Branding: Myth and reality in the hotel industry

The concept of the brand continues to demonstrate a strong positive presence in the minds of hotel industry executives as well as those tangentially linked to the industry. Yet when asked to define what is meant by the term ‘brand’, no two executives would probably be able to give identical definitions. The purpose of this paper is to address what is perceived to be the lack of a consistent understanding of the concept of the brand by industry executives and academics who freely use the term in making claims as to its value. First, it proposes several additions to the probable dimensions of the brand concept. Secondly, it looks at the industry literature to ascertain what others may add to our understanding of the realities and complexities of the brand in the context of the hospitality industry. Hence, it introduces the construct of industry critical success factors and how they must be incorporated into an understanding of how a firm can achieve brand significance by how they perform on each.