THE MARKETING ROLE OF UNIQUE CONCEPTS FOR HOTELS IN SWEDEN

Abstract

Many hotels nowadays try to differentiate their product with a unique concept as compared to the traditional hotel product. There is an increase in the interest in hotels with unique concepts, which shows a trend among customers today asking for more than just a room. Today a large variety of hotels with unique concepts can be found all around the world. There are many definitions for all different types of hotels like; boutique-, lifestyle-, design-, co-branded or themed hotels. Unique concept hotels are designed with a personal touch, which will enable them to brand themselves differently. These hotels can differentiate their hotel product from competitors by placing themselves in a market niche through their image, lifestyle, design and style. The investigation is based on eight hotels in Sweden, which differentiate themselves by marketing their product with a unique concept. The research and interviews from a managers perspective shows the preliminary effectiveness of their marketing strategies in the actual marketplace and discuss how they plan to keep their uniqueness. An explorative approach and qualitative research methods have been used to collect information while conducting the investigation. The hotel managers at these unique concept hotels believe their customers to have high expectations, therefore the investigation illustrates why the postmodern customers expectations are changing the hotel product.