The Power of Branding in Hospitality: Lessons From an Accidental Hotel Owner - Brigette Harenda, B&Co.

Josiah:
Brigette, thanks so much for taking time to chat with us today.

Brigette:
Thank you. I love listening to your podcast, so I'm thrilled to be on.

Josiah:
So in your bio you talk about becoming an accidental hotelier. Tell us about that story. How did you get into the hotel business?

Brigette:
Back in 2006 I think, at the time I was in the middle of running a marketing and PR firm. I had a 12 year run going with that company and we were Milwaukee based and most of our clients were, I would call the interiors business. And at one point someone came up to me locally in town and said, "Hey, I'm buying a building and I wanted to be a hotel and you do some sort of marketing and I need help coming up with a brand, can you help me?" And I was like, I don't know anything about hotels. And he's like, "Neither do I, we'll figure it out together." So we spent the next year and a half exploring boutique hotels and we went to New York and Miami and LA and Atlanta and Chicago and everywhere we could to experience what is it that independent hotels do well and how can they compete against the big brands.
And so we ended up branding The Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee and the hotel opened in September, 2008. So you know what happened at that time and the day Lehman Brothers collapsed is the day we opened The Iron Horse and the last piece of the capital stack that was a cash investor was supposed to come in, it didn't materialize. And so the owner turned to everybody he owed money to and said, "Okay, I'll trade you a portion of a share of the hotel for what I owe you." And I thought, all right, well I'm going to do it. And I agreed to it and it turns out I was the only one who did. So I became a small percentage owner of this hotel in Milwaukee. And I remember turning to my team at that time and I said, we're going to start hospitality branding company. We're going to start with one client and we're going to figure this out. And that's how I sell into this.

Josiah:
I love it. There's so many elements of that story I want to pick apart because it's so funny. The Iron Horse Hotel is one of the first hotels I came across that I was really, really impacted by the overall brand and experience. I want to talk about this story a little if we could, but I'm fascinated by how people go about research. And so you mentioned visiting these cities, these destinations, you're seeing what's out there. Can you tell us a little bit about what that research process was, how you decided where to go and how you were collecting information in that?

Brigette:
Yeah, I mean if you think back in 2007, 2008, independent hotels weren't that big of a deal. And so we went to major destination markets where those hotels were already thriving and we approached it, what is the guest experience? And so we would check out the arrival experience and what was our first impression and what was check-in like, what was the front desk experience? What was the lobby vibe about? And we picked up clues as to how to do that. But then we refocused on the market here, we refocused on Milwaukee and what does Milwaukee need? And in the case of The Iron Horse for example, it was built in the shadow of the new Harley Davidson museum that was going up in tandem with our hotel.
And so we thought, well, there's no one in the industry right now that's catering to the motorcycle enthusiast, which by the way is honestly the same traveler as the boutique hotel guest. It's someone who has an indie spirit, they're kind of the rebel. And it was a perfect alignment. And I'm still kind of amazed that 15 years later, that's the only hotel that still appeals to the rider and only about 10% of that hotel's guests actually show up on two wheels. But it's the vibe. It's the vibe of that hotel.

Josiah:
I wonder if we could talk about that vibe a little bit more because I actually remember you presenting at a conference, I think it was shortly after it opened, and I was really blown away by how you were talking about how to create that vibe. So whether it's the vibe or that experience, can you walk us through a little bit of what this was and how it differed from other lifestyle hotels?

Brigette:
It was really about the duality of the business traveler and the motorcycle enthusiast. How do we appeal to both and not alienate either? And so when we thought about the arrival experience, you still needed to have a proper portico share for cars that were pulling in and valet. We want to make sure that business traveler was taken care of. But if you're arriving on a bike, we created a turnaround. We have overhang parking for all the motorcycles. We created custom bell carts that had huge drawers because when you show up on a bike, chances are all of your shit is in the saddlebags and you have to kind of put it somewhere.
And we did that throughout the whole experience of the hotel. You walk into the guest rooms and there's giant hooks on the wall and yeah, if you've got a coat, you hang it up there, but it's really designed for a 200 pound leather setup of chaps and a vest and a jacket. So we wanted to make sure we appeal to both segments of that clientele and made them both feel welcome, but in a way that they would recognize.

Josiah:
I love it. I'll have to link in the show notes to some resources where people can get a little sense of this. I'd love to talk a little bit about B&Co. if we could, and then we'll get into some more stories and case studies. But tell me a little bit about your firm today and where you focus and then I'd love to get into more about the world of branding and hospitality.

Brigette:
Sure, sure. So, we are Milwaukee based. We'd like to sell clients. We're right smack in the middle of the country, but most of our clients are not in the Midwest. They're located all over the place. We're currently working on projects right now in Monterey, California, a couple of them in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and multiple, I would call them tertiary markets, which we think are really exciting. We have a small team. We are intentionally boutique size and it's because really our projects have a beginning and a middle and an end. We take on projects that have a scope of work that last anywhere from three months to a year and a half, sometimes a little bit longer.
And our team includes account executives that manage projects and timelines and budgets and client communications. And they'll also have the creative team that handles brand strategy, graphic design, copywriting and things like that. And each project that we have has a dedicated team from the jump. So our very first site visit includes all members of that team and we are with you to the very end until those doors open.

Josiah:
How do you think about sizing the company? Because I come from a technology background, I feel like bigger is always seen as better. I'm really fascinated by founders who are building high impact companies that aren't necessarily having that perspective. How do you think about the right size for your company?

Brigette:
I think we've always been under 10 people, like we've been single digit and I just like it. I think it works. We don't take on a client and have that client forever. That branding project culminates generally with an opening or a reopening. And then we turn over all the assets to our clients. We design brands that are designed so that other people can then take the reins so we can move on to the next project. So we're careful how many projects we take on at any given time, but I think for us, keeping it small makes sure that we keep our process tight and that we work in tandem with our clients.
So what we like to say is we believe in that incremental buy-in, we work with clients and all along the way you're going to get presentations and you're going to tell us, yes, you're on the right track. And so we feel like we've developed something together. We don't have these grand aha moments for the client where we put together a presentation and then maybe we miss the mark and we've lost three months of time. So our process is our team becomes your team and vice versa. And I think that's how we've been able to keep it small.

Josiah:
I love it. One other thing where you stand out is the ownership stake that you have in the hotels you mentioned earlier in our conversation, how has becoming an owner changed the way that you think about these projects?

Brigette:
I think it changed everything. I think when you sit on both sides of the table, you realize that everything has to have an ROI. And if you think about a hotel, like a developer thinks about a hotel, you're making an investment in something and it has to be a long-term investment. So our process is designed to create a long-term sustainable marketplace advantage for our clients. And I think about that because I'm still an investor in a couple of hotels. I always think about, well, where does that go? Have we created a brand that the management company, the marketing team, the sales department that they can all run with? Or have we created something that just is terrific on day one and then it falls flat? So we really think about that ongoing sustainability of our client brands.

Josiah:
I wonder if we could walk through the branding process from the very beginning stages because you mentioned your whole team shows up. I'm really fascinated by this process because I don't have a lot of exposure to it, but I know a good brand when I see it and I know what that feels like. So how do you think about going through a project from the very earliest stages?

Brigette:
So our teams always start with a site visit and the teams include an account executive, a copywriter, and a graphic designer and then myself. We start out that discovery phase by going to the property, whether it's an existing property that's going to be rebranded, it's a ground up development in which we need to understand the market in which it's opening or it's a historic redevelopment. In any of those scenarios, we need to understand what's happening in the market. And so we got to be boots on the ground.
So we put together a very detailed agenda of what it is we're trying to accomplish in each market. We put together a series of comp set visits, so we're going to all of that property's competitors. Oftentimes we divide and conquer, we stay at different hotels. We meet up in the morning, we compare notes, and then we put together a SWOT analysis for our clients so that when we get into a full day brand session with our clients, with as many stakeholders as they'll bring to the table, then we like to explore what's happening in the market, what is the current competition like, what is your vision for this property? What's missing in the marketplace? Who's your customer? Where are they coming from? What are their passions, interests, and values?
So that all goes into the discovery phase, which I would argue is probably the most important phase. It all starts there and we gather so much information. Beyond that, we put together a presentation that we refer to as what we heard, which is a distillation of everything that we took away from a site visit. And that normally takes a week or two after we get back to pull that altogether and we present it to the client in a way that we want to make sure that we heard them properly and we started out this process on the same footing. From there, we start to get into the brand development, and that's really two pieces of the puzzle. It's the brand narrative, what is the story and then how does that build the brand architecture?
And then once that's solidified, then we can get into the visual brand identity, what does it look like, colors, iconography, the logo, all of those fun pieces of the brand that come together. As part of that process, we also then start to define what is the journey of the guest and that's the guest experience that I think really brings the brand to life for the guest every single day. And so we walk through every element of the guest experience just the same way that I did back in 2008 when I was going to those hotels for the first time. We kind of walk it through, what does it feel like when someone pulls up and are they arriving in a car because they just drove across country to get there, or are they all Ubering in from the primary feeder markets to we really sort of break it down, what do they want from the lobby experience? What are they looking for in their guest room? Is it just a place to put their stuff and go or is it really a haven?
So all of that kind of gets baked into the guest experience. And then finally the last piece of the puzzle is what we refer to as brand implementation. That's all the deliverables, everything a hotel or restaurant needs to get the doors open. Our team works from the perspective of design, of collateral materials, signage, website. Sometimes we set the tone for social media and that is kind of varied project by project.

Josiah:
Interesting. I'm really interested in that handoff for that transition. And are there other operational components to this in terms of how the people in the hotel are living the brand?

Brigette:
Absolutely. What I like to say is in that very first discovery meeting, we have had clients that come to the table with 14 people. Front desk manager comes, the head of housekeeping comes. We love those meetings because especially if it's a rebrand of a property, those are the people that know what the experience is like. Those are the people that hear what are the questions that people call when they get to the hotel and they can't figure out and what are the conversations that they're having with guests. So we like to have as many stakeholders in the beginning of the process as possible because in the end, those people are the brand ambassadors. Those are the ones that have to bring that brand book to life so it doesn't just sit in a drawer somewhere.

Josiah:
You mentioned as a hotel investor and a partner owner, now you think a lot about the ROI on everything that you do. I wonder if you could speak a little bit to the ROI of going through a robust branding process as you've described.

Brigette:
We think that the ROI on branding is probably the best investment you can make in a property. When I say that, I'm not just suggesting that you put all of your money in branding for selfish reasons. What I'm suggesting is for example on a $40 million hotel project, branding all in might be less than $200,000. But that brand is the core. It's the core of the property. It defines who you are, how you speak to your customer, what you look like, what your personality is, and all of that has some serious longevity. So when we see clients that recognize the value of branding for independent hotel, a soft brand hotel, a food and beverage outlet, heck, a coffee shop in the lobby, all of that for us feels like it has some permanence to it and that the client is making a serious investment in the long-term success of that property.

Josiah:
I love it. I wonder if we could speak a little bit to feel the brand... let me go back. I want to stand this thread of ROI just a moment longer because in a couple of conversations recently, there's been this consistent theme that there may be some overlooked or underrated elements of branding beyond how they're typically described, everything from attracting talented people to maybe other things. Are you hearing that from clients as well? Are there benefits beyond the obvious ones of branding for going through this process?

Brigette:
Well, that conversation has happened a lot since COVID. So obviously the hospitality industry took a major hit during the pandemic and great operators and great hotels lost good people. Getting people back is a challenge. But I would say that if you have a strong brand that appeals to the consumer, I would argue it probably appeals to the employee as well. People want to be proud of where they work, they want to be excited about where they work, especially in hospitality. I mean, our job is to convey a story. And great hotels are the ones whose staff can live that brand and bring it to life through a guest and they want something to hang on to. And so I would say that helps companies attract talent. And what we are finding is in the last couple of years we used to craft what is the voice of the brand.
Now we're putting together whole verbal vocabularies for our clients. So just like we put together technical guidelines for use of brand identity and visual assets, we're doing that right now for how to convey the story and the feeling of the brand. What does it feel like pre-stay? What are those communications? What do they look like? What do they sound like? What is the tone of the staff on property? How do we speak to our clients? So there's a lot of that that's going into branding right now that is very new probably in the last four or five years.

Josiah:
That's fascinating to hear because I feel everybody talks about the guest experience, want to create a great, memorable, remarkable guest experience. You're really close to this working on the most interesting, exciting projects right now. You've been doing this, going back to what we mentioned earlier at The Iron Horse Hotel. I'm curious, as you think about guest experience today, are there elements that you are especially focused on or you think have an outsized impact in terms of how that guest feels in the overall business success of the hotel?

Brigette:
I think unique experiences are a big part of successful destination hotels. And I say that for a couple of reasons. One, I think we're seeing that in the industry, consumers want to spend their money on experiences. Travel being one of them. I think about my own kids. My kids are in their 20s and they're not saving for a house or a condo. They want to travel. I mean, my daughter just saved up money so she could go to a friend's wedding in India and then spend an extra week in India. My son just became a dive master and he's going to Bonaire with his girlfriend and it's a once, I don't want to say once in a lifetime, but it's like a very interesting experience for them at that young age. And I think what we are learning is that today's consumer, even like those in their 20s, are looking for experiences.
Your hotel just can't be a place where people sleep. I think it has to deliver more than that. It has to deliver an experience, and that's what consumers are expecting and almost demanding. So we've got clients that are exploring really cool ideas. I mean, we've got a client that's looking at a fish to table experience where you go out fishing or hunting and they prepare for you what you've found. We've got clients that are doing pop-up vintage shops in their lobby because that's kind of their vibe. I think delivering that experience to the guest in a way that aligns with your brand and your brand story is becoming something that consumers are looking for and expect. They want to be able to tell that story too. What was their stay like at the hotel? Well, let me tell you, this is what we did and it was great.

Josiah:
What is needed for hospitality providers to execute on that? Because I think there's the imagination stage, but I wonder the components because everybody's not doing this. So what have you noticed as consistent themes of the ones that are thinking this way and operating this way?

Brigette:
I think a lot of it is operational buy-in. When we come up with these brand activation ideas, we always work with the hotel management company to make sure that what we're coming up with is something they can execute. It doesn't make sense to come up with a lot of activation ideas that are just too difficult to implement. And so we want to make sure that the team that they have at the property can execute those things. And I think part of it too is leaning into what are they already doing that we can take advantage of? We're working with a property right here in Wisconsin. It's a tribal community and they own their own apple orchards. Well, they own this. And so we're like, well, why not make that a guest experience? Why not take people out to some of your sustainable farms to experience what they can then experience on the dinner menu? So that works for them because they're already doing it. So I think identifying doable activities and activations, things that sort of embody the brand, but don't break down the staff into such minutiae that it will fall apart.