Park Inn Case Study

Creating a Complete Brand Experience

The Challenge

Carlson Hotels Worldwide's (CHW) economy hotel brand, Park Inn, was struggling with no clear positioning or direction. With Prophet's help, CHW repositioned the brand with a clear and differentiated message and now needed to develop the ideal guest experience and strategic plan to achieve its desired growth objectives.

Our Solution

Prophet conducted qualitative customer research and a competitive audit to understand the points of parity and potential points of difference for the Park Inn guest experience. Hundreds of guest experience touchpoints were defined and then prioritized based on guest impact, cost, complexity to deliver, and the role of the touchpoint in the brand experience. To ensure the successful implementation of the new Park Inn guest experience across all properties over the following three years, Prophet developed detailed action plans and timelines, including a brand launch plan, an existing properties migration plan, and a new conversions plan.

Results

Based on the collaboration with Prophet, CHW developed aggressive growth plans, hired an architect and an interior designer for the new Park Inn concept, and immediately sought conversions and new construction sites for the hotel. Prototypes opened in 2005. In a Park Inn press release, Nancy Johnson, brand leader for the hotels, acknowledged the innovative use of customer insights in shaping the new concept: "The voice of the customer has been the guiding force in creating this new concept for the Park Inn brand."