....AND WHAT BRANDS ARE TRULY GLOBAL AND WHAT ARE INTERNATIONAL? THE MORE RELEVANT QUESTION IS.....WHAT GLOBAL BRANDS FEEL LOCAL.
Are the days over when communities yearned for an internatonal hotel to open? Or would they prefer a flagship demonstration of their own customs and culture presented by recognised brand? Either way, the choice of brand needs to go hand in hand with a conversation about community participation.
It is perhaps fairly understandable that a hotel brand that has grown up and matured in one country takes on certain customs and adopts certain tastes of that country.......and in some cases of the region or even of the district. There are excellent cases from the great mature hotel brands such as 
Hilton and Holiday Inn where they have adapted in style and taste to the customs and characteristics of the region well before they stepped outside their National boundaries.
Therein lies the key component for international adaptation. Are they capable of adapting their products to the local community or are they married to their base designs and operating philosophies of their mother country.....or even that of their General Manager?
In these contexts, I refer mostly to the development of hotels and resorts in developing countries or regions where markets are not mature and well developed.
This is not to say that a brand can not travel without adopting to the local culture. There are some excellent examples of successful brands that continue to flourish in foreign lands that have maintained their National identity and base concepts. This is largely because of loyal travellers from their home country who feel more comfortable in their home surroundings rather than risking the chances proffered by exposure to local cuisines and other idiosynchracies.
One good example in my view of a group of brands anchored in their mother country is the Accor Group that are, for all intents and purposes, French in style, character and delivery. They will have French restaurants, French managers and French amenities and generally make little effort to adopt any local touches.
Great examples of brands that have morphed internationally are Hilton, Hyatt and Four Seasons who are shining examples of how to go local globally. Why is that? What have they done that others have not?
Conversely and on the other hand, perhaps it is equally or more important that the property be viewed as local for, after all, the physical bricks and mortar are anquored there, the staff and secondary services are primarily local and the food is also mostly local.
It is in fact a business that needs to drive its roots into the community so that the local community feels, believes and acts as if it is theirs.
Does it represent them? Are they a part of it? Are their local artists displayed there? Are the managers local? Do they respond to local tragedies? Do they support local charities? Do they integrate into the issues of the local community or are they distant, detached and ....dare I say it, above all that.
Should a hotel be local before it is global or global before it is local.
Is it a 'glocal' hotel or is it 'lobal'? Here are my definitions of these two coined phrases,
- Glocal. A hotel that was global in design and texture when it opened but is gradually adapting to some local customs which includes some local department heads, some local food dishes, a few pieces of art and sculpture.
- Lobal. A hotel that encorporated local customs and design into it's fabric from 'Day One' and which has raised the level of appreciation for those customs to appeal to its global audience. Expatriate staff who assisted to open the hotel have disappeared and been replaced by local managers, some of whom have been given opportunities in other countries.
Has management become proud of the local heritage? Are employees pretending to be something that they are not? Are locals using the restaurants and bars and do weddings take place in their halls with photos of brides and grooms in the gardens and lobbies? Do staff look down on local clientele or are they welcomed and made to fully feel at home.
Being part of an international family is one thing but is it everything? It was important in the days when 'chain affiliated' meant referral business but some of that aura has been weakened by the strength of the internet.
It is therefore my belief that the future will in fact see more development respecting local communities' customs, more 'local' design, more community involvement, more sustainable development....not out of government legislation but out of the need to protect the very reasons that people travel........to see and experience how the other half live.
See also http://www.glocalforum.org/
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