First things first: is your name serving you well? It should be easy to recall, original enough to rank highly on search engines and sit harmoniously alongside your purpose and values.

Your purpose will inform everything you do, from branding to interior design and content creation. Ask yourself: beyond making money, why does this hotel exist? Why should it continue to exist? What does it add to the local area, and why should people spend their precious time and money here?

Answers to these questions can be varied and surprising. Perhaps your garden supports regional biodiversity, your renovations have preserved a historic building for future generations, or you have a training programme for young people.

A strong sense of purpose and a distinctive brand culture will not only improve guest satisfaction and attract repeat and new customers; it will encourage brand advocacy and improve staff retention.

Once you know why you do what you do, you must question who you’re doing it for. Take your audience demographic and expand it into a detailed guest profile. Name them and give them a personality, if it helps! You might have a current and future guest profile if you’re hoping to reposition or expand into new markets.

A good graphic designer or brand agency will dig into the purpose, people and personality before a single line is drawn. Make sure you work with someone that asks a lot of questions and totally understands what you’re all about. Do your research and chat to lots of different agencies or freelancers to make sure you have a strong rapport and complete trust.

Visual elements – logo, wordmarque, fonts, colour palette, illustrations – should accurately represent the brand personality, geographical context and the mood and atmosphere of your hotel. Brand personality will be distilled by a skilled copywriter, who will create a distinctive tone of voice. Make sure different creative teams communicate to create a cohesive guest experience. A brand toolkit will ensure the consistent application of brand assets.

A confident, distinctive brand can completely transform perceptions of your business. Today’s guests align themselves with brands that are intelligent, thought-leading and aspirational. If you’re chasing direct bookings (of course you are!), the hotel website and Instagram page will form guests’ very first impressions, and visual branded elements are an integral part of these shop windows.

The Future Laboratory recently cited Global Web Index: “ 77% of luxurians would buy a product or service simply for the experience of being part of the community built around it”, and this brings us back around to purpose and values. Don’t be afraid to stand for something. Or against something. That’s how your audience will relate to and advocate for your brilliant brand.

Hotel Palette can help guide this process. I can write your mission statement, brand purpose and detailed guest profiles, create an in-depth design brief for your designer, or project manage the full process with trusted partners.