MIAMI BEACH, Florida—Introducing a brand redesign and overhaul takes patience, hard work and customer insight—all things the Country Inns & Suites team took seriously when creating their new generation four prototype.
Executives said the new design is designed to attract younger business travelers while giving existing customers the home-like feel they expect from the upper-midscale brand from the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.
“The intent was to have something that appeals to new generations of travelers—but not assume what they want,” Scott Meyer, senior VP of midscale hotel brands for Carlson, told HotelNewsNow.com. That meant reaching out and asking new, old and potential customers what they want.
“The end result is this design,” he said. “The good news is that it not only appeals to a new generation of travelers out there today … but existing ones and older generations, they find that it still has those touches of home we use.”
Owners express concerns
For owners who either lack the funds to implement the new prototype or are working to implement changes from generation three, Meyer said the older design is still “very, very relevant with customers and travelers today.”
The problem, he said, was from the branding perspective. Guests might have seen the old logo and it didn’t communicate what Country Inns & Suites stood for.
“I think for those hotels, the biggest positive for them is the new branding fits their hotels than our previous branding. That’s a positive for them.”
Owner Jack Burns, who is converting his Days Inn in Traverse City, Michigan, to a Country Inns & Suites this July, will implement exterior changes first, including new signage featuring the brand’s refreshed logo. Broad-scale changes to the interior will have to wait, however, as the property features more traditional touches like dark mahogany and richer colors that would require a significant overhaul.
Still, Burns said the new signage will help him attract new customers “both in age and economic capabilities,” he said.
John Maria, GM of a Country Inns & Suites in Omaha West, Nebraska, is 75% done with a renovation he’s been overseeing the past few years, which has cost $750,000 already. The new prototype provides some obstacles, he said.
“If they change the whole prototype, I have 25% to go, why am I going to continue on with my product?” he asked.
The new prototype is a “good thing” for the brand, said Parth V. Patel, GM of a Country Inn & Suites built in 2005 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, but “unfortunately Country is one of those brands that doesn’t have the exposure like a Hampton (Inn) or even a Holiday Inn,” he said.
“The changes, they look all nice,” he added. “I’m just hoping that we as hoteliers will see a return on it.
“When you see all that tile in the bathroom, it looks great but in the back of your mind, you’re wondering how much is that going to cost. And another thing is, from corporate point of view, hotels aren’t renovating as fast as we want them to. It’s not that we don’t want to renovate, if we were a Hampton or (Holiday Inn) Express, we’d renovate a lot quicker because we’d know the business was coming in. A lot of areas in the country, we have a lack of awareness.”
Meyer said the company specifically chose the modular design to allow owners to opt for a slower transition, he said.
“We want owners to get the useful lifespan of a product,” he said. “Our industry for way too long everything had to match, but one problem with that, realistically, a headboard never wears out but your nightstand might. It caused difficulties when it came to renovating. You couldn’t do it piecemeal; you had to do everything.
“Now with the modular design, the eclectic look, a couple years down the road, they can get a new updated contemporary piece and place it in there.”