Hotel Amenity Strategies for Beauty Brand Growth

A hotel amenity program is one of the most effective tools a beauty brand has in its toolbox today—but it’s also one of the most underutilized.

Where else can you introduce a new sales and marketing channel with little upfront investment, no supply chain stress, and the opportunity to land your brands directly in the hands of the people you want using them? And what better way to elevate brand awareness and reduce the cost of sampling?

The effectiveness of amenity programs cannot be overstated, and neither can the revenue potential.

• This is an update from a hotel amenities article written in 2017. Read that article here to see what’s changed. -Editor

Mutually Beneficial: Hotel-Brand Sampling Partnerships

While the hospitality industry has undergone significant pandemic-induced shifts in the past few years, one thing remains ever-present: a hotel’s desire to delight guests during their stay.

In-room personal care products are an impactful go-to that help hotels curate a memorable experience. Brands like Aveda, Le Labo, Paul Mitchell and others have not only placed their star products in thousands of rooms around the globe, they’ve also bolstered their brand and the hotel’s perceived value by doing so.

Want to get your brand in on some of that action? Here are a few factors to keep in mind to ensure your hotel amenity sampling partnership is a success:

Brand Collaboration (Make Sure It’s the Right Fit)

As with any brand awareness campaign, you want to make sure that any hotel partnership puts your samples in front of the right people—your target audience.

Brand Partnerships

I’m a big fan of partnership marketing if (and only if) brands are well aligned. It’s an amazing opportunity to enjoy a halo effect from adjacency, expand your audience and enhance brand experience. Brands can get a range of products in front of their target audience with online and on-site shops, in addition to in-room programs.

A word of caution, though: Make sure your products align with the hotel’s brand. A value-priced hair care line isn’t a good fit for a luxury hotel brand such as the Four Seasons. While this may be an extreme example, the point is to strategically align with a hotel’s brands based on audience and lifestyle to maximize impact.

In my experience, brands often miss the mark by aspiring to be in luxury properties and overlook expansive opportunities in the mid-tier or business travel sector. These hotels often cover 10x the number of rooms and have longer average nightly stays, giving your product more face time with its ideal buyer.

Larger hotels with property portfolios may even allow brands to set up multiple programs with different products at the same time. On the other hand, smaller properties that don’t have the numbers to offer a dedicated program allow brands to get their programs up and running—and in front of customers’ eyes—more quickly.

Brand Experience

Between events, promotions, value-added opportunities and partnership campaigns, hospitality partnerships can unlock near-limitless opportunities to enhance the all-important brand experience. Think product launch events, promotional in-room items, influencer and brand ambassador stays at the hotel, and exclusive pop-up stores.

According to an Amex study, more than 74% of respondents said that they care more about creating a travel experience that meets their expectations, rather than the cost.

Occasionally, brand experience and lifestyle marketing come at a cost to the brand but are more often coopted and shared with the hotel property, allowing marketers on both sides to stretch their budgets more effectively.

Long-Term Growth

Hotel sampling programs can help bring eyes to a brand at the point of use, one of the most direct (read: low cost, high value) paths to engaging a consumer. More than that, a sampling program introduces hotel visitors to your line of products, whether it’s skin care, hair care, body care, etc.

Let Them Sample

Truly, there’s no other place outside of hotel partnerships that allows consumers to cherry pick products like this—or for your brand to cherry pick which ones get sampled. Plus, there’s a major built-in bonus: Not only can amenity products facilitate cost-neutral sampling, but they can also often yield royalty opportunities.

Opportunity for Growth

I had the chance to lead a successful in-room program between Paul Mitchell and Marriott International. While the entire program yielded many benefits over the course of the multiyear partnership, the in-room experience was enhanced and expanded through cooperative marketing efforts and campaigns.

What’s more, we leveraged that partnership for Coachella event sampling, Mother’s Day initiatives, giveaways and more. Both sides of the partnership benefited, which led to an even stronger professional relationship (and collaborative opportunities for the future).

Ready for More Revenue?

Amenity programs can often be pure profit for brands. Yes, you read that right. Startup costs for amenity programs are low to nil, while royalty payments can bring in meaningful revenue with no operational impact.

In fact, brands with active hospitality programs have experienced an average of 20% topline sales growth thanks to hotel sampling (and that’s just the start).

Thanks to amenities-focused manufacturing partners that can manage the development, sales and logistics for branded amenity programs, a brand can get into the hospitality space without ever having to manage a single bottle through their supply chain or distribution network.

The (Eco-Friendly) Future of Amenity Programs

Another element to consider with hotel amenity programs? Consumer tastes and shifting business practices.

Keep in mind that hotels are shifting to more eco-friendly amenity practices post-pandemic. Even before the rise of COVID-19, hotels were working on sustainable amenity programs like refillable toiletry dispensers, biodegradable keycards and reusable water bottles.

And now, rather than single-use samples, much of the industry has begun to use dispenser programs for both cost and sustainability benefits. In the last few years, Accor Hotels, Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott and Holiday Inn-owned IHG all announced similar initiatives to reduce plastic waste and transition from single-use toiletries.

While single-use samples allow consumers to take home products, dispenser programs help reduce plastic use and can help hotel properties reduce costs. Plus, dispensers have come a long way to drive sharp design, tamper-proof functionality and branding impact.

Brands can take advantage of both single-use and dispenser programs, depending on what their hotel partner uses. Some hotel properties employ both programs; for example, dispensers are placed in standard rooms and spas while employing single use in luxury suites and VIP accommodations.

Are Hotel Amenity Programs Right for You?

While not every brand will be the right fit for a hotel’s amenity program, many are. Usually, hotel properties are drawn to brands with an established brand name, an engaged following and/or innovative product offerings. What’s more, it’s often overlooked in marketing strategies, as I mentioned above.

That makes amenity sampling programs a low-cost, low-barrier-to-entry, high-return secret weapon for savvy beauty marketers.

Nikola Cline is the founder and president of Brandettes, an agency in Los Angeles supporting brands with amenity program development, brand strategy and digital marketing.