The importance of branding in the hotel industry on the example of The Westin Zagreb hotel

Hotelski brend predstavlja puno više od samog imena i loga. U hotelijerstvu brend predstavlja imidž, kvalitetu, standard i poziciju na tržištu. Iako je Hrvatska prepoznatljiva turistička destinacija, hoteli u ukupnoj smještajnoj strukturi predstavljaju vrlo mali udio. U ukupnoj ponudi hotela udio brendiranih hotela je skroman, posebno udio međunarodnih hotelskih brendova. Neovisno o prethodno navedenom, Hrvatska se može pohvaliti s nekoliko globalnih hotelskih brendova u najpopularnijim turističkim odredištima Hrvatske, posebno u Gradu Zagrebu te najpopularnijim odredištima na obali. Međunarodni hotelski brendovi pozitivno utječu na destinaciju i njezino pozicioniranje na tržištu. Kad se u turističkoj destinaciji smjesti snažni globalni brend, on utječe na imidž destinacije i ona postaje prepoznatljiva kao sigurna, razvijena, i destinacija vrijedna investiranja i upravo te odrednice su glavna prednost međunarodnih brendova. Tema ovog rada je značaj brendiranja u hotelijerstvu na primjeru hotela The Westin Zagreb. The Westin je brend Marriott Internationala, jedne od najvećih globalnih svjetskih hotelskih kompanija,Brand for hotel represents much more than just the name and logo. In hotel industry, the brand represents the image, quality, standard and market position. Although Croatia is a recognizable tourist destination, hotels represent a very small share in the overall accommodation structure. The share of branded hotels in the total hotel offer is modest, especially in the share of international hotel brands. Regardless of the above, Croatia can be proud of several global hotel brands in the most popular tourist destinations in Croatia, especially in the city of Zagreb and the most popular destinations on the coast. International hotel brands have a positive impact on the destination and on market positioning. When a strong global brand is placed in a tourist destination, it affects positively on image of destination and it becomes recognizable as a safe, developed, and destination worth of investing and these determinants are the main advantage of international brands. The topic of this work is the importance of branding in the hotel industry on the example of The Westin Zagreb. The Westin is a brand of one of the world’s largest global hotel companies, Marriott International