
If you’ve previously booked a hotel room for yourself or your business during a trade fair visit, you probably remember what your priorities were. Most likely, your first concern was ensuring that the location is close to the convention centre and verifying the price was within your travel budget. Perhaps you also took into account the various amenities that each hotel offers, prioritising those that offer fancy stuff like room service or have a spa centre. One thing that you probably didn’t think about, though, was the name of the hotel. In our experience, most people seem not to care much where they are staying, as long as their needs are met. But should they?
No two hotels are the same, obviously, but the differences often go beyond merely the layout of the room or what breakfast each establishment offers. Different types of hotels are owned, managed and operated in very contrasting ways, some of which directly affect the experience you’ll have as their guest. Today we’re going to examine the differences between franchise hotels and those that are independently owned, weighing the pros and cons of each and ultimately determining whether you should even care when you’re looking to book!
What Do Family Owned or Chain Mean?
As the names might suggest, these terms refer pretty much exclusively to who owns the hotel. Of course, there are many other types of hotel ownerships, like leased hotels, for example. There only the hotel operations are independent while the building itself is owned by someone else. For the purposes of this investigation, we’re going to focus solely on family-owned and chains. “Family-owned” is a common name for independent hotels that stems from the 20th century where many of them were operated by a single-family. However, today, “privately-owned” is a much more accurate name for hotels that are not owned by a big corporation. They typically only have a single location, there isn’t another one like them in the world, and their owners are 100% concerned with the performance of that particular hotel. If that building doesn’t do well, everyone from staff to management is out of a job.
Chain hotels or franchises, as they are typically called, are usually owned by businesses that operate dozens of hotels. More often than not, large companies buy struggling independent hotels. Then the facilities are rebranded to fit an image, gaining a new name, logo, available services and sometimes even interior design in the process. Other times the buildings are made from the grounds up and intended to be part of the franchise from the start. Hotel chains tend to try to be uniform, offering very similar types of accommodation, services and customer care. If a place in, say, Cologne offered you free breakfast that impressed you, a hotel in Frankfurt with the same name will probably have the same high calibre breakfast. But, of course, the same applies to flaws, which also tend to be uniform.
What Are the Advantages of Chain Hotels?
We already touched upon one of the biggest advantages of franchise hotels, namely – reliability. Many brands aim to offer a uniform experience to their customers, thus fostering brand loyalty. If you go to a hotel that was perfect, then going to a different establishment from the same brand often means you don’t need to worry about whether your bed will creak, the staff will be polite, or the rooms will smell. You can be almost sure the quality of hotel A will be as good as that of hotel B, provided that they belong to the exact same chain. That’s not a given, of course, especially if the particular hotel you’re going to used to be independent and was recently purchased, but, generally speaking, franchises often throw a lot of money at bringing everything up to quality.
And speaking of money, that’s another big difference. The companies that own multiple hotels are, obviously, much richer than those who own just one, and as such, they are often willing to spend through the nose to make sure you have a good experience. One LinkedIn article detailing working for franchises states that staff at chain hotels is usually more numerous and better trained (ensuring more effective work throughout), with strict guidelines and standards they’re all held to. You will almost definitely not come back to find a half-hearted job from housekeeping, and if you do, chain hotels are far more likely to reimburse you. They are owned by the type of companies that have the money to spend on fixing problems to ensure customer satisfaction. So if you experience a genuine problem at a chain hotel, you will almost certainly get a bonus such as a room upgrade or a discount.
What Are the Advantages of Family Hotels?
One of the biggest advantages of independent hotels is that each one is unique in some way. There is no corporation pushing for uniformity. This can be a disadvantage, as it’s always a risk that the establishment could be substandard. At the same time, you are almost guaranteed to see something that you won’t find anywhere else, be it the way the rooms are organised/decorated or just what’s available on the buffet breakfast table. To appropriate the famous quote from Forrest Gump, family locations are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get. Younger people in particular love this personalised approach, with one hotel management company claiming that “millennials […] also seems to appreciate more authentic and original personalised experiences over a cookie-cutter, of the shelve type of product.”
Another advantage is that often independent hotels – especially smaller ones – tend to be more affordable than chain ones. After all, part of the price you pay is precisely due to the brand, similar to other products with recognisable names. For example, when buying a Gucci or Apple, the product is often more expensive than the alternative, as the brand name is highly recognisable and associated with prestige. Of course, that’s not all that contributes to the price, as hotels’ locations and stars are far bigger influencers, but it’s reasonable to assume that it plays a role.
So, Which Hotel Type is Better?
Unfortunately, the answer is rather anti-climactic – neither is inherently better or worse for consumers. There are obvious advantages and disadvantages when investing in them or working for them. But when it comes to actually sleep in their rooms, neither side outweighs the other. At this point, which one you like more is entirely up to personal preference – would you like more services and better quality service for a higher price, or a more unique, individual approach at a potentially lower price?
With that said, even people who have a strong preference don’t often stick to that choice. That is illustrated clearly in the loyalty programs that some big chains have where you receive discounts if you stay in their hotels. According to studies, nearly 50% of a hotel loyalty member’s annual accommodation spend is accumulated in "external" hotels, despite the obvious advantages staying in their favourite chain have. Why? Well, because a lot of the time, especially when travelling to attend a particular trade fair, the best hotel choice has nothing to do with what is written on the sign above the door. Brand, name, stars, even amenities are not as relevant as location and, to an extent, price. This is what most consumers prioritise, and it is what our experts here will look out for when recommending your hotels. That is why it is a good idea to use an accommodation agency. People are not expected to know the strong and weak points of every hotel in the city they are planning to travel to. So the help of an agency that can find you an establishment that corresponds with all of your requirements is of immense aid.
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