BERLIN — People who buy a branded residence co-located with a hotel are looking for a specific level of service and experience, experts say, and it's key to make sure that expectation is fulfilled early in the sales process.
Lindsay McGinn, global vice president of residential brand advisory for Accor, said brands must be brought in early in the design process. That relationship must continue through the sales process and especially after units are sold and operational.
Brand "standards are more than aesthetics," she said. "The standards really inform the experience, the service flow, really all aspects of the project."
McGinn said that means a brand such as SLS creates an expectation of "vibrant social vibes," while a brand like Fairmont would be in line with a "very refined luxury experience."
And that experience has to carry over to the sales process, noting the sales staff are "in essence brand ambassadors," McGinn added.
Accor has branded residences in about 50 of its properties globally, with a pipeline of about 130.
Jonathan Wingo, global head of residential for Hilton, said the core of the hospitality promised in branded residences has to be reflected in the sales.
"Hilton is about hospitality across all of our brands," he said, and the company "infuses hospitality touchpoints throughout" the sales process.
"That evokes the emotion of buyers, so they can envision how this is going to add value to their life on a day-to-day basis as an owner and a resident here," he said.
Today, Hilton has branded residences at about 37 properties, with another 29 in the pipeline.
McGinn and Wingo joined other speakers on a panel titled, "Selling branded residences" at the International Hospitality Investment Forum EMEA in Berlin.
Making sure those owners have favored status in the associated hotel brand loyalty programs is also key, Wingo said.
McGinn agreed, noting it's important that branded residence owners immediately feel like VIPs.
"We invite them to be the first to know, first to experience, first to be aware of partnerships, events, what have you," she said.
Jenny Naylor, managing director for Brand Atlas, said that combination of brand and service is what helps branded residential units command a premium on the market. So making sure potential owners see that value firsthand is crucial.
"It's no longer good enough just to know about their particular scheme and what the price per square foot is or what the amenities are," she said. Sales "have to be able to talk about the brand, have had that brand immersion, which isn't just sitting in a one-hour PowerPoint presentation. It's actually experiencing the brand. It's staying the night in the brand's hotel and getting under the skin of the brand, so they can have conversations at that level."
She said it's also key to understand who the buyers are and how they differ from traditional residential buyers.
"Typically, a non-branded residential buyer is looking at the location, and they're looking at the price," she said. "They might be looking at design. So it's more of an asset-driven purchase, and for sure, emotion comes into it as well. But when we're looking at the branded residence buyer, it's so much more about the lifestyle they're looking for, that hospitality-led lifestyle. So they're looking for certainty from the brand."
In the end, the success of branded residential products all comes down to a simple concept: storytelling.
"One of the things that we've learned a lot about in this space is the storytelling of the brand, the storytelling of the asset," said Mitra Ghamsari, founder and CEO of Persepolis Investments. "It's almost like a symbiotic relationship. They're not independent. I think the asset really has to fit with the brand, and the brand has to fit with the asset and the developer."
She said that overall cohesion is more likely to positively influence sales price than just a default brand premium, but brands are also a key tool in getting on buyers' radars quickly.
"We're working with Lindsay on an SLS right now in Madrid, for example. SLS is a very strong brand, so it has a lot of brand awareness, and it really jumps out to buyers," she said. "That being sold early on I think is critical to bring in the right buyers with the right developer."