Its truly amazing the things a person will
learn when he goes about updating one of the travel industrys
iconic hotel brands. Just ask David Goldberg, vice president,
strategy and business development, for Choice Hotels International,
and the point man on the chains efforts to rethink its 23-year old
flagship, the Comfort Inn brand.
In the process of
deciding what to do with Comfort Inn, Goldberg has become an expert
on, of all things, a typeface called Cooper Black. His research
even uncovered a grainy, old film on the subject.
It was really
bizarre. Why anyone would spend time making a homemade movie about
Cooper Black? I still cant figure out who created this thing, said
Goldberg, who has watched it several times.
Why would anyone
do that? Well, it turns out that Cooper Black is the typeface used
for the yellow and black Comfort Inn signage. And with some 1,400
Comfort Inns throughout the U.S. and another 600 overseas, the
signage -- accented by a stylized image of the sun -- is just about
everywhere.
But at the same
time, Choice, which over the years has updated the look of three of
its other hotel brands, is quick to concede that the signage has
become dated and its look ubiquitous, partly due to the fact that
the Cooper Black typeface has been around for at least 80 years and
is used on other logos ranging from Tootsie Roll candies to Payless
Shoes.
A new
look
And thats why for
the past year, Goldberg and other Choice executives have been
spending considerable time evaluating various typefaces to develop
and test with consumers new signage for Comfort Inn
brand.
Now its
ready.
On Nov. 1, Choice
unveiled the livelier signage (written in a typeface called San
Gothic Black, for those keeping track, and set against a bright
blue backdrop). Most Comfort Inn hotels will sport the new signage
by next summer when Choice plans to kick off a major marketing
campaign designed to relaunch the brand.
More than
skin deep
According to
Choice President and CEO Chuck Ledsinger, the Comfort Inn makeover
is more than just cosmetic.
The image of the
brand going forward is extremely important to us. It is not just
the signs, he said. It is the positioning of the brand. What we are
really doing is making a great brand better.
Part of making
Comfort Inn better involves improving the overall guest
experience.
And thats why guests will
find fresh flowers and 24-hour coffee service in the lobby areas,
full-length mirrors and high-speed Internet access in the updated
rooms and pulsating showerheads in the bathrooms.
Some of the [new]
amenity requirements were things that most of the owners were
already doing, Ledsinger said. But what [guests will find] is
consistency in having the same type of experience from one hotel to
the other. You dont want to make them cookie-cutter necessarily,
but you do want them to have the same level of experience. With any
chain as big as Comfort Inn, that is always a challenge, but we are
very focused on guests and guest satisfaction.
The
competitive instinct
At the same time,
Choice recognizes Comfort Inn has to remain competitive not only
with other midmarket hotels but with hotels in general.
Indeed, the
amenities now being provided consistently at Comfort Inn are among
those considered must-haves in the highly competitive,
keeping-up-with-the-Joneses hotel world.
Like Comfort Inn,
Holiday Inn Express, an InterContinental brand, is spending
millions of dollars upgrading its bathrooms, including adding a
proprietary showerhead that maintains a consistent shower flow
regardless of the hotels water pressure.
The chain already
has updated its breakfast offerings with cinnamon rolls, which the
brand has advertised on TV.
Meanwhile,
Hampton Inn, a Hilton brand, is spending millions transforming its
amenities, including changing it breakfast and adding free
high-speed Internet access.
Back to
the basics
High-speed Web
access, once a luxury amenity, has become a must-have basic. Even
budget chains such as Microtel offer high-speed Internet
service.
Guest needs and
requirements have evolved, Goldberg said. There is nothing real
flashy [about the services and amenities Comfort Inn is adding]. We
are focused on the basics. We are focused on providing a
consistently good experi- ence and on the things that guests
want.
And there may be
more to come for the Comfort Inn brand, Ledsinger said.
I dont know that
we have really determined what [changes are] going to be, he said,
but over the next few years there are going to be
changes.
To contact
reporter Michael Milligan, send e-mail to [email protected].