Flexibility needed in mid-market hotel operations

Sticking to brand standards is vital, yet being flexible in how hotels deal with guests and their experiences can lead to success for the mid-market sector.

Speaking during a panel discussion at the Hotelier Express Summit 2017 titled ‘Thinking Outside the Box - Customising Experiences’, conference chairperson Rupprecht Queitsch - the CEO and senior partner of INHOCO Group, posed a question about how mid-market properties should handle brand guidelines during operations.

Hilton Garden Inn Ras Al Khaimah general manager Remmie De Graaf asserted that it’s important to follow brand guidelines but then customising this to what guests want. “We have seen the trend that we promote what is out there – to give inspiration about the local destination rather than [just talk about] the bed, the telephone or the minibar,” he said. De Graaf added that destination management is something that the mid-market sector needs to tap into.

Aditya Rajaram, managing director of Radar DWC, added that guests need to understand brand values first. “What I’m trying to get from an owner's perspective, is we go back to the operators and tell them, ‘let’s focus on really highlighting the brand ethos and brand values and really put a focus on guest understanding of what the brand is all about’. Then once we get into the real product that’s when we customise experiences, while ensuring that whatever the true brand values are we stick to them.” He added that this shouldn’t necessarily translate into exact square metres, but it’s important to achieve the actual experience “in a totally different way that helps everyone”.

De Graaf added that mid-market hotel teams being smaller lends itself to more flexibility, allowing the team to follow the journey of the guest in the hotel from check-in to check-out. “We have far more flexibility to be engaged with the guests than bigger hotels,” he added.

This led to assertion that hiring practices also need to be flexible – with panellists agreeing that it’s important to hire the best people for the job, no matter what their background, rather than sticking to just candidates with hospitality experience.