The creator presents a hypothetical case study, outlining a five-step strategic plan to fix the W Hotels brand. He argues against their current move towards generic luxury and instead proposes repositioning them as 'Cultural Luxury,' focusing on world-building through local subculture collaborations, revamping the energy to be a cultural venue, fixing the service by simplifying promises, and ensuring coherence across the entire guest experience.
Post caption
If W Hotels (@whotels) hired me to fix their brand, here’s exactly what I’d do.
Right now, they’re going through a rebrand. But I don’t think a major rebrand is what’s needed. In fact, I think they need to double down on what made them cool in the first place.
Each location should feel completely different. Not in terms of service but in terms of atmosphere. Art installations, residencies, fashion drops…make each W a cultural institution.
The service is the same as are the standards so guests know what to expect. But each location feels like a world that can’t be reproduced.
#hospitality #whotel #hotels #hotel #brand
Transcript
W Hotels hired me to fix their brand, here's exactly what I would do. Right now, w Hotels is already trying to reinvent themselves. They're moving away from party culture and towards the luxury category. But here's the issue. W Hotels didn't lose relevance because people wanted to stop partying. It lost relevance because the expectations were different than reality, and the experience itself felt discombobulated. What made w Hotels special in the early two thousand wasn't their design. It was the energy. So here's exactly how I would fix w Hotels and their guest experience. First is I would reposition ourselves. I would not make ourselves lean or lifestyle luxury. You don't fix a brand like w Hotels by making it quieter. You fix it by honing in on the vision, the image, and making it sharper. So I would frame our brand as cultural luxury, a hotel brand plugged into what's happening now. Step one is world building. W hotels across the world right now feel like copies of each other made by the same designer. Sure, the artwork may change, but it feels like it's curated by the same person. I would rebuild w hotels around local worlds. Each hotel becomes a reflection of the city's subculture. Not just Miami vibes or London aesthetic, but actual collaborations with artists, designers, musicians, and chefs, people who actually define the local culture. Second is we're gonna fix the energy. W Hotels feels way too programmed now. You can't build a lobby and just expect it to be cool. You actually have to fill it with something. A world class guest experience has to revolve around a concept, so we'll make w Hotels a cultural venue first and a hotel second. Rotating residencies, fashion drops, art installations, unexpected moments. The idea is that every time you walk in, something's happening, so you can feel tier local city's vibe. Next is we'd fix the fake service, and this is arguably the biggest gap at w hotels. They promise whatever whenever, but what they actually delivered was inconsistency. And the number one thing that will destroy a brand is not bad service. It's broken promises. So I would simplify it. Don't promise everything. Promise a few things rank execute perfectly. Lastly is coherence. Right no, w hotels feels very fragmented. Cool lobby, average rooms, poor service, and a disconnected experience. So I would fix the through line. Music in the lobby connects to the room. The scent carries through the property. The artwork stays consistent. One worse, not five ideas under the same roof. I don't think w hotels needs a major rebrand. It just needs to become real, authentic, and cool again. So as usual, let me know where I'm right or brutally wrong in the comments, and w hotels, holler at your boy.
