Hotel Brand Revitalization
Like any commercial product, a hotel brand follows a life cycle. At its maturity, the brand becomes tired in the face of changing consumer preferences, new brand competition floods the market, and brand development stagnates while brand-wide revenue flat lines. Although lodging companies continuously try to promote their brands, at this point in the brand life cycle only two options remain. One extreme measure is to eliminate the brand from the company’s portfolio, ensuring development of that brand remains dormant. An example of this is when InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) eliminated Holiday Inn Select from the Holiday Inn brand family. The other option, which is more commonly undertaken, is to revitalize the brand through a process that is often referred to as a “rebrand,” a “brand refresh,” or a “brand relaunch.”