I live in a serviced apartment. Quite a nice one. Bijou one might say but actually plenty big enough for the two of us who are avid couch potatoes. Perhaps a couple of larger sofas to veg out on but that's all we'd need. But we have a balcony of sorts, a big ole TV with many channels, internet, decent kitchen with all the appliances and a nice clean bathroom with a powerful shower. And by local standards it's well priced.
The only thing the apartment really lacks is style. It's furnished in some kind of nasty mass produced imitation of 19C English wood furniture - too much of it really for the available space. And the cheap prints on the walls are framed in even cheaper frames and hung crookedly;-)
The thing is there are 4 different kinds of decor in the building. Two are ugly and two are ok to my eyes. But they are all different. And they are again all different from the decor in the public areas.
The property was only partially open when I moved in. I was told the 'brand' for the property was to be modern Arabic - a dry hotel/apartment block where Muslims in general and Arabs in particular would feel at home and comfortable. A theme of 'bayti-baytek' or 'mi casa es su casa' was envisaged. And no cliched camels and sand and tents.
But I guess some commercial imperatives got in the way. As we've headed towards a proper opening a lot of the concept has fallen by the wayside in a rush to get the doors properly open.
Bayti - baytek? I asked for some of the excess furniture to be taken out of my apartment so I can make better use of the limited space available. I was told in no uncertain terms that Company Policy does not permit removal of furniture. That's fair enough corporately but it's hardly allowing me to make it 'My Home" is it?
We've just had the public areas in the lobby decorated in readiness for the public opening. Furniture has been decked out quite nicely. But in a fairly standard modern Indian style in the front lobby and a more old fashioned Arabic style in the back lounge. In colours that are different from the other areas of the property and that clash with each other. Sadly the front lobby looks like a furniture showroom display in its over the top detailing. The One or Ikea would be very pleased.
And the rear lobby is set out for style rather than comfort. Pre-opening the seating was arranged as pairs of sofas or chairs facing each other. It was quite comfortable to sit and chat. But now a lot of furniture has been removed and sofas are set out in L shapes with a coffee table. It looks airy and spacious but it's uncomfortable to just sit and chat. And as it's a 'dry' property you can't even sit and drink;-)
There is a vast gym that would make any Californian proud. But it's so stuffed with equipment you can barely move - so it feels crowded and empty at the same time.
And so on and on...
The point being that it has all been laid out and set up piecemeal with no thought about either the theme or the actual users. It's been strung together section by section by 'designers' and operations people to look nice and work as efficiently as possible.
In Branding terms its really backwards. If you're creating a Brand you need to have in mind the effect you have on your customer. What thoughts you want to engender and feelings you want to induce and what behaviours you want to encourage.
You use the tools and techniques of Branding and Brand management to shape these thoughts, feelings and behaviours in line with your marketing plans and then sell to them. You do it to make customers feel right with your product and maximise your profits.
The colours, the graphics, the shapes, the way staff are trained, even the furniture and lighting are used to create the desired effect and keep it in people's memories.
If you do what my apartment/hotel has done you get something different. You DO create a Brand but it's one over which you have no control. People are buying into your product for reasons you don't expect. And in so doing you are certainly missing proit opportunities. Possibly alienating some as well.
In our case instead of attracting Muslim and Arab travellers and families they are attracting international corporates because of the good pricing, 4* quality, convenient location, large scale which means large groups at short notice and good facilities for sports. So...Western businesses find it a good place for temporary staff, longer term senior staff and convention groups.
Who are then often disappointed because the TV in the rooms is focussed on Arabic visitors and there's no bar and few business services. The staff can't, for example, call a guest on his mobile to inform of business visitors because they are not permitted to make overseas calls. But Russian guests are likely to have Russian mobiles no? Outside visitors (i.e guests' customers) find it hard to get past security to get to the car park and into the public areas of the property. Good for keeping the family safe but not so good for commerce.
The wonderful large pool and deck is attractive to sunbathers. So full of near naked men and women together. Fine for me. But not an attractive proposition to a conservative Saudi family on holiday.
The few local guests are bemused. It looks odd - mix of generic Western Hotel, Indian Lobby and Arabic lounge area. It's full of Europeans and Americans. There's only international fare in the French named cafe or Asian food in the restaurant with a gimmicky English name. The prayer room is tiny and hard to find. There's no broadcast call to prayer.
Mixed messages abound and confused guests do NOT maximise their spending. This is silly and unproductive. And it's happening because the management is listening only to accountants and pushy shareholders who don't trust them to do the job they're paid to do.
Listen to the customers you want. Make the Brand work for them and the accountants and shareholders will be a lot happier.
In this case neither the proposed target group not the actual guests is being fully served by the Brand offering and so
the profits are going to suffer.
