A Lesson in Branding: W Hotels

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to stay a few days in Boston at the brand new W Hotel. Besides being an awesome hotel, and having some awesome company for the weekend (my best friend since Kindergarten!), the W Hotel is also an awesome lesson in branding. Everything — and I mean everything — was representative of the W brand. Even the extra roll of toilet paper in the bathroom was touched with a piece of the W Brand. My three favorite touches:

1. The floor mats in the “lifts” are changed three times a day with messaging reading Good Morning, Good Afternoon and Good Evening. According to one of the bellhops, they are changed at 1 am, noon and 5 pm.

2. The minibar contained everything from an “Ouch” kit (first aid) to an “Under Cover” umbrella to a “Pleasure” kit with…well, you fill in the blanks on that one. Even the snickers and peanuts were given the W look. (Luckily, the W prices kept me far away from indulging in any treats!)

3. I mentioned this one over the weekend on Facebook, but my favorite W touch was most definitely the coffee table book of W properties. In it, a “Where Was I” bookmark marked the page of the Boston property. A great touch.

Check out our slideshow of all the W touches below, or on Flickr.