Due to the degree of independence of subsidiary hotel brands, it's sometimes difficult to distinguish between a boutique property that's owned by a large company and one that is truly independentfinancially and otherwise. Freitag said that another key advantage of hotels is their widespread distribution, which opens up opportunities for investors in almost any market in the country. Independent hotel chains are not to be confused with general hotel chains. In some cases, you might end up selling for a much lower price than desired if you do have trouble finding someone to buy the restaurant. Retrieved from https://research.skift.com/report/a-deep-dive-into-operating- branding-strategies-for-hotel-owners/, Ting, D. (2017). If you've ever spent a . Retrieved from http://www.hotellawyer.com/resource-center.html/, Carlbck, M. (2015). Much of this growth is in midscale properties, which increased from 4,400 in 1990 to more than 16,000 in 2018, and upscale hotels, which grew from 2,500 properties in 1990 to 7,500 in 2018. Please try again. (2011). Kelso commented on the increased complexity of the insurance policies required for hotels, particularly for resort properties in areas prone to hurricanes or other natural disasters. Are independent hotels capable of competing with chain hotels. The LoopNet service and information provided therein, while believed to be accurate, are provided "as is". Example: staff organization that counts ten people from one day to the next. On the flip side, they tend to be more expensive and elite. Los Angeles: JMBM Global Hospitality Group. As Barton said, Its a fun business; no day is ever the same., Kelso concurred. Ways in which health insurance can help your child during an emergency? On the flip side, they tend to be more expensive and elite. Dont Expect Hotel Companies to Stop Launching New Soft Brands Anytime Soon. Independent hotels are more agile and better prepared to adapt to the local market shifts ("Skift Report", 2018), and have the flexibility and opportunity to create unique experiences for the guests (Stone, 2018). While you can sell an independent restaurant, you'll need to have put in the effort to make a reputation for yourself and show potential buyers that the purchase would be profitable for them. Freitag also mentioned that abundant data, including information found in the dSTAR Report produced by STR (which, like LoopNet, is owned by CoStar Group), is an industry attribute that investors can benefit from. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Increase revenue: more direct bookings and less commission. Daniel Schmergel is the Managing Editor of LoopNet. Another disadvantage is that it can take longer for your independent restaurant to gain customers and have a good profit. Since you don't have a franchisor to whom you need to answer, you only have to worry about yourself and your own employees, and this can reduce conflict from disagreements over operations. In addition to brands, one of the most potent forces influencing the hotel market are OTAs (online travel advisors), and its important that investors understand the impact theyve had, and continue to have, on the industry. This group is simply not inclined to spend money or time on application . Please try another or click, By clicking the button, you agree to LoopNet's, An Overview of This High-Risk, High-Reward Asset Class, Passwords is too common or does not have at least 8 characters. ONeill, J. W., & Carlbck, M. (2011). Building and managing your brand. All hotels under the ensign of a hotel group are referred to as a chain hotel. In some cases, the value of affiliation could be negative when the costs associated with the association are higher than the revenues received (Carlbck, 2015). The Cornell School of Hotel Administration on Hospitality. While independent hotels tend to be singular and not belong to a group, more and more chains are starting to acquire these types of hotels to diversify their portfolios. It is true that a franchise can come with some cost benefits, like allowing you to get group discounts for startup supplies and saving money on initial advertising and lease costs. Roughly 30 years ago, independent hotels accounted for about two-thirds of the properties in the hospitality industry. Beautiful Design. (With) soft brands, I get the best of both worlds, he said. The objective is to know very well the business that is being managed and to know how to identify (and differentiate) the pros and cons. Want more coverage of the Hotel Data Conference? Running an independent restaurant has its perks: You can change your menu at any time, use whatever slogans and logos you want and avoid some of the costs and risks of franchise ownership. When you run a franchise, the franchisor is the one who tells you what food you can serve, what your location must look like and what procedures you must follow in your daily operations. A hotel owner needs to assess the benefits and costs of affiliating as well as compare various affiliation alternatives against each other (Carlbck, 2017). 3099067 Hoteliers on the Pros and cons of independence panel at this years Hotel Data Conference in Nashville took a specific side and talked about why they liked their specific affiliation of choice, whether it be independent, branded or soft branded. a. There are over a dozen separate brands in the portfolio of Hilton. Retrieved from https://scholarship.sha.cornell.edu/chrpubs/224/, Enz, C. A., & Canina, L. (2011). The franchise agreement is a legal license agreement between the hotel brand and the hotel owner that . Thus, the decision to affiliate or stay independent should be hotel specific as it can benefit one property, and another hotel could perform better without affiliation. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Example: an employee for 50 reservations instead of 10 is more profitable. By correctly segmenting your hotels offer for a specific target group, they can better compete with chains. On the other hand, chain hotels have extremely high service standards, but they tend to offer a more standard approach to customer service, attending to the needs of their clients as they arise and being sure to offer professionality and quality service across their whole chain. Franchising.com: Weighing the Pros and Cons of Franchising vs. School of Business, Economics, and Law at the University of Gothenburg. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. The study did not find a significant difference in net operating income (NOI) during economic expansions and found significantly higher NOI for branded hotels during recessions. As Freitag noted, Theyve been there and done that, right? 2. Enz and Canina (2011) compared the financial results of 104 newly opened affiliated and unaffiliated hotels in the United Kingdom during the first two years of operation. Theres fixed costs and variable costs in operating a hotel. You must put 35% to 40% equity into any deal, Patel said. These cookies allow a website to remember choices you have made in the past, like what language and currency you prefer, remember your name and email and automatically fill forms. Advertising cookies for delivering tailored and customized advertising. I dont think the story has been completely told yet as it relates to soft brands, he said. That is to say, independent hotels might use technology to create a seamless guest journey, enhancing the guest experience and being able to offer service 24/7. Hotels Magazine. Advantages of an independent restaurant include potentially lower startup costs, full control over operations and avoidance of franchise risks. One of the ways different hotels can be sure that they are offering a one-of-a-kind service is by carrying out a competitive analysis. What is the difference between a room rate and a rack rate? Disadvantages include full accountability, more time needed to become profitable and resale difficulties. There is a significant difference in the overall experience both kinds of hotels offer. Click to reveal I will tell you its five to six times harder to open an independent or a soft brand, he said. A boutique hotel is a small, upscale, luxury hotel that has a distinct personality, intimate experience, and personalized service. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". If you decide you want to try something new, like adding outdoor dining or offering new desserts, you don't have to worry about getting approval like you would with a franchise. The biggest disadvantage however is the lack of independence. Patel concurred with that assessment. The main con is typically over-standardization. Soft Brands - Weighing the Risks, Rewards, and Realities. Eric Horodas, president and CEO of Greystone Hotels, said he likes having creative freedom with independents. You will have to do all the marketing and brand building yourself. Hotel Management Agreement Advantages and Disadvantages. According to the STR report, from 2003 to 2007which saw more than three dozen hurricanes, in places such as the Gulf and Atlantic coastal regions of the United States1,000 independent hotel properties faced a permanent closure. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 30(3), 515521. They focus on quantity to achieve this goal and for this reason can often be more competitive in terms of pricing. The study found no consistent advantages in all segments for either affiliated or unaffiliated properties. Please check back in a few minutes. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Big brands are much more likely than small, independent hotels to buy property to build new hotels, according to the study by STR, a systems and tech research company. This personalized touch, of simply just knowing what their guests want, gives them a competitive edge. You'll need more time to see a return on your investment than you would if you run a franchise. doi 10.1016/j.ijhm.2010.08.003, Rushmore, S. (2004). That is to say, they strive to offer a unique and authentic experience at every hotel. The brand companies franchise their brands to the hotel owners. Of course, it is less unlikely that they can compete on price, but quality and the type of offer is a great place to focus efforts. On the other hand, the main advantage of independent hotels is that they are more personalized and tend to cater to a specific target audience. Some sources also speculated that the loyalty programs, which have long been one of the primary benefits offered by the brand franchise model, are less relevant in an era where OTAs dominate. Advantages. O'Neill and Carlbck (2011) and Carvell, et. The remaining insurance companies are using the situation to their advantage and raising premiums. Please contact Customer Support at 1-800-613-1303. Those flags are going to get me more revenue per room, he said. Does paying higher franchise fees command higher RevPAR?. Poor marketing communications Poor budget allocation Poorly managed advertising campaigns Poor product presentation These items are all part of the core hotel brand experience. You must register your contact information to view secure information on this listing. So taking a spontaneous or unplanned last-minute holiday may not always be. Each Autograph Collection hotel has its very own look and feel, making it improbable that most consumers can discern that any two are under the same umbrella. Further details are available upon request. Promotion : a marketing and communication office that is in charge of advertising the chain as a whole and the individual recognition of each structure. February 12th, 2013 at 12:09 PM EST. Consider both the advantages and disadvantages of hotel ownership as a franchisee to decide if it's right for you. The aforementioned brand impact isnt the only area where hotel financing differs from other CRE asset types. The brands offer obvious benefits in terms of their marketing reach and name recognition. Advantages of hotel chains = disadvantages for the independent hotel. Its great to be creative, but we like to make money, he said. The authors concluded that the value that the brand brings is not static and varies over time. Cash flow volatility. Other disadvantages include high cost of effective distribution, increasing costs of communication, inability to obtain necessary marketing intelligence in order to compete (Holverson & Revaz, 2006), high amount of investments required for technology solutions (Ting, 2017), cost of paying high OTA commissions and advertising expenses may offset the benefit of not paying franchise fees to the brand, harder to get access to capital as lenders consider independent properties risky and prefer to finance affiliated hotels (Stone, 2018). It is free of its capabilities and possibilities. Independent hotels have higher average daily rate and rooms revenues per available room than branded hotels during the same time period, according to the results of the study. While consumers may still appreciate the presumed quality and service assurances that accompany a brand, they tend to be less brand specific, Barton said. This is partially due to lenders viewing larger, more reputable companies as less of a financial risk, said Ting Phonsanam, founder of Momentum Hospitality Group. In the modern hospitality landscape, brands rule the day. (, How power distance affects online hotel ratings: The positive moderating roles of hotel chain and reviewers travel experience, Intellectual property rights, complementarity and the firms economic performance, Perceptions of European independent hoteliers: Hard and soft branding choices, Organisational form as a solution to the problem of credible commitment: The evolution of naming strategies among U.S. hotel chains, Star rating and corporate affiliation: Their influence on room price and performance of hotels in Israel, Categorical data analysis: Away from ANOVAs (transformation or not) and towards logit mixed models, Department of Tourism Management Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Overcoming the liability of foreignness through lobbying: An examination of franchise systems, Construction of an instrument to evaluate the User eXperience of a group of co-creators in the upstream innovation process, Country-of-operation and brand images: Evidence from the Chinese hotel industry, Managerial academic experience, external monitoring, and financial reporting quality, Competition in the international hotel industry, Maximum likelihood algorithms for generalized linear mixed models, Greening the hospitality industry: How do green human resource management practices influence organizational citizenship behavior in hotels? What are the rates of the hotel rooms? Independents need a simple-to-use solution that enables easier adoption and employee training. Small hotels dont have big-brand financial backing to aid them if they need renovations, expensive repairsor a revamp after a natural disaster, which could put them out of business. Quality assurance, consulting support and lender comfort are provided by the Hotel Chains. 1 Wider potential for innovation is the advantage of independent hotels 2 Easily focus on resources 3 Personalization is easier in independent hotels 4 Adoption of any market shift is easy 5 More detail-oriented Wider Potential for Innovation Independent hotels can adopt new processes for enhancing their performance. I can be creative; I can be different; I can distinguish myself; and I can provide each and every one of my guests with a (unique) experience.. Youve got hundreds of operating issues; youve got a very different debt market for hospitality assets than you do [for] other asset classes; you have to contend with the brands, you have to contend with the managers, and you have to contend with the third-party OTAs (online travel advisors) such as Expedia, TripAdvisor and Travelocity.. Barton also noted that lenders will want to see a clear management plan in place, and will even give particular consideration to investors that choose to literally sleep where they eat, often showing a preference for owner-occupied hotels. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. Having the ability to efficiently and cost-effectively market room nights is a goal all independent hotels should work towards. Kelso described how this differs from other real estate asset classes. Furthermore, by creating a targeted, highly-segmented offer for a niche audience, it will be easier to capture clients that are not so price sensitive, but instead are looking for that one-of-a-kind experience. 2023 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, All Rights Reserved. Cornell Hospitality Report, 15(21), 3-11. Financial autonomy : independent accommodation does not have financial pressures from a group that demands a certain return. While having full control over your restaurant is an advantage in terms of flexibility and creativity, it also comes with the disadvantage of full responsibility. Brand affiliation for the small independent hotel could help to stay competitive in the market (Carlbck, 2017); however, for hotels operating in particular markets, staying independent could be more beneficial (Kwortnik, 2011; Stone, 2018). Do brand hotels perform better than independent hotels? However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. These things stand there for 30, 40, 50 years, but consumer tastes change, consumer preferences change. Weve seen all of the major hotel companies get into the soft-brand arena, and theyre trying to scale up. Less bureaucracy and more attention to original guest experience and unique initiatives. It can be a very labor intensive asset class, especially towards the higher end, as you provide more services, Freitag said. Lets look more in detail about the difference between these two different kinds of hotels, as well as discover whether these two types of structures can compete. Your growth rates year over year are going to look really, really strong, Freitag said. Todays consumer is becoming more and more demanding, which has inspired a more personalized and varied offer in the hospitality sector. We inspire our audience of meeting and event professionals to dream bigand create brilliant experiences that delight attendees, achieve desired results and elevate the impact of the meetings industry. Permission is granted subject to the terms of the License under which the work was published. Chains, on the other hand, can be more competitive on pricing, and can provide a sense of reliability that will appeal to a wider target audience. Brand Value Attributable to Affiliation (BVAA) - a Method for Measurement in a Consortium Context. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7c088146c8c40cf3 The good news is, if you can buy today, youre buying at the trough. The greatest advantage to me is the ability to be creative, he said. He has worked in the commercial real estate industry for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of marketing, content and communications roles for companies that include Newmark Knight Frank and Cushman & Wakefield. Retrieved from http://ejtr.vumk.eu/index.php/forthcoming-articles/654- v2310/, Carlbck, M. (2017). It is established that everything that is not related to a hotel chain is considered an independent hotel . Carlbck (2017) posited that affiliation is necessary when a business is focused on growth and development. Dev (2015) concurred that two factors drove the financial results for hotels that changed brands - the strength of the brand (60%) and fit between the brand and the property (40%). The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". Such challenges notwithstanding, all of the experts LoopNet spoke with believe this is a particularly compelling moment for investors to consider hotel assets. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. According to Holverson and Revaz ( 2006 2015 1997) identified the main disadvantages of SME (independent) hotels as insufficient management and marketing skills within the distribution channel. There are Associations or Marketing organizations that link together small to medium-sized independent travel agencies. To be clear, these brands, many of which are household names Hilton, Marriot, Choice, etc. Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine. They have the ability to negotiate better room rates for employees who stay there a lot. A comparison of the performance of brand-affiliated and unaffiliated hotel properties. Because of the potential for a significant reduction in revenue during economic downturns, all of the experts LoopNet spoke with said it was critical that investors plan to fund a substantial portion of the purchase with cash. Rushmore (2004) suggested that hotels with the following attributes did not need a brand: Exclusive location, unique architecture, rare amenities, boutique hotel, or an eye-catching name. Whats the story behind soft brands?When asked if a soft brand is really just a brand, Horodas said hes not so sure how soft brands will play out in the future as more pop up in the industry. Every hotel owner needs to decide whether to operate independently or lose some degree of independence to gain a possible competitive advantage by affiliating with the brand. By closing this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies. Best shoes for different occasions: Work, parties and Outdoor Activities, How to Choose the Right Home Designer for Your Project, Smart ways to style your casual shirt for vacation, Guidelines to start your career in online teaching, Why Local SEO is Essential for Small Business Owners, Five Steps Women Can Take to Improve Their Health. Register to receive personalised research and resources by email. The . You may also be able to start an independent restaurant with less cash than you would with a franchise. Their location was chosen due to the attractiveness of the place and the potential profit.
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