«Constructing hotel brands: A multimodal analysis of luxury hotel homepages»

Fei-Wen Cheng
«Constructing hotel brands: A multimodal analysis of luxury hotel homepages»
Ibérica, 31, Spring 2016. Special Issue on The Language of Tourism 2.0

Ibérica | Revista de la Asociación Europea de Lenguas para Fines Específicos | Universidad Politécnica de Madrid | Departamento de Lingüística aplicada a la Ciencia y la Tecnología | Madrid | ESPAÑA


Extracto de páginas 102-106 del artículo en PDF

«The present study is the first attempt to connect the discourse analysis approach to the brand construction of hospitality companies, and thus it extends the published literature on hotel websites by conducting a systematic multimodal analysis. The findings reveal that common traits associated with resort hotels can be observed in their homepages’ focus on verbal descriptions of serene and enchanting geographical locations, and visual representations of relaxation activities/services and the grandeur architecture/design of hotel buildings, along with strong interpersonal appeals. This suggests that the affluent consumers who are likely to stay at resorts hotel are searching for relaxation or rejuvenation in an esthetically pleasing environment with arresting ambience. What distinguishes these two luxury hotel chains is their respective positionings of their luxury images. Banyan Tree resorts projects an identity of sensual luxury, positioning each resort as a romantic, welcoming and pleasurable setting. In contrast, Aman resorts insists on understatement and pristine luxury, promoting simplicity, tranquility, and plainness. This reflects that both hotel firms aim to obtain a clear brand position in the global hospitality industry, working to evoke a distinct sense of upscale exclusivity in order to zero in on a well-defined segment of the market.

»These results lend support to the importance of a strong, unique image in constructing a corporate brand identity for survival within a globally competitive marketplace (Echtner & Ritchie, 2003; Qu et al., 2011). Creating a differentiated image is the essence of hotel positioning, since it can give firms the power to differentiate themselves from competitors, and thus capture consumers’ minds in the target market (Qu et al., 2011). The findings have some practical implications for hospitality management professionals with regard to the significant role of developing a distinctive image as part of their brand construction process, with this emerging as their endeavor to offer an enriching and rewarding experience for prospective guests.

»Despite the distinct luxury attributes seen in both hotel websites, both firms intend to promote the “esthetic experience” of staying in these locations, according to the categories of experiential marketing within tourism and hospitality (Pine & Gilmore, 1999: 30). Such experiences entail guests’ enjoyment and passive appreciation of an enriched, unique physical setting, such as admiring a spectacular gorge landscape or breathtaking mountain views. Interestingly, this result is similar to the verbal and visual representations used by Japanese Prince Hotels, but in contrast to those of American Sheraton Hotels, where more emphasis is placed on escapist experiences, as reported in Cheng and Hsu (2013). Escapist activities involve consumers’ active participation in intense activities and immersion in the environment, such as golfing, biking or snorkeling (Pine & Gilmore, 1999).

»It is intriguing that the three Asian hotel brands, despite their increasingly global nature, gave more prominence to the esthetic elements on the hotel homepages. This can be partially attributed to the different cultural attitudes toward activity. American culture stresses activity and action, characterizing a “doing” orientation (Samovar, Porter, & McDaniel, 2010). This value orientation contrasts with that fostered in the Asian tradition, where the individual is not encouraged to be an active agent and thus quiescence and inactiveness are often promoted (Samovar et al., 2010). To what extent such cultural orientations affect the promotional features activated in the websites deserves further attention by studying a greater number of international brands with a wider variety of origins.

»Of special interest are the similar interactive features of visual elements displayed across both hotel homepages, which contain a proportionally higher number of close-up shots, and offer images, along with involvement and equality angles. Surprisingly, this common trait differs from that seen on the webpages of commercial 5-star hotels located in Hong Kong, as documented in Suen (2009). In these hotel homepages Suen found the frequencies of close, medium and long shots were roughly even. This marked difference in the use of long shots can be possibly attributed to the hotel type: commercial vs resorts hotels. As noted previously, the images of long shots generally depict panoramic views as out of reach and for contemplation, creating a sense of detachment. This may engender an effect of an uplifting experience through a momentary detachment from business professionals’ competitive worlds and an immersion in the picturesque scenery. Images with long shots can thus enhance the appeal of commercial hotels to potential customers, thus accounting for their higher frequencies in relation to these hotels. However, given the paucity of the literature on the images represented on hospitality websites, more research is necessary to substantiate this explanation.

»Another noteworthy finding is the prominence of promotional evaluative lexis on the Banyan Tree homepages. It would be interesting to investigate the relationship between the types of evaluative language and brand identity construction by applying Martin and White’s (2005) appraisal framework.

»This framework has categorized three subtypes of attitudinal positionings, and can provide useful insights into examining in what ways the evaluative description differs among hospitality websites across resort hotels, star categories, or well-established international brands.

»It is important to recognize this study’s limitations, which, in themselves, indicate fruitful avenues for future work. First of all, Kress and van Leeuwen’s theory of visual grammar is a general framework, without targeting any specific industry or discipline. Given the absence of theory on the classification of hotel images, the current analytical scheme of representational meanings that is based on former research and the data collected in this work may be subjective, despite being proven as an effective way of categorizing the various image types. There is thus a need for additional research to refine and apply the current framework to other luxury hotel chains or star categories to better understand the possible image items manifested in hospitality websites. This can lead to the development of a standard image model within the hospitality field, which can not only reduce idiosyncratic image categories varying from study to study, but also build up a universal image item list to conduct a structured comparison of image representations across specific studies (cf. Pan & Li, 2011, on tourism destination image).

»Second, the findings of this research are, to some degree at least, limited to the homepages of two Asian luxury hotel chains. Though verbal and visual elements on the homepages of hotel websites play a dominant role in projecting a strong brand image, it cannot be denied that the semiotic resources offered via the website hyperlinks will also contribute to identity construction. Future research should compile a larger data base including all the multimodal resources offered from the hotel-owned website to give a more comprehensive understanding of the brand identity induced via this platform.

»The final limitation is that the visual analysis was mainly based on the researcher’s own perspective; consumers from different walks of life may generate different perceptions of the same image. How a hotel image is cultivated in the consumers’ minds can be explored either through a survey research about their views of the hotel-owned websites, or through investigation into their opinions presented on different web platforms, such as, social media, web chats and forums, and online reviews. As noted in the recent tourism literature (i.e. Llodrà-Riera, Martínez-Ruiz, Jiménez-Zarco & izquierdo-Yusta, 2015), diverse web platforms, reflecting either supplier- or user-generated information, are often combined to exert influence on consumers’ brand associations, due to the growth of these platforms as major information resources. Such knowledge can offer practical implications for hotel marketing organizations to define and communicate preferred corporate images on different web platforms, since the identity projected by the corporate supplier could be distinct from the perceived identity in the potential consumer’s mind (Cai, 2002).

»One caveat worthy of attention for future research is that both the hospitality companies examined in this work modified and revamped the appearance and infrastructure of their websites toward the end of 2015. A diachronic comparison of the old and new versions of the hotel homepages is thus strongly recommended, given that the changing nature of these verbal and visual representations suggests the brand image and marketing values they communicate also evolve over time.

»References [in the text]

»Cai, A. (2002). “Cooperative branding for rural destinations”. Annals of Tourism Research 29,3: 720-742.

»Cheng, F.W. & A.C. Hsu (2013). “A cross-cultural analysis of Japanese and American hotel websites”. Paper presented at the 6th International Conference on the Discourse, Communication and the Enterprise, Beijing, China.

»Echtner, C.M. & J.R.B. Ritchie (2003). “The meaning and measurement of destination image”. Journal of Tourism Studies 14,1: 37-48.

»Llodrà-Riera, I., M. Martínez-Ruiz, A.I. Jiménez- Zarco & A. Izquierdo-Yusta (2015). “A multidimensional analysis of the information sources construct and its relevance for destination image formation”. Tourism Management 48: 319- 328.

»Martin, J.R. & P.R.R. White (2005). The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English. NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

»Pan, B. & X. Li (2011). “The long tail of destination image and online marketing”. Annals of Tourism Research 38,1: 132-152.

»Pine, P.J. & J.H. Gilmore (1999). The Experience Economy. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

»Qu, H., L. H. Kim & H.H. Im (2011). “A model of destination branding: Integrating the concepts of the branding and destination image”. Tourism Management 32: 465-476.

»Samovar, L.A., R.E. Porter & E.R. McDaniel (2010). Communication between Cultures. Boston, MA: Wadsworth.

»Suen, O.Y.A. (2009). “Self-representation of five star hotels: A digital genre analysis of hotel homepages” in V.K. Bhatia, W. Cheng, B. Du- Babcock & J. Lung (eds.), Language for Professional Communication: Research, Practice & Training, 111-130. Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Asia-Pacific LSP and Professional communication.»