Dorchester's "Golden Thread" is a masterclass in identity

July 03, 2024 | Read Online

The Golden Thread: Unifying Legendary Luxury at Dorchester Collection

with Helen Smith and Eugenio Pirri, Dorchester Collection

Josiah Mackenzie

Together with

In a world where so many brands feel a bit contrived, Dorchester Collection has done an exceptional job of developing its corporate brand and stewarding the legacies of legendary properties, such as The Dorchester in London, Hôtel Plaza Athénée in Paris, Hotel Eden in Rome, and the Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air in California. Read on to learn how joint CEOs Helen Smith and Eugenio Pirri walk the fine line between celebrating the uniqueness of each property and building a family of these individual property brands.

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The Golden Thread: Unifying Legendary Luxury at Dorchester Collection

Photo: Dorchester Collection

Helen Smith and Eugenio Pirri are joint CEOs of Dorchester Collection. Today, they share how they preserve the legendary legacies of each of their properties while developing the identity of their corporate brand. You can listen to us here on the podcast , and here are a few highlights from our conversation:

Balancing brands

Dorchester Collection faced the challenge of promoting its brand without overshadowing each hotel's unique qualities. Helen emphasized the importance of confidence and bravery in this approach, ensuring guests associate each property with its own identity first and the Dorchester brand second.

Takeaway: Brand communications should balance raising overall awareness of the parent company while preserving each property's unique identity.

Put this in action:

Develop marketing strategies that highlight both the unique aspects of individual hotels and overarching brand values.
Avoid over-marketing the parent brand within individual properties to prevent overshadowing their uniqueness.
Encourage staff to focus on promoting the specific attributes of their property.
Use subtle branding elements to create an association without being intrusive.

The “Golden Thread”

Dorchester Collection employs a unique concept it calls “The Golden Thread" to unify its hotels. This concept respects each property's distinctiveness while creating a cohesive brand experience. Helen explained that they hired anthropologists to understand the essence of their brand from the guests' perspectives. This led to the identification of common values and goals that bring the hotels together without overshadowing their individual identities.

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With the help of the anthropologists, we were able to identify the individuality [of each hotel], but also a the “Golden Thread” that links all of the hotels together.

Helen Smith

The decision to hire anthropologists was pivotal for Dorchester Collection. By understanding guests' emotional needs through research, they could tailor their offerings to be more genuine and relaxed. This shift not only improved guest satisfaction but also boosted employee engagement, as staff felt more empowered to connect authentically with guests.

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Instead of measuring success on service excellence through mystery shopping, why don't you measure it against matching their emotional needs?

Helen Smith

Put this in action:

Conduct research to identify core values that resonate across your properties.
Develop a framework that highlights these common values without diminishing individual hotel identities.
Train staff to understand and embody this throughline in their daily interactions with guests.
Use guest feedback to continuously refine and reinforce the unifying elements of your brand.

A well-defined culture affects both employee retention and guest satisfaction

It’s important to note that all of this talk of brand shouldn’t just be seen as a marketing exercise. Helen and Eugenio made clear that a well-defined and well-communicated culture is central to Dorchester Collection's success. Eugenio highlighted specifically how defining their values and integrating them into daily operations improved both employee retention and guest satisfaction.

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Since we brought the brand in, we've had better employee retention. People just enjoy working for us more.

Eugenio Pirri

Dorchester Collection even went further with this work, developing a “brand school” to ensure that employees understood and embodied the brand's values, creating a more aligned and engaging work environment.

Takeaway: A well-defined and communicated culture enhances employee satisfaction and retention, which in turn improves guest experiences.

Put this in action:

Clearly define your company's values and ensure they are understood by all employees.
Develop comprehensive training programs to embed these values into daily operations.
Cultivate a work environment that allows employees to express their personalities within the framework of the brand.
Regularly evaluate employee satisfaction and engagement, using feedback to refine cultural initiatives.

Listen to my full conversation with Helen and Eugenio today on the Hospitality Daily Podcast

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