Topic: Boutique Hotel Brand Report – Hyatt Andaz
Order Description
This project is grounded in “The Brand Report Card” article written by Dr. Kevin Keller for Harvard Business Review in 2000 (Branding Brief 5-1, page 527 & https://hbr.org/2000/01/the-brand-report-card/ib ). Please read the material multiple times, to get a solid sense of what is being proposed. Use Google Images (or other graphic search tools) to see samples of this item.
The project calls for the production of a Brand Report Card on a popular consumer goods product or service that is NOT the category leader. The category that I chose is boutique hotels and the product is the Hyatt Andaz vs. W hotels by Starwood. You can compare other boutique properties such as Hotel Indigo, Edition by Marriott, Kimpton, etc.
Determine the measurables that will be graded for the Hyatt Andaz brand. The referenced article proposes some factors, but items proposed should be modified to reflect current-day factors. The article is more than 15 years old and is generic in format—it does not have any measurables that are specific to the boutique hotel industry. Customizing the 10 questions is a very important step.
The value of each measurable should be determined. They are not all equal in value. Should have a solid list of 10 measurables in priority order for the boutique hotel brand.
An attractive graphic of the report card that lists (a) brand, (b) comparative competing brand, (c) profile of the primary target market, (d) list of 10 graded items, (e) value of each graded item, (f) grade assigned to the brand (letter grade and points), (g) final cumulative grade, and (h) explanation for all of the different grades (this is a blend of empirical research data, some consumer interviews conducted by the student author, and the student’s personal views).
The “Report Card” graphic will be only 1-3 pages long. All graphics must be labeled and cited. The attached ‘Word’ file will provide explanations / analysis of the 10 grades and the final grade. The explanation of the grades will require 2 to 5 paragraphs per graded item. The explanation for the final grade must include recommendations on how the grade can be improved. This ‘explanation’ data will probably be in the 5 to 9 page range (double spaced). Be sure to use sub-heads and in-text citations that match the items in your References list.
The goal is analyze the details of a brand relative to their leading competitor, to determine areas of strength and weakness, and to develop some ideas for future improvement.
The grading rubric will include:
Report Card graphics (attractiveness, clarity, etc.). 20%
The 10 ‘measurables’ used and the values assigned to each. 20%
References list (some of the grading can be personal subjectivity but much needs to be grounded in industry data garnered from trusted resources). 20%
Other very important points:
– in text citations
– Summary (2 paragraphs)
-table of contents
– references in strict APA format
Note: This is a final capstone project so it needs to be very high quality.
A few references:
https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/05/business/05boutique.html
https://infinitelegroom.com/2013/03/29/the-10-best-boutique-hotel-chains/