Hospitality brands tell a unique story of comfort, luxury, and exceptional experiences. From small hotels to big international luxury chains, these brands can inspire you. Whether you are an influencer or a small family looking to enjoy your time, you’ll find what you need in this article.
But what are the best hospitality brands, and how do you find them? The best hospitality brands have been tested in many ways because their brand management is incredible, and there is no extra room for making mistakes. To learn about these brands, stay with us until the end of this article.
Top 10 Hospitality Brands
Whether you want to enjoy your stay when you travel or experience the best customer service, you must know about the best hospitality brands to feel that way.
1. Sojern
The first on our list is one of the best Luxury hospitality brands called Sojern. It’s a company that helps travel businesses with the best digital marketing strategies, using technology like programmatic buying and machine learning.
Sojern collaborates with airlines, online travel agencies (OTAs), hotels, and rental car companies, collecting anonymous traveler data from people’s online searches and bookings. The company is based in San Francisco and has teams in Dubai, Dublin, London, Omaha, Paris, and Singapore.
But where did the story of Sojern begin? And why is it so popular, especially among travel influencers on Instagram? Sojern was founded in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2007 by Gordon Whitten. In April 2011, former Yahoo! employee Mark Rabe took over as CEO.
By taking a look at Sojern’s journey, you’ll understand why it became so popular Sojern started in boarding pass advertising, becoming the first U.S. company with patents for Printed and Online Boarding Pass customization technology.
By 2008, airline partners like Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines used Sojern’s tech for targeted ads on boarding passes. In 2011, Sojern introduced the Sojern Traveler Platform (STP) to enhance its targeting technology.
2. In-N-Out Burger
This hospitality brand goes to the dining category, where you can enjoy and experience the best burgers through chain restaurants. Through its websites, online ordering, marketing tools, and payment systems, The In-N-Out Burger Marketing & Commerce Platform helps its restaurants around the world create the best hospitality experiences possible.
In-N-Out Burger is a California-based fast-food chain founded in 1948 by Harry and Esther Snyder. It has expanded beyond California into other states like Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Colorado, and Idaho. The current owner is Lynsi Snyder, the Snyders’ only grandchild.
The special thing about this hospitality brand is that from the first bite of your burger to your last french fry, quality is the most important ingredient at In-N-Out Burger. They don’t freeze, pre-package, or microwave their food. They make things in an old-fashioned way.,
3. Dunkin
Meet Dunkin, a popular hospitality brand with branches in different countries. Dunkin’ Donuts, now known as Dunkin since 2019, is an American multinational coffee and doughnut company and quick-service restaurant.
Founded by Bill Rosenberg in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1950, the chain expanded under Allied Lyons, which acquired it in 1990, including converting the Mister Donut chain to Dunkin’ Donuts, facilitating its growth in North America that year.
This hospitality brand once ran a marketing campaign featuring a character named ‘Fred the Baker’ who became well-known for saying, ‘Time to make the donuts’. Fred’s character was portrayed by actor Michael Vale for a remarkable 15 years, making him an iconic figure associated with the brand. It has so many impacts on influencers and bloggers. To this day, many of them want to be a part of that campaign.
Through this influencer marketing campaign, Dunkin won awards as one of the best TV ads of the 1980s and was featured in founder William Rosenberg’s autobiography, ‘Time to Make the Donuts: The Founder of Dunkin’ Donuts Shares an American Journey.’
Dunkin’ makes unique donuts that showcase local flavors in the countries they’re in. For example, they have wasabi cheese and seaweed cheese donuts in Singapore. In some Asian countries, you can try mochi donuts, and in China, there’s a dried pork and seaweed donut that was tested by so many Asian YouTubers.
4. Starbucks
Starbucks is one of the most well-known hospitality brands globally. It’s an American coffeehouse chain with its main offices in Seattle, Washington. As of November 2022, Starbucks had 35,711 stores across 80 countries, including 15,873 in the United States. Over 8,900 U.S. stores are run by the company, while the rest are licensed.
Starbucks is credited with popularizing the second wave of coffee culture. They offer various drinks and snacks, including hot and cold beverages, pastries, and more. Some items are specific to certain seasons or locations. Many Starbucks stores in various countries offer free Wi-Fi.
The smartest advertising idea comes from this popular hospitality brand. The story begins when Starbucks takes each person’s name to place their order. But that’s not all; the staff at Starbucks intentionally misspells your name. When you receive your order, you end up sharing with everyone how Starbucks ‘accidentally’ wrote your name wrong, but we all know it wasn’t an accident.
Real and cool facts about the Starbucks logo: It’s a metaphor for the allure of caffeine, inspired by the sirens who drew sailors into the rocks. The logo was in black and white throughout the 1990s, but in 1982, it became green and black. Since then, it has remained exclusively green.
5. Delta Airline
This hospitality brand falls into the travel service category. Delta Air Lines is a major U.S. airline headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the oldest operating airline in the U.S. and the sixth oldest globally. Delta and its partners operate over 5,400 flights daily to 325 destinations in 52 countries. They are part of the SkyTeam alliance and had around 90,000 employees as of the end of 2022.
Delta operates from nine main airports; the biggest is Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. It’s the second-largest airline globally regarding passengers, miles flown, and fleet size. Delta also holds the top spot in revenue among privately-owned airlines and is recognized for its brand value, ranking 113th on the Fortune 500.
Have you ever wondered why smoking is banned on flights? Delta was the first airline to ban smoking on all flights in 1995. They reached a milestone in 1997 by becoming the first airline to board over 100 million passengers in a year. In 2007, this hospitality brand helped our planet by being the first airline with an onboard recycling program.
6. Chipotle
If you’re craving the best Mexican food, give Chipotle a try. Chipotle Mexican Grill, often known as Chipotle, is a U.S.-based chain of fast-casual restaurants. They specialize in customizable bowls, tacos, and Mission burritos made right in front of you. Chipotle has restaurants in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and France. The name ‘Chipotle’ comes from the Nahuatl term for a smoked and dried jalapeño chili pepper.
By looking through Chipotle’s journey, you’ll understand how special this hospitality brand is. Chipotle, founded in 1993, was one of the first fast-casual chains. Initially, it grew with McDonald’s investment in Colorado and had 500+ locations by 2006. In 2015, with 2,000+ locations, it earned $475.6 million and had 45,000+ employees. In 2018, Chipotle moved its headquarters to California, ending a 25-year Denver connection.
This hospitality brand is a very good example to never back down from what you have started. Chipotle was never meant to be successful. Founder Steve Ells aimed for a fancy restaurant but lacked funds. Chipotle, started to raise money and unexpectedly became hugely popular, changing Ells’ initial plan.
Chipotle, being popular among diverse communities in various countries, utilizes influencers and bloggers from different regions for its advertisements. Given its focus on Mexican food, Chipotle collaborates with Mexican YouTubers, bloggers, and Instagram influencers.
7. Baskin-Robbins
Looking for a sweet hospitality brand? Baskin-Robbins, a hospitality company name, is a big chain of ice cream and cake shops. It started in 1945 in Glendale, California, by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins. The headquarters are in Canton, Massachusetts, shared with Dunkin’ Donuts. With over 8,000 locations, it’s the world’s biggest ice cream store chain.
Baskin-Robbins is famous for its ‘31 flavors’ concept, letting customers enjoy a different flavor each day of the month. The logo cleverly forms a ‘31’ from the letters ‘B’ and ‘R.’ The catchy slogan was created by the Carson-Roberts advertising agency in 1953. Since 1945, the company has introduced over 1,300 flavors, including vegan and non-dairy options added in 2019.
This hospitality brand holds the Guinness World Record for the biggest cup of ice cream, created on its 60th birthday, September 13, 2005. This colossal vanilla treat weighed a whopping 8,865 pounds! The brand’s signature colors are blue and pink.
8. Shake Shack
Welcome to New York City’s top hospitality brand, Shake Shack. Shake Shack gained popularity after starting as a hot dog cart in Madison Square Park in 2001. In 2004, it got a permit for a permanent kiosk, broadening its menu to include burgers, hot dogs, fries, and delicious milkshakes.
Since it started, Shake Shack quickly grew into one of the fastest-growing food chains. It went public in late 2014, with its initial shares priced at $21. On the first day of trading, the shares skyrocketed by 123%, reaching $47.
In June 2020, Shake Shack faced some dramas, but they were just that—dramas. Employees at a Shake Shack in Lower Manhattan were wrongly accused of poisoning two police officers with bleach. The accusations, spread on social media by police associations, turned out to be false.
A police investigation cleared the Shake Shack workers of any wrongdoing, and the restaurant explained that the strange taste in the drinks might have been due to a cleaning issue with the milkshake machine.
We all should have big plans like Randy. When Shake Shack started small as a hot dog stand, CEO Randy Garutti had bigger plans. He even sketched the initial ideas for the menu on a napkin, where you can find notes about the tuna burger that didn’t make it. However, many beloved menu classics, like the custard and Chicago dog, did come to life from those napkin sketches.
9. Princess Cruises
Explore Princess Cruises, a travel hospitality brand with an interesting story. It all began when founder Stanley McDonald chartered a ship, Princess Patricia, for Mexican Riviera cruises from Los Angeles during the winter. However, as the ship wasn’t ideal for tropical cruising, the charter ended, leading Princess Cruises to seek a more suitable vessel, eventually finding Italia.
This hospitality brand also had some dramas, but real dramas this time. In 2013, Caribbean Princess intentionally released 4,227 gallons of oil-contaminated waste off England’s southern coast, involving illegal modifications to pollution control systems.
A new engineer captured the act in photos, resigned, and reported it to the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency upon docking in Southampton. The U.S. Department of Justice investigation revealed this practice on Caribbean Princess and four other ships since 2005: Star Princess, Grand Princess, Coral Princess, and Golden Princess.
In December 2016, Princess Cruise Lines got in trouble for illegal discharges in various U.S. areas. They agreed to plead guilty, paying a $40 million penalty—the largest ever for deliberate vessel pollution. Now, eight Carnival companies, like Carnival Cruise Line and Holland America Line, must follow a court-supervised plan with audits for five years. Even though it’s one of the best hospitality brands, the princess seems to love trouble.
10. Holiday Inn
Want to have the best travel experiences, but hotels and cruises seem to be so expensive? Holiday Inn is a great choice as one of the best hospitality brands. Holiday Inn, an American hotel chain based in Atlanta, Georgia, is part of IHG Hotels & Resorts. Founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, it has over 1,100 locations and offers various hotel types like Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Club Vacations, and Resorts.
The great thing about this hospitality brand is that it offers a free stay for bloggers or influencers. Many hot influencers on Instagram have stayed in their hotels for free in exchange for great advertisement.
The company’s best advertising is its big and attention-grabbing roadside sign. It’s huge and stands out, but making and keeping it up is costly. The sign was made by Balton & Sons Sign Company and designed by sketch artists Gene Barber and Roland Alexander.
Wilson, the company owner, wanted a noticeable sign at least 50 feet (ca. 15 m) high, visible from both sides, with a changeable marquee. The original sign cost $13,000, and its colors were chosen because they were Wilson’s mother’s favorites.
How to Collaborate with These Hospitality Brands
Whether you are an influencer seeking collaboration or a brand looking for the right influencers, check out the best influencer marketing platform. As you might guess, these hospitality brands use various advertising methods. Using bloggers, YouTubers, and influencers worldwide is the perfect and less expensive way to do so. But how can you connect with these hospitality brands? Ainfluencer is a fantastic and free way to link you with these brands.
It doesn’t matter where you live, Ainfluencer will help you. It will be a win-win situation when both the brand and influencers take advantage of it. As an influencer, you will enjoy a perfect luxury stay or a great night at a restaurant, and the brand will have a great advertisement.
The Ainfluencer platform uses a smart search engine with AI that helps you find your ideal collaboration. It considers over 20 criteria like location, gender, niche, budget, and audience demographics. Through this amazing marketplace, both brands and influencers will find the right match. You can sign up for this amazing platform anytime you want.
Conclusion
Hospitality brands play a vital role in offering enjoyable experiences to guests. Their success lies in providing excellent service, adapting to changing trends, and embracing innovation. Ultimately, building lasting connections with guests is key to their impact and success.
FAQs
A powerful brand boosts a company’s value and influence in the industry. Creating a unique brand identity through branding makes guests feel connected to your hotel or restaurant, choosing it over competitors. This, in turn, greatly boosts your hotel’s sales and revenue.
Consistency is crucial in brand strategy. Use the same brand words, taglines, and stories everywhere online. This helps build brand recognition, especially since the first interaction with potential guests may not be on your website.
