Dear Jennifer, congratulations on receiving top marks on your thesis! As you noted in your thesis, hotel concept development has barely been addressed in academic literature, so why did you choose to tackle it as the subject of your bachelor thesis? What sparked your interest – besides our close contact during your mentoring year?
Thank you very much! I remember a conversation with a fellow student who enthusiastically told me about your work at MAp. My first thought was: “Hotel concept creators? Is there such a thing?" As probably many others, I had never heard of hotel concept development. A bitter conclusion when you consider that the subject is all the more important nowadays. After all, the hotel industry is facing completely different challenges than it was 10 years ago, when free WiFi was a unique selling point.
During my time as a flight attendant, I had the privilege of staying in many well-known hotels around the world. In contrast to the hotel chains, which can pull a suitable brand out of the drawer for every guest need, independent hotels have to develop their "concept" themselves.
The complexity already begins here; a hotel concept sounds fancy, everyone claims to have one, but in truth the term is abstract and difficult to define. So on the one hand there was the hotel concept development, which from a theoretical point of view is almost undefined, and on the other hand there was the urgency for unique and competitive hotel concepts in practice. A paradox that was made for research work ;-)
Before we get into it, how would you define what a hotel concept is? And why is it so critical to the strategic planning process for hotels?
The simple answer is: a tailor-made and long-term oriented document for the strategic direction of the hotel project. However, this definition would not do justice to the term “hotel concept.” A hotel is much more than a restaurant and overnight accommodation. It is a place of encounter, interaction and sensory experiences. Furthermore, it is also a property and a business model where the needs and expectations of a wide variety of stakeholders meet. As a result, a harmonious interplay of so-called hard and soft factors is required in order to develop a coherent and holistic hotel concept.
The hotel concept is like a puzzle. To solve it, you need a methodical approach and creative imagination. Specifically, a strategic basis is required. This results from a well-founded analysis of the market, environment and trends. An individual concept can then be formed from this, which takes into account aspects such as architecture, design, sensors but also the direct and indirect influences on people and the environment. The result of this development process is a clear “raison d’être” for the hotel project.
What did your study set out to achieve? And what approach and methods did you use to reach this destination, i.e. your overall aim?
Although there are numerous studies on hotel management and project development, to the best of my knowledge, hotel concept development has not been discussed much in theory or in practice. Consequently, with my thesis I wanted to make a small but significant contribution to this existing knowledge gap.
To do this, I wanted to research how the industry understands the term “hotel concept” and how widespread hotel concept development is in the Swiss hotel industry. To this end, I conducted interviews with industry experts, hotel owners and managers. The research focus was on non-branded hotels in rural areas. The exploratory nature of my research enabled me to develop a deep understanding of the topic and to gain insights into the status quo of hotel concept development.
You interviewed both industry experts and hotel managers/owners: what did your findings reveal in terms of their understanding of what hotel concepts are and their practical use? What did you deduce from this?
Basically, the industry experts as well as the hotel owners and managers found it difficult to define a hotel concept in words. This is because a concept is more often associated with an idea than with a strategic document. It is not uncommon for the concept to be understood as part of the business plan in practice.
While the industry experts are generally of the opinion that a hotel concept should be as holistic as possible, hotel owners and managers primarily associate it with their hotel product. For example, they named the extraordinary interior design or the diverse gastronomic offer as important for “their” hotel concept. It was noticeable that the questioned hoteliers developed their concept based on experience, assumptions and gut feeling. Some even honestly admitted that nothing was planned in their hotel, but simply made. This approach is contrary to the expert opinion and the current literature, which suggests that a concept should be based on facts. As a result, it was not surprising that in the five out of six hotel projects examined, no written hotel concept was developed using a strategic planning process.
These facts strongly suggest that written hotel concepts are the exception rather than the rule in the Swiss hotel industry (unless an external consulting agency is involved). A possible reason for this is the fact that the purpose and benefits of hotel concepts are simply too unknown in the hotel industry.
What do you see as the risks to not having a proper hotel concept in place for hotel managers/owners? As it relates to the hospitality industry as a whole, what can we do to mitigate these risks and ensure hotel concept development becomes more commonplace?
Hotel projects are usually long-term, costly and risky projects. I believe that if you want to sail to a distant destination, you need to know the right course to actually get there. Only very few people manage to steer “on gut feeling,” so navigation is the only solution. This guiding document is a holistic hotel concept for all stakeholders involved. Without a hotel concept, however, those stakeholders and partners involved run the risk of losing the course or missing the right one from the start. This may only show up after the opening in the form of operational and financial difficulties. That is why it is important to deal with the hotel concept at a very early stage of the hotel project, regardless of whether it is a new building or renovation.
I see a great opportunity here for hotel consulting agencies as well as industry associations and universities, which can take up the topic further and spread the necessary know-how. For example, students at the Graubünden University of Applied Sciences develop a hotel concept directly on a case study. As young professionals, they can use this knowledge to bring new impulses to companies.
Now that you’ve successfully defended your thesis, what are your post-graduation goals and plans? How do you want to change the hospitality industry?
During my research time, I received great positive feedback and interest from the interviewees surveyed. I'm pleased because it shows that the industry is already rethinking. As a practitioner, however, it is important for me not to lose an understanding of the daily challenges in practice, despite having all the theoretical basics. After all, we don't just want hotel concepts that sound good on paper, but also ones that work in everyday business over the long term. This is a tightrope walk that I will certainly take on in the future.
As always, our final MAp meets question: what makes a hotel experience a truly outstanding one for you personally?
Being a “guest” is always a very personal experience for me and it becomes unforgettable when I am in harmony with the place and the people around me. It doesn't matter whether it's a luxury resort or a guesthouse - because the feeling of "arriving" is not created by star categories or brands, but from the heart.
About Jennifer Renggli:
Jennifer graduated from the University of Applied Sciences of the Grisons in Chur with a bachelor’s degree in Tourism and holds a Federal Vocational Certificate as a Media Technician. Having caught the travel bug on her first solo trip to Indonesia, she lived in the United Arab Emirates until 2018 and worked as a cabin crew member for an international airline. She takes joy in writing about her travel memoirs and is a regular in dinky coffee shops.
ke time for prosecco
Nice! This opens up my view of the hotel industry. Many new and previously undiscussed points there!
Thanx, interesting challenging points of interest identified and discussed!