CONTENTS I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 II. SITUATION ANALYSIS 2 a) Economic Environment & Industry Trends 2 b) Organizational & Political Environment 3 c) SWOT analysis for Rosewood 5 III. PROBLEMS FOUND IN SITUATION ANALYSIS 6 IV. STRATEGIC ALTERNATIVES 9 a) Corporate Branding 9 b) Individual Branding 11 c) Selective Corporate Branding 12 PROPOSED BRANDING STRATEGY - SELECTIVE CORPORATE BRANDING STRATEGY 13 SUMMARY 15 APPENDICES 16
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts (Rosewood), known for managing distinctive luxury hotels is considering a new brand strategy. Rosewood’s concept for each property has always been “Sense of Place”, emphasizing the individual character of each
This was a reputation that was consistent with its brand positioning since its inception in 1979. This made even a deliberate transition into a consolidated corporate branding strategy harder. Rosewood’s growth trend from 2001 to 2003, through its average daily room rate (ADR) from $344 to $351, and RevPAR from $197 to $217 respectively, provided positive financial trend as a track record. This was supported by a similar growth trend experienced by the Orient-Express Hotels during the same period with a similar brand strategy. Contrastingly, Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton hotels saw their ADRs stagnating and RevPARs declining respectively in the same period (see Annex 1). Therefore, based on these operating performances, Rosewood’s long established reputation and original organizational brand strategy could continue to be its own growth mechanism without a need for any major shift. John Scott and Robert Boulogne may not have analysed these proven elements sufficiently, and instead focussed too much on the forward business projections like the CLV, which were derived from their own assumptions generally.

Incidentally, Rosewood’s organizational and political dimensions were also reinforced by guests with specific inclinations towards its selective unique brands. The formation of a cooperative by