MAINTAIN BRAND IMAGE

Internet an Effective Way to Maintain Brand Image in the Hospitality Industry

Internet an Effective Way to Maintain Brand Image in the Hospitality Industry

Introduction

The hospitality industry encompasses hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs, casinos, and spas. Hospitality and tourism all over the world has turned to a sizeable industry, contributing a significant share in the GDP, companies need to reconsider their branding strategies. At present, the internet considered as best and inexpensive medium for branding, even for companies operating in hospitality and tourism industry. Online branding (including e-branding, digital branding called) is not in the simple transfer of the off-line branding to the Internet, online branding does not show the brand as it looks, but what they did for real or fictitious customers, does or promises to do. When compared to other mediums of communication internet seen to grow at a faster pace. People of specialized interest get attracted towards this medium and attention of marketing professional drawn from hospitality and tourism industry, who wants to create a good image of their brands. For the promotion of brand image on the internet, online advertisements are among the most efficient tool for branding. Also, hotels are increasingly being managed as branded hotels in the U.S., they already have a share of 70%. The Internet, with the possibility of reserving itself reinforced the importance of hotel brands (Barrows, 2009: p.201-203).

Brand Perception in Hospitality and Tourism Industry

It is important to discuss the basis on which customers and consumers of hospitality and tourism industry established perception regarding any brand. Many people think of branding as a logo, identity, service, or product the organization produces. It is not. “A brand is a person's gut feeling about a product, service or organization. It is not what you say it is. It is what they say it is”. In today's hospitality industry, the best way to build the brand is by building the trust that customers have toward the organization since trust is the underlying factor in most purchasing decisions. Trust comes about when an organization proves its reliability to its customers and delights them with service by exceeding customer expectations.

The marketing has played an increasingly important role in the hospitality industry. In addition, skills transferred marketing to restaurants, increasing the complexity of marketing. Services are experiences, and as such are more difficult to evaluate prior to purchase. If the consumer has previous experience with the service offered by the restaurant, this will be a source of credible information. Even acknowledging that the experience of the above information which considered or not the information obtained is insufficient to properly evaluate existing alternatives restaurant, will have external information that is relevant (Miles and Scaife 2003, pp. 3-19).

To ensure the integrity of the concept, accuracy of repetition of the brand strategy, the inviolability of visual and verbal brand communications need a brand manager. One of the essential components of a successful hospitality branding - strict adherence to the developed standards in all areas. Violation of the integrity of the hospitality brand ...