How Can Visual and Verbal Branding Align in Hospitality?

Discover how your hotels consistent messaging builds trust and enhances your brand identity.

First impressions count for a lot. Regardless of the size of your property, keeping your hotels consistent messaging across all channels is the key to your success. Independent hoteliers wear many hats, and keeping all departments ‘on brand’ can prove difficult. The work comes with the benefit of a united brand front.

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In this episode, learn why a united-front, industry messaging is important for independent hotels and how to achieve it.

The Importance of Consistent Messaging

When your message is consistent, you build trust and reinforce your identity in the minds of customers. Think back to the last time you stayed in a boutique hotel that, online, promised luxury. In reality, it delivered anything but. This poisons you. It makes you feel disappointed.

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For example, if a guest booked a room because they saw this impressive, tranquil vibe on your website and then got a noisy, chaotic experience, that sets them up for disappointment. When the messages are the same online and off—from a website to social and in-person—mismatches like this just don’t happen.

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Visual and Verbal Branding

The visual parts of your hotel—like logos, colour schemes, or fonts—should align with your verbal messages. This way, the guest experience should be smooth. A practical tip is to develop a guide that includes visual and verbal features—a style guide. This will help ensure that all your employees are communicating with one particular hotel message and say the same thing, from social media to your front desk. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s important across emails, social posts, and signage. It matters in terms of maintaining a consistent brand.

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Crafting a Unified Social Media Presence

Social media is an incredibly effective way of interacting with your guests and engaging new ones, but inconsistency can be confusing. Every post should match the personality and values of your brand. Use a content calendar to plan your posts. If your brand prides itself on being “green”, continuously repeat posts about your green practices. It will maintain accurate consistency, and your brand’s commitment to the environment will be reflected.

Training

Every hotel employee can help with consistent communication. Training your staff on your brand values and communicating them effectively to a guest is essential. Role-playing can do wonders, so if a guest asks any of your staff what amenities are available at your hotel, you want your staff to communicate all your amenities and do so consistently with the features advertised online. Not only does it raise guest satisfaction, but it also builds a unified brand image.

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Leveraging Technology

Unified communication in the digital age can be achieved through technology. Platforms like CRM systems and automated email platforms are some examples of how a hotel can ensure every guest interaction receives the same quality. For instance, you could have automated email responses that include the same tone, quality of message, and information regardless of when and by whom they were sent by. By the same token, CRM technology tracks every guest interaction in a hotel, which means all staff members are on the same page and can meet the needs of your guests.

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Ensuring Consistency in Crisis Communication

A single voice becomes more crucial than ever during a crisis. Whether it is a pandemic or a natural disaster, human behaviour can get your hotel a good reputation as much as it can get you a bad reputation. Ensure that you have a crisis communication plan in place, complete with key messages and communication channels, and make sure all employees are informed. Consistency in such moments of crisis will reassure the guests and keep their trust by going along with a consistent, transparent communication plan.

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Adapt Consistency for Different Cultures

If the hotel serves a mixed clientele from different cultures, then the message should be changed to relate to different cultures while maintaining consistency. This relates to knowing the cultural nuances and preferences. That might mean you are going to keep the balance of being respectful toward cultural differences while reinforcing your brand identity.

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Are you ready to implement these strategies in your hotel?

Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!

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In Conclusion

Your hotels consistent messaging across platforms is imperative where customer satisfaction is paramount. Make sure your visual and verbal branding is that of one with a clear voice, train the team, use technology, and make some minor adjustments to account for cultural considerations to ensure to have coherent and effective messaging.

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Implementing a unified messaging strategy can transform your hotel’s guest experience. Start today by reviewing your current communication channels and identifying areas for improvement.

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Don’t forget to share this article with fellow hoteliers and invite them to join the conversation!

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In the next episode, I will talk about Effective Hotel Design Communication.