In a world increasingly defined by diversity and cultural exchange, the hospitality industry stands as a bridge connecting people from all walks of life. Travelers seek experiences across the globe, and the concept of creating hospitality cohesion in projects spanning several continents and cultures has never been more important.
While brands should aim to blend innovative design, unique storytelling and personalized experiences that speak to the property’s locale, it’s imperative to create a sense of harmony between projects when managing a multinational portfolio. Whether a hotel is nestled in the heart of a bustling city or found off the beaten path in tranquil rural escapes, the hospitality industry has evolved into a melting pot of ideas, each one reinforcing the shared values of comfort, inclusivity and community.
By blending principles of individualism and collectivism, global endeavors are crafting a cohesive, seamless experience for travelers while embracing the unique facets and attractions of their local contexts.
106 Jefferson Hotel in Huntsville, Alabama — Photo by Valor Hospitality
Facilitating Top-Tier Service Under an Ever-Expanding Portfolio
Maintaining a consistent feel across an extensive portfolio of nearly one hundred hospitality projects isn’t about making them identical—it’s about delivering a great experience every single time, no matter where a guest stays. While we hold the highest of standards for service, operations and guest experience at each of our properties at Valor Hospitality, we don’t force a one-size-fits-all approach. Each property keeps its own local personality, meaning a hotel in South Africa will not be replicated in the U.K., but both will deliver the same caliber of revolutionary hospitality.
This is made possible by investing in people; a stellar team is the greatest strength a business can have. At Valor Hospitality, we refer to our team members as “hotelitarians,” and our team members each bring unique and vital attributes to the table. They are highly engaged, emotionally connected and passionate people who are truly the best in class. No role is more important than another, no matter if you’re a VP of sales and marketing, a front desk manager or restaurant server.
Every guest interaction is an opportunity to set a property or restaurant apart from the crowd, which includes everything from a authentic conversation with a mixologist at the bar or a thoughtful recommendation from the concierge. It’s critical to continuously strive and commit to leveling up the guest experience for all who walk through the door.
We mindfully dedicate ourselves to training, development and leadership programs and thoughtfully communicating our best practices to ensure that, no matter which Valor property guests visit, they experience an everlasting commitment to service and excellence. To reach this top-tier standard of excellence, brands should dedicate ample time to onboarding, training and leadership development and thoughtfully communicating the business’ best practices. This guarantees that guests receive the same exceptional level of service, no matter which property they visit across a large portfolio. By doing the simple things brilliantly, teams can build a foundation for sustainable growth and success.
With that being said, hospitality teams should not be working in silos. Actively sharing ideas, successes and challenges across properties and borders certifies that when something is working well at one hotel, others can learn and benefit from it. This looks like using centralized tools in every department including revenue management, sales and marketing, food and beverage, operations and more so teams can track performance, share insights and be certain each hotel is operating at its best while staying connected to the bigger picture.
Again, the goal isn’t for all hotels in a portfolio to feel the same—it’s for each of them to feel great, no matter where they may be. Consistent communication and collaboration are of utmost importance for a successful business model.
The Kimpton Banneker Hotel in Washington D.C. — Photo by Valor Hospitality
Marketing Across Borders
From a marketing perspective, creating cohesion means ensuring guests recognize what makes a hospitality brand’s properties special, whether they’re booking a weekend stay a state away or planning an elaborate expedition across the pond. The stories we tell play out differently at the big-picture level and the individual hotel level, and marketing magic is achieved when we strike the balance between these two perspectives.
On a property-specific level, localized storytelling is key in creating a unique but congruent brand identity. Each hotel has varied local demand, events and guest preferences, requiring unique narratives highlighting regional happenings and history. Properties come to life through custom marketing plans; a campaign for a hotel in the Colorado mountains might focus on outdoor adventure at the doorstep of the property, while a city-center hotel relies on highlighting business travel convenience. Marketing is a large part of the greater guest journey. From the moment someone finds a hotel online throughout the end of their stay, the team should work to make sure messaging, branding and service all feel interconnected.
When comparing this hyper-local focus to the big picture of brand-wide coordination, it’s essential that each property fits into the overall company framework through clear and persistent messaging. No matter which hotel a guest explores, the brand voice should remain unified. Marketing initiatives tell a synergistic story about service, hospitality and experience while allowing each property to showcase its unique identity. When managing a variety of branded hotels, each must follow its respective brand guidelines, visual style and content standards.
At Valor, we’ve worked to develop a strategic set of principles that all our marketing materials must meet, ensuring that all messaging from any of our various partners will always maintain a steady tone and quality, regardless of local and regional contingencies. This has been extremely beneficial as we’ve developed Valor’s food and beverage division, which we branded SAVOR within the last year to take the company to new heights and set ourselves apart from competitors. SAVOR currently consists of over 110 kitchens and bars worldwide, and it’s been an extension of our processes in creating standalone concepts—whether that be a hotel property or a restaurant—that each have their own individuality but remain true to the global Valor brand.
At the end of the day, cohesion isn’t about being identical—it’s about feeling connected. It’s vital to make sure the big-picture brand is strong while letting each property shine in its own unique way.
The Harpeth Hotel in Franklin, Tennessee — Photo by Valor Hospitality
Bridging the Cultural Divide
While maintaining a central vision across global projects, teams should prioritize thorough research to understand each market’s unique characteristics and account for cultural differences. Before entering a new region, it’s imperative to dive deep into understanding the local demographics, culture and business practices, adapting the strategy to align with these insights.
For instance, in markets like Dubai, Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East, where the culture and approaches to hospitality are vastly different from western practices, we create strategies that respect and integrate the local tradition of service while still reflecting Valor’s global values. This allows us to maintain a dependable brand identity while giving each property the flexibility to tailor its offerings to the local culture. Exceptional guest service transcends cultural boundaries, and regardless of location, teams and brands should be dedicated to providing guests with an unforgettable experience.
Every property housed under a hospitality brand has a unique celebration of local culture, and with this in mind, teams should consider employing a thorough, streamlined immersion process for every hotel that joins the portfolio. At Valor, we have a global director of learning and development, and our brand’s in-house team is boots on the ground at every new property within our expansion. This program begins with an orientation that educates the on-site hotel team on the global scope of the brand, our community impact and our core values.
At each property, we provide a suite of resources, including tools, standard operating procedures and ongoing training to make certain that all hotels and hotelitarians receive the same foundational support. While the orientation follows a common format across all properties, it is tailored to align with each hotel’s unique distinction and offerings, ensuring global continuity while embracing the nuances of local culture.
Commitment doesn’t stop there, as ongoing learning and development are key to continued success. By providing regular follow-ups and immersing hotels in tailored programs, teams can confirm that their values remain fresh and relevant. When working across time zones, language barriers and cultural divides, intentional and frequent communication is truly essential to success.
Set the groundwork for excellence by meeting with each regional team on a weekly basis, providing them with the space to share what’s working and what isn’t, offering support in problem solving and adopting changes as needed. Don’t be afraid to fail spectacularly; a business grows the most when it learns to balance expectations and realities.
Dunluce Lodge in Northern Ireland — Photo by Valor Hospitality
Overcoming Challenges and Raising the Bar
One of the biggest challenges in ensuring congruence across all projects is maintaining constant and effective communication. You can’t accurately gauge success and progress when the lines of communication feel muddled, so it’s imperative to foster an environment where team members feel comfortable speaking up when they have concerns or suggestions. This isn’t always easy, but it’s better to have tough conversations rather than settle for decisions that are made without enough input.
Be wary of silence from team members, because without open dialogue, business decisions are made without a full understanding of their impact. The importance of communication and cultivating a setting where feedback is encouraged, especially when working with a diverse set of cultural expectations and practices, cannot be overstated.
Additionally, it’s vital to put processes in place that streamline operations and make resources accessible to everyone. Setting clear timelines and expectations for all regions helps ensure everyone operates on the same schedule, despite differences in fiscal years or regional objectives. This approach ultimately allows teams to track performance, understand profit and loss more effectively and tailor global strategies for individual regions. Defining direct and unanimous guidelines confirms that core processes don’t get lost in translation.
One key way to make this happen is by sharing your brand’s annual global brand objectives to every project under your umbrella. These annual objectives serve as an outline of the top key goals for the year and the strategy behind them. To further secure alignment, it’s essential to break down these objectives into more granular, actionable steps. These detailed tactics are then shared with each region, allowing them to implement and adapt the strategy to meet their local needs. This process guarantees that while each region has the flexibility to tailor their approach, everyone is still working toward the same overarching goals, promoting a unified direction for the entire organization.
Maintaining a sense of cohesion across a global hospitality portfolio requires balancing the competing interests of brand consistency with local adaptation. By setting clear expectations, encouraging open communication and investing in ongoing training and leadership development, brands can make certain that their properties deliver exceptional, personalized experiences while staying true to their core values.
Understanding cultural differences, optimizing processes and encouraging collaboration across borders are all essential steps to ensuring a meaningful experience for guests, no matter where they stay. Ultimately, it’s about creating a connected, consistent brand that embraces the inimitable elements of each location and unifying them under a shared commitment to excellence.
Reprinted from the Hotel Business Review with permission from www.HotelExecutive.com.
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