You can't out-Mick Mick Jagger.
The smart wannabe rocker won’t even try.
This applies, believe it or not, to the hospitality business as much as it does to rock and roll. That is to say, as the market starts to come back, an independent hotel would not do well trying to beat the chains on battlefields where they have an advantage. They will always have a bigger mailing list, a better rewards club, more name recognition and a bigger ad budget.
So beat them at something you can do that they can’t. Or can’t do very easily.
It’s probably not as hard – or expensive – as you think. Remember, the local arm of a big chain usually needs some approval from the mother ship for anything dramatic. You probably enjoy a bit more freedom. The average GM or DOM at an independent is much more empowered than their counterparts flying a national flag.
As an independent, you can re-jigger your brand to adapt to changing circumstances. And you can do it quickly. A chain isn’t going to adjust its brand without taking months to do it and spending more money than your entire marketing budget along the way. And an individual property won’t get away with going off-menu on their own.
Want to have a flash sale? You can have one tomorrow. Want to turn one of your suites into an Elvis Suite? Do it. Reposition mid-week downtime to something special and create demand. Show movies in the pool and give everybody an inner tube to float around in. Go for it.
Distinguish yourself.
And there's this: As an independent, you are almost certainly more a part of the local fabric than the local outpost of an out-of-town corporation. Work it. Build your local business for your F&B outlets while you wait for distance travel to loosen up. Develop partnerships with local businesses.
The point is, for all the advantages they have, there are limitations that go along with being part of a chain. You’re more likely to hear “Oh, we could never do that” in the executive offices of a local flag property than in the GM’s office of an independent. You probably can "do that."
It would probably be a good idea to get some help with this, too. From people who do this sort of thinking for a living. People who think and see things differently than you do. People who tend to ask “why not?” a lot. Fresh eyes and ideas and all that. No disrespect intended here, but this is not really the sort of thing your web firm or whomever handles your AdWords placements is built to do. This is a whole other thing.
This is about strategic creativity. And in the months and years ahead, creativity and innovation are going to win the day. This is where, as an independent, you've got a competitive edge.
Because there is only one Mick Jagger.
And if you want to be a bit more upscale about it, there's always Oscar Wilde: "Be yourself. Everyone else is taken."
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