The Hotel Group Conquering External and Internal Brand Excellence (02/04/19)
'No Request Too Large, No Detail Too Small', both the organisation's internal mantra and tagline, encourages employee engagement and an empowering attitude when interacting with hotel guests across the seventeen properties, including The Oyster Box (top) and Ashford Castle (bottom). (Images: www.redcarnationhotels.com; graphic: Martin Jacobs)
In 2016, Red Carnation Hotels, which in South Africa includes The Twelve Apostles, Bushmans Kloof, and The Oyster Box, was listed third on The Sunday Times Best 100 Companies to Work For list and in 2018 was voted second in the Top 20 Hotel Brands in the World in Travel + Leisure ‘World’s Best’ Awards. These recent accolades – the first reflective of employee experience, the second indicative of a positive consumer one – speak of a unified internal and external brand, and one in which employee engagement through internal marketing is key to successfully executing one of the organisation’s taglines, ‘No Request Too Large, No Detail Too Small.’ Red Carnation Hotels’ contact strategy takes into account every brand contact point a consumer encounters, and evaluates how successfully that point communicates the brand’s values and mission. Its internal marketing focuses on inspiring employees to embody brand values in order to offer a brand-resonant experience to the consumer. Both the organisation’s contact strategy and internal marketing are exemplars in the hospitality industry – here’s why.
At leadership level, Managing Director of the organisation, Jonathan Raggett, fully comprehends the importance he plays in leading by example and in having a motivated staff. “What more can I do for you to make your job an easier one?” he regularly asks his management teams, “I want my teams to be using this question with their teams. I want these to flow down, I want the guy that’s washing the pots also to be asked that question.” Such a statement is highly indicative of his understanding of how important internal marketing is, and of his ensuring that his staff’s professional needs are met in order to best assist them in ‘living the brand’, and in so doing, communicating to hotel guests the values of the organisation. These values prioritise personalised attention to detail in both service excellence and in luxury accommodation, and Raggett knows that excelling in these areas will all but guarantee a resonant brand experience for the organisation’s consumer.
He goes on to proclaim that “Two happy guests today, make four happy guests tomorrow,” and that “hospitality is being on the side of the guest.” In an era of user-generated content it’s fair to assume that two happy guests today could potentially equal far more than four happy guests tomorrow. Realising this, Raggett’s mantra epitomises an ‘outside-in’ approach to mastering brand contact planning (which looks at how the brand can manage and influence consumer perception of it), an approach which strongly advocates that regarding the consumer viewpoint on brand touch points is the ideal way to implement a contact process that ensures brand strength and cohesion.
The international organisation is British-based and family-run, with South African matriarch Beatrice Tollman and her daughters actively involved in the running of seventeen luxury hotels. There’s tremendous variety across the collection, from a wilderness reserve to an Irish castle. And whilst this could give the impression of a fragmented brand identity system, it is anything but – the organisation’s values are evident and ever-present at all properties. That said, neither Tollman, nor Raggett, have the capacity as individuals to identify all international brand contact points, so involving many of the organisation’s 2 500 employees becomes critical in compiling this brand inventory, the primary step in a brand contact process, the role of which is to improve the consumer experience.
Red Carnation Hotels’ inventory includes all seventeen establishments with their respective restaurants, bars and spas (these alone constitute product and service points of myriad quantity), a glossy catalogue, websites and advertising campaigns (planned points), and considerable user-generated media that includes TripAdvisor reviews, travel blogs, Instagram and word-of-mouth (all of which are unplanned points, their sheer number demanding a vigilant eye be kept at all employee levels on maintaining high standards.)
Tollman (top left), and Raggett (top right), encourage employees 'Through Pride and Professionalism (to) Act as a RCH Ambassador.' Faultless hospitality is so vital to the organisation that it promotes a hotel degree apprenticeship through Pearson College London, from which future employees can be selected. (Images: www.redcarnationhotels.com, www.quintessentially.com)
At this point in the brand contact process, the task falls to Red Carnation Hotels’ central brand management and marketing departments (as brand curators) to map the consumer’s path from first to last contact point and, following this, to establishing a hierarchy of importance within contact points, the third step of the process. The hotels themselves top the hierarchy, and are the brand’s impactful and resonant contact points, for they are where the organisation has the full opportunity to allow the consumer to experience its value proposition. Given the hospitality nature of the product, it is critical that the benefits of engaged employees (passionate about service and with attitudes aligned with those of the organisation) be felt by the consumer.
Therefore, establishing a positive company culture with employee buy-in is vital when marketing internally to gain employee pride. Raggett does so by adopting and encouraging an “in your shoes” culture, one where leading by example is key. He’s been known to step into the shoes of any number of his employees, by spending a day assisting them with their tasks, be those cooking guests’ breakfasts or cleaning rooms. “The secret is hiring the right people that you trust, that are honest with you and you’re honest with them, and then giving them clear, defined objectives,” he says, speaking of a people-centric business. His willingness to take on such tasks is one way in which he demonstrates to employees that the hotel industry is one where climbing the corporate ladder can happen in a short period of time comparative to other industries. This is something
For Red Carnation Hotels the final two steps of the brand contact process, establishing – and the managing of – brand contact cohesion, are made easier because it’s an organisation that realises the advantages of branding equally both internally and externally. Internally, a staff recruitment process closely scrutinises potential employees, and sources some from the Red Carnation Hotel Degree Apprenticeship at Pearson College London, a course in partnership with the organisation and intended to up skill hospitality training at tertiary level. Resultant from on-going employee training, which instills a clear understanding of the brand’s vision, from the behaviour of its managers (like Raggett) and stakeholders (Tollman), and through extensive internal communication, the organisation's culture echoes the external values it upholds, allowing for strong brand cohesion.
Such cohesion is evident in that as much as hotel management teams compile guest histories in order to personalise and improve guests’ repeat visits, so too does stakeholder Beatrice Tollman interact with her staff (she’s known in the industry for personally selecting their Christmas gifts). “Be close to your teams as well as your guests,” she says, supporting this belief by hosting an annual Staff Appreciation Party in London to recognise and reward employee achievements, and to which many international employees are flown.
Red Carnation Hotels pays exemplary attention to the role of the contact planning process and internal marketing in the shaping of their multi-award winning brand. From scrutinising consumer feedback in order to enhance tiny, noticeable touches in a guest’s experience, to prioritising the recognition of both guests and employees to ensure both have a rewarding brand experience, it’s evident the organisation understands the role internally communicating brand values to employees plays in the nature of brand contact. Tollman, Raggett and their teams constantly reevaluate the brand contact points a consumer experiences, and review the brand contact process. By paying attention to minute internal and external brand details, executive management and its employees strive again and again to improve consumer brand resonance.
Martin Jacobs
(module 5, assignment 5.7)
A short video, aimed at potential Red Carnation Hotel employees, illustrates why internal marketing encouraging employee engagement results in a staff committed to brand buy-in and service excellence.
Bibliography:
McCulloch, M. Five Star Hospitality With Jonathan Raggett From Red Carnations Hotels. Available: http://spectacularpodcast.libsyn.com/five-star-hospitality-with-jonathan-raggett-from-red-carnation-hotels (2018, October 30)
Chande, R. Twelve Secrets Behind Four of London’s Top Six Hotels. Available: http://londonhotelsinsight.com/2009/09/14/12-secrets-behind-4-of-londons-top-6-hotels/ (2009, September 14)
Author Not Credited. What Is It Like To Work For The Red Carnation Hotel Collection. Available: https://www.b.co.uk/company-profile/?red-carnation-hotel-collection-53690 (date not mentioned)
Author Not Credited. Interview With Vicki and Beatrice Tollman | Red Carnation Hotels. Available: https://www.quintessentially.com/noted/interview-vicki-beatrice-tollman-red-carnation-hotels (2017, May 04)
Cogswell, D. Red Carnation Hotels: Diversity Of Style, Consistency In Quality. Available: https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/Red-Carnation-Hotels-Diversity-of-Style-Consistency-in-Quality (2018, November 01)
Mitchell, C. Selling The Brand Inside. Available: https://hbr.org/2002/01/selling-the-brand-inside (2002, January 01)
Quotations:
Jonathan Raggett: from Five Star Hospitality With Jonathan Raggett From Red Carnations Hotels.
Beatrice Tollman: from Interview With Vicki and Beatrice Tollman | Red Carnation Hotels.
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