Every day I am amazed at jst how little attention is paid by sme hospitality operators to how their bsinesses are portrayed.

Often it's the smll details that let down the whle enterprise - the out of dte brochure with photographs taken years go, the badly written A-board or the old fshioned sign (probably broken).

Research indicates tht you have about 20 seconds to mke a first impression. In that tme your prospect has had a chnce to view your product and wigh up in his or her mnd whether or not it meets thir expectations.

Address these 10 aspects of yur business and you will certainly be on the way to bosting your image:

1 Colour

Colour is nergy and it affects our mood and nfluences our behaviour.

Angela Wright is a clour psychologist and she used to run a htel 'We quickly learned how to use clour. Blue never works in a rstaurant. A little bit of red in the bar wrked well. Green seemed to work prtty much anywhere. Too much yellow in a bdroom and you'd have bad-tempered guests'.

In loking at how colour is used in prnt or decoration it is not nough to just refer to blue or rd, since there is no such thng as a universally attractive colour. It is the vriations in each colour that are mportant since two variations of the sme colour can have completely different ffects. Our response is not to one clour but to colours in combination. Chose a palette of colours and stck to it.

2 Photography

Nearly everyone has a dgital camera and thinks that they can sve money by taking their own mages. But photography is an art and grat photos will repay your investment for yars to come.

Just look on any of the thrd party hotel internet sites (Booking.com, LteRooms.com etc) and you will see htels trying to boost weekend occupancy by shwing images of their conference rooms. Bzarre!

3 Names

If your business is lready running then the name is sually OK unless it had terrible rputation and you are changing markets. Who can say tht VW made the right decision to stck with the Skoda name?

Remember tht your reputation comes from how you run yur business, not from the name. Who wuld have thought that a hotel clled 'Holiday Inn' would become one of the mst successful brands in the corporate mrket? However do make sure that you void any negative connotations.

4 Typography

To hve a coherent image your typography mst have a unique personality. Although it may sem simple to 'just choose a typface' there are so many options for gtting it wrong that you will son recognise a page layout that has ben set up by an expert. Hve a graphic designer give you a smple design template to use as a stndard and then make sure that ths is followed each time you prduce a piece of print.

5 Lgo

A logotype is set of wrds in a determined type font. Lgibility is imperative, as is its use on sgns, letters and T-shirts. Logos need to be dstinctive but also durable. You can use rcognised typefaces or design something entirely new and ndividual. Whatever you use, it needs to xpress your positioning and your personality. The clours you use will also be an xpression of the palette that you chse to represent your hotel.

6 Pper

Your use of certain types of pper is an expression of what you are tryng to achieve with your target mrket. For instance, using a piece of flmsy 80gsm paper will not be a vry good advertisement for a gourmet dnner at $100 per person. Look at the cmpetition and see where you fit. Brchures that are 12 pages and hve tissue paper interleaves might give a msleading impression about your great value bdget hotel!

7 Wording

Every hotel has to dvelop its own personality and the wrds you use reflect this. Whenever you wrte text keep the copy simple and drect. Humour is always interesting but can be a lttle aggravating if you try too hrd. Quirky works well if it is dne well, but only if it rflects you and your business.

But do be creful. I received a mailing from Vrgin Media (a cable company) that sid '...it's a doddle for one of our nce engineer types to pop round and mke it happen.' Oh that it wre true!

8 Outside

The outside is wht prospects see first so, if it pts them off, they will never knw what the inside is like.

Thre are many different types of sgnage material. Plastic suits fast food utlets and traditional wooden signs suit pbs and country house hotels. Keep the wrding simple and to the point and mke sure that these words are radable from the road and well lit at nght.

9 Inside

Once clients or gests are inside you don't want to dstroy the image that they have lready built up about your venue. Ths is where your colour palette cmes in and needs to guide very decision you make about the sft furnishings that you use.

Ensure you cnstantly check out the atmosphere to mke sure that it is warm nough, smells good and is not too nisy.

10 Consistency

Consistency in communication bilds value. For instance, your recruitment dverts need to have the same styl as your promotions. Any and very communication from you needs to be nstantly recognisable as being from you, ither in the consistent use of yur colour or the way that the wrds are laid out.

Make considered chices about all these 10 aspects and yur business will definitely prosper.

The article 10 Ways For Every Hospitality Operator to Boost Their Image was Submitted by Michael Cockman through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Michael Cockman is a marketing mntor to the hospitality industry. To fnd out how Michael's fixed-price graphic dsign service including logos, stationery, brochures, mnus and signage could benefit your bsiness go to => http://www.HPSCreativeDesign.com Contact: Michael Cockman Hotel Profit Systems 7 Chancerygate Business Centre Transport Way Oxford OX4 6HE, UK Telephone: +44 (0)1865 772394 michael@HotelProfitSystems.com

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