VIDEO: Marriott’s Tina Edmundson on branding to suit the traveller

Tina Edmundson, as senior vice-president of lifestyle brands for Marriott International, is responsible for the Renaissance Hotels and Autograph collection hotels—both of which fall under the ‘lifestyle’ category for the group.

“We define lifestyle brands as more experiential—not just functional, but for those looking for an experience to remember while they’re travelling,” Edmundson told Campaign Asia-Pacific during an exclusive interview. “Those who choose our lifestyle hotels want more than just a room.”

Currently the Marriott Group has 30 Renaissance Hotels in Asia-Pacific and one recently launched Autograph hotel in Bali. According to Edmundson, the Renaissance Hotel branding is all about “discovery”, in line with its recently launched global branding campaign ‘Live life to discover’.

The brand promise in the campaign is “brought to life” by on-property ‘Navigators’, trained to point out unique and less-known local secrets to guests. “Their service is communicated pre-arrival to guests via a link to the Navigator programme in the confirmation email,” said Edmundson. While staying, the hotels guests are also met with “touchpoints” recommending activities that can be completed in different time-spans. “Say you have two hours, do you want to visit a boutique? Have lunch? The Navigators can help you with that.”

The campaign is also supported by a redesigned website for the Renaissance Hotels which, beyond the basic functions of hotel websites documenting booking, rates and facilities, asks, “What do you want to do?” and makes suggestions. “On a vacation to Istanbul with my family, we did our entire itinerary based on the site,” said Edmundson.

As the brand is present in 35 countries it was important for the Marriott Group that the brand campaign resonate worldwide. “We tested it and found that all over the world people want to find things no one else has seen,” said Edmundson.

There are minor differences, however, between the preferences of Asian and Western travellers, she continued. “Those from the West want an adventure. They want to find places no one has ever heard of, that can’t be found in any guide. Asian travellers however are in pursuit of the lux, premium and exclusive—experiences they can brag about.”

In the three months since the online campaign was launched, it has served up more than 100 million impressions with a clickthrough rate 50 per cent above industry average, said the group. On social media, the hotel’s site has grown to 213,000 likes and picked up 18,000 Twitter followers.

Also in the lifestyle brand group, the Autograph is less a brand, more a collection of hotels, said Edmundson. As the Marriott Group’s answer to the penchant for boutique hotels, each hotel is “a brand itself” and targets travellers, similar to those who would choose the Renaissance, but even more determined to gain a unique experience, independent from a hotel chain.

Travellers who stay at Autograph, and at Renaissance too for that matter, want to wake up and know where they are, commented Edmundson. Defining individuality in each hotel can be as subtle as tailored fragrances to a fully customised experience for the guest. “We’re even encouraging hotels to design ‘guilt gifts’ for guests who want to take home something special and local to friends and family back home but may not have the time to shop,” she said.

Beyond defining its lifestyle brands, the Marriott Group also aims to use its new branding architecture to expose its guests to a larger spectrum of what the group has to offer. “A year ago we conducted a study and found that our customers loved our brands individually but when exposed to the breadth of the portfolio, they were taken aback,” explained Edmundson. “The group decided that we don’t do enough to talk about the entirety of what we have to offer.”

Since then, the group has found, regardless of country or region, that after someone stays at more than one of Marriott’s hotels, they start to take advantage of the portfolio’s value proposition. In Asia, 60 per cent Marriott Rewards members have their first two stays at different locations, with loyalty to the group branding increasing with each stay.

“We want to be the company that you choose with a brand to suit every time you travel,” said Edmundson.