While branding and good marketing are essential for selling a product or service, the hospitality industry has been a case study of how solid brands can survive and thrive for decades. One does not need to look further than the likes of Mariott or Ritz Carlon to understand how branding plays an essential role in how customers perceive what the hotel stands for – both these names bring expectations of a consistent level of service in their own price brackets.
If you are already studying or even planning to take up a career in hotel management from one of the hotel management colleges in Bhopal, or anywhere else, you need to understand how effective branding can be a boon in the hospitality industry. Read on to find out more about hotel management courses, branding tips and tricks in the industry, and also the career choices of a hotel management graduate.
| Table of Contents 1) Importance of Branding in the Hospitality Industry 2) Hotel Management Courses 3) Building Your Brand a. Consistency in Storytelling b. Identify your Niche c. Study the Competition d. Celebrate your USPs 4) Career Opportunities for Hotel Management Graduates 5) Conclusion 6) FAQs |
Importance of Branding in the Hospitality Industry
There are a lot of players in the hospitality industry, from big international hotel chains to small boutique cafes and street food stalls. Even if we just consider hotels around the world, the number of hotels and resorts number at more than 7,00,000. In that sea of competition, it becomes important to stand out and let your target customers know that you exist. That is where branding comes in.
The brand of your hospitality business, hotel or otherwise, helps the customer recognize you. Hence, your brand should reflect your core values, and your philosophy, as it is also a representation of your identity.
Hotel Management Courses
With established names in the hospitality industry earning billions of dollars in revenue year on year, especially now, with the threat from covid 19 gone, it is no surprise that educational courses that prepare students for jobs in this lucrative industry are quite common. In India, to join the hospitality industry, one has to have a degree in hotel management.
There are a lot of different types of hotel management courses available at various levels. For example, Mansarovar Global University – one of the top universities in Bhopal offers 4 different programs:
- BBA in Hospitality and Hotel Administration
- Bachelor of Hotel Management and Catering Technology
- Master in Hotel Management
- BSc in Hospitality in Hotel Administration
Building Your Brand
As you get ready for building the brand of your business in the hospitality industry, it becomes important to understand what makes a brand. Of course, we could list a few core elements that go into branding, like:
- Brand Name
- Look and feel
- Logo
- Typography
All these are important elements that go into making a brand out of your business and hence they require you to give some thought to them. However, one thing that you absolutely need to nail is making sure that all these elements are communicating the same story to the customer – the story of your brand and its core philosophy.
Consistency in Storytelling
Any marketing expert worth their salt will tell you one thing for sure – that at its core, good branding is about telling a compelling story; and telling it consistently. When it comes to marketing your business in the hospitality industry, make sure that all the elements in your brand resonate with your core philosophy and work together to tell your story. For example, if your business is close to the sea, you might want to integrate a name, logo, typography, and design language for your brand that celebrates the ocean – warm colors with blue, imagery of waves, tropical themes, etc are just some ideas you can get started with.
Identify your Niche
The best private university in MP – Mansarovar Global University also teaches its hotel management students the importance of playing to one’s strengths in the hospitality industry, instead of trying to do everything at once. For example, if your hotel has really fast wifi connectivity, multiple wall outlets, compact rooms with a focus on function over form, and really affordable prices, it could be ideally marketed with a narrative of being good for business travelers.
A set target market will help you avoid expenditures in areas that you don’t need to spend on while also curbing the chance of getting bad reviews by trying to do too much at once and failing miserably. Instead, a clear-cut niche and target customer is easier to please, as you already know what they care about the most.
Study the Competition
This goes for not the hospitality industry but all markets in general. Knowing your competition, in the local area or otherwise, will help you understand your customers’ needs better and figure out better ways (or just copy the competition’s) to offer more value. To get an understanding of who your competition is, just use one of the travel agency sites like Expedia and search for businesses matching your:
- Mission and Vision
- Target Audience
- Visual Imagery and Message
- Quality of Service
- Price Rates
- Guest Reviews
- Marketing Strategies
Celebrate your USPs
Finally, you also need to make out what makes you stand out from the competition and use it to drive your branding and marketing strategy. This can be anything from boasting about your jacuzzi to rotating your prices frequently to let customers take advantage of frequent discounts. As long as it is consistent with the narrative that you are trying to push with your brand, good to have things should always be celebrated.
Career Opportunities for Hotel Management Graduates
Here are some of the jobs hotel management graduates can opt for in the hospitality industry:
| Job Profile | Average Annual Salary (INR) |
| Executive Chef/ Head Chef | 9.12 Lakhs |
| Front Office Manager | 3.00 Lakhs |
| Hotel Manager | 6.17 Lakhs |
| Director of Sales and Marketing | 25 Lakhs |
Conclusion
Branding, if you look at it closely, is nothing but coming up with a narrative that invokes an emotional response in the customer and sticking to a strategy to reinforce the image of your business in their minds. Successful branding can make your business boom, and sustain for generations after, not to mention generating more revenue and attracting more customers in the short term. Do consider signing up for a course at hotel management colleges in Bhopal like MGU if you need more insight into the working of the hospitality industry.
FAQs
- How can I boost sales online in the hospitality industry?
To boost sales online in the hospitality industry, you can take advantage of social media marketing to create and distribute content that tells your brand’s story or highlights your philosophies.
- Are mobile-friendly apps/websites really necessary for businesses in the hospitality industry?
Yes. In this day and age, mobile-friendly experiences are really important for any industry. A report by Facebook and KPMG International stated that by 2022, 90% of hotel bookings worldwide will take place through mobile bookings.
- Are there any tools to help my business in the hospitality industry?
Yes. There exist plenty of tools to help businesses in the hospitality industry. Some of them include Briwserstack for checking the mobile-friendliness of websites, BlueSky ETO, Unbounce, etc.
- What is the best way to boost customer loyalty?
Service is the best way to boost customer loyalty in the hospitality industry. People do talk a lot about where they visited and if you provide good service and make them feel comfortable and welcome, they will talk about it. Do that consistently, and you will have customer loyalty.
