Dual-branded hotels have been popular for more than a decade as the hospitality industry seeks to streamline operating models and cater to different guest segments.
The dual-brand concept brings together two hotel brands within the same building, in most cases combining two brands from one hotel company but at two different price points, usually an economy brand and a midscale one. Accor claims to have opened the first dual-brand hotel in 1984, the 280-room Novotel Paris La Defense Esplanade and 286-room Ibis Paris La Defense Esplanade, and the property is still open today.
David Hayden is general manager of the 282-room Mercure London Earls Court and the 226-room Ibis London Earls Court, Accor-branded hotels that share the same building. The best practices for managing such a hotel go beyond sharing all back-of-house operations, Hayden said.
“We see great efficiency benefits across all departments as a result of combining operations, as opposed to splitting them by properties … and we also combine our commercial teams across both properties, [but] we have different tools per property for elements such as revenue management, pricing and market-performance analysis,” he said.
A combined team is better equipped to identify key synergies and opportunities suited to both hotels, Hayden said.
“This enables us to better monitor and react to the needs of both hotels in our planning,” he said, adding that making this as seamless as possible requires constant communication with every employee and department, a process that took a little acclimatization.
“We now talk holistically about the collective property and what could impact all customers before looking at the details within each hotel individually,” he said.
Dual-branded hotels excel at attracting multiple demand segments and trip purposes, such as bleisure demand, or trips that mix business and leisure, Hayden said. They also allow intelligent pricing strategies, he added.
“The principles of revenue management remain consistent in both properties, with the Mercure brand seeing higher average daily rate to the Ibis,” Hayden said. “Being dual-branded means we look at pricing, planning and strategy for the two hotels individually, as well as looking at how the properties can support each other on pricing differentials, not only in low- but more importantly in high-demand periods.
“The two brands operating across economy and midscale markets provides us with key market information across a wider segmentation, which I feel has allowed us access to the intel needed to better understand our performance and be able to make better commercial decisions in the future,” he added.
The dual-brand Mercure and Ibis London Earls Court hotel is near the Olympia exhibition center and close to sought-after London districts such as Chelsea and Fulham. Both brands at the property attract international guests and groups, Hayden said.
“As we diversify our two-hotel strategy across managed segments — for example, leisure, corporate and meetings, incentives, expositions and conventions/group — our ambition is to ensure that both properties can then grow and yield on transient business from the compression around key areas such as Kensington and Chelsea and Knightsbridge. We know we have the appeal in the area, and we are positioned as a new product that is well-priced, well-located and on the doorstep of London landmarks,” he said.
Guest expectations
One focus of operations in dual-branded hotels is to ensure the best experience for both sets of guests, one of which has chosen a hotel stay at a lower price point.
Hayden said branding is made clear — so guests can easily identify what they have booked — but the hotel management team makes an effort to elevate experiences, with public areas incorporating elements from each brand and guestrooms and accommodation floors having very distinct designs.
“Our [food and beverage] spaces are designed to be bespoke and not overly branded to either property. This allows us to be flexible and creative with our offering in order to satisfy the needs of both our Ibis and Mercure customers,” he said.
Design considerations trickle down from the hotel brand in the higher price point — in this case Mercure — but the hotel would look a lot different if it was a solo Mercure property, Hayden said.
“The overall building as a product undoubtedly plays a part in defining what a large Mercure property in a primary location will look like. The restaurant offering is bespoke [and] the lobby design is not particularly consistent with many other Mercure properties,” he said. “We blended a lifestyle feel in a larger meetings-and-events/group-led property, ensuring the feel is personable and premium. Through site inspections, there are many touchpoints in which clients from all markets and segments see the hotel and the Mercure brand as elevated in its appeal and offering.”
Marketing messages
Dual-branded hotels market their two brands both separately and together to give each hotel its own clear identity but also to ensure guests are aware of the choice that can be offered in the same location, Hayden said.
“We market at a more localized level, and within some targeted markets segments we sell the property as the dual brand. As such, this can change depending on the market we are targeting but also depending on the medium we are using. For example, many agents and corporate clients operate across different price points and budgetary constraints within their business,” he said.
Having both a Mercure and an Ibis hotel at the London Earls Court is a boon for groups and meetings business, Hayden said.
“At a local level in some segments, for example, meeting and events, we lean towards selling the duality of the property. If a client has a lower budget for its set-up crew and own staff and for their client, guests and senior staff a higher budget, having dual brands means we are able to provide that differentiation and budget and have all guests under one roof,” he said. “With more than 500 rooms across the two hotels, it can allow us to take larger groups and be more flexible with our inventory than can many other properties in London.”
Thoughtful design and marketing pave the way for less customer confusion, Hayden said, who added a current focus on-property is to improve the arrival and check-in experience.
“As we have gone through the refurbishment and split the properties to be dual-branded, many customers may not realize that within the property there are two brands,” Hayden added.