I don't agree that BAR is a brand building activity for Chains

I have been keeping a watch on the stories coming out of EyeforTravel Travel Distribution Summit this week. In one story (via eTravel Blackboard) Revenue Bosses from top hotels are talking about the important role that Best Available Rate (BAR) or Best Rate Guarantees (BRG) (why have one acronym when you can have two) have in the building and maintaining of a hotel brand.

Maunik Thacker of the Venetian Macau is quoted outright as saying "Rate parity builds loyalty and trust in the brand".

I don't agree. Building and owning a brand is about so much more than just beating everyone up in the distribution chain to ensure a single price. Have a look at the Interbrand list of top global brand. Almost every single one of them charges different prices to consumers based on the channel. Here are some examples of channel based price differentiation from the top ten list:

• Coca-Cola, the number one brand in the world, charges more for a cold 600ml bottle at my local super market than it does for a warm 2 litre bottle. This is charging more in the same store for less. It does this because it uses a non-price based differentiator (cold versus warm);
• Nokia is the number one consumer electronics magazine. I can buy a top of the range Nokia N95 out of the box with a price range of $512-700. That is a variance of almost 50%. If I sign up for a contract I can get it for a little as US$20 per month (ie around $140 for the handset); and
• Disney, the biggest entertainment brand in the world, let's retailers set the price on almost anything they sell.

The most successful brands on the planet use price discrimination and market segmentation to enhance their brand and the proof is in the brand valuations. Consumers love the Coke brand even though it is five times more expensive to buy it at the movie theatre than the supermarket. Yet in the hotel business the Chains argue the opposite. Maybe there is a reason there are no hotel brands in the global top 100 brands. Instead of beating up over BAR Chains should be using price and product as flexible tool for distribution management - just like the top global brands do.

PS - have look at the bottom of the article where (the now TUI owned) asiarooms is singled out for breaking the rules. This gives the answer to the commenter on an earlier post who asked why I called asiarooms infamous.

Photo ukdenners