Mere weeks after opening the third Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! in Menlyn, Pretoria, the Protea Hotel Group, which is now part of Marriott International, has been named the coolest hotel brand by the Sunday Times Generation Next 2015 Brand Survey Award.
It is the fifth consecutive year this coveted award has gone to Protea Hotels, and the sixth time it has won the award since its inception.
Protea Hotels Group Marketing Manager Nicholas Barenblatt says companies need to be reacting to the fundamental changes that the reach of technology is creating in the engagement patterns of the generation Y and Z segment.
“Not recognising what makes this market tick and not using the right channels to communicate with them on their own terms, will have a negative effect on one’s ability to attract, engage and convert them into customers and potential brand advocates. They are a generation that works and plays in the new media and social channels,” he adds.
“Protea Hotel Fire &Ice!, our lifestyle brand is a prime example of our ‘coolness’, because it demonstrates that as a company we don’t take ourselves too seriously. It’s geared around meeting the needs of a millennial traveller and by doing so it shows that we are prepared to push the boundaries to create impactful experiences with customer involvement, which in turn leads to organic word of mouth,” says Danny Bryer, Director of Sales, Marketing and Revenue.
However, service remains the brand’s core driver and it is this that Bryer believes brings guests and visitors back time and again to experience the coolest hotel brand in South Africa.
While the hotel is frequented and loved by guests of all ages, the brand is particularly supported by Generation Y and Z, with its clear social conscience.
