brand in the business traveller’s decision making process and propose strategies on how a mid-scale hotel can face the challenge of competing against the well-known hotel chains. With the help of our qualitative data we present a Hotel Brand Model which looks at identity, image and brand performance as constituent elements of a hotel brand and as factors which affect a mid-scale hotel’s brand strength. With these factors as a basis, we propose strategies which aim to help the hotel achieve having a strong brand thus making its guests loyal and emotionally bonded on it.