Page 87 - The New Gold Standard

Be Relevant
guest, ensuring that traditional and new-generation guests are
each treated respectfully in accord with their wishes.”

C Changing the Company D
Image—Externally and Internally

Conversations with Ritz-Carlton leadership indicate clearly that
they are committed to “evolution and not revolution.” While
customer-centric changes had been taking place in the design
and service received at Ritz-Carlton, these transformations also
had to be effectively communicated to internal and external cus-
tomers. To this end, Ritz-Carlton leadership and its outside mar-
keting partner sought to create honest images of an evolving
company.
The goal of these communications was to gently shift cus-
tomer perceptions of Ritz-Carlton from that of a staid, Old
World, traditional hotel to something more in the middle of a
continuum that runs between traditional and contemporary—
in essence, neither being on the extremes of iconic or trendy. Be-
cause of this objective, marketing images stopped depicting
society guests near a grand hotel and instead sought to capture
the essence of Ritz-Carlton’s service standards. Advertising mes-
sages, for example, were designed to show timeless service excel-
lence that is tailored to produce a personal and memorable
experience for each guest. Rich marketing images (Figure 3.1)
don’t focus on the elegance of a hotel property but instead em-
phasize how service excellence allows for unique and exotic expe-
riences.
Bruce Himelstein, senior vice president of sales and market-
ing, eloquently sums up the balancing act Ritz-Carlton faces in
the ongoing efforts to define and refine. “It’s still a primary re-
sponsibility for this company to be authentic and relevant. Not
to be edgy, cool, and hip. I don’t believe the customer would buy
that for Ritz-Carlton, and it is not who we are. I think customers
and prospective customers will accept that we’re going to be in

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