In the early 1900’s a man by the name of Albert Keller bought and franchised the name Ritz-Carlton as a brand. Boston was the benchmark for the Ritz-Carlton Brand, which went on to revolutionize the way Americans view hospitality and created a luxury experience in the hotel and travel setting. By 1983, Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company LLC was established by President/founding father Colgate Holmes, where in a matter of 2 years five hotels launched. By the end of 1992, 23 Ritz-Carlton hotels were opened globally forever changing the luxury hotel industry. Today Ritz-Carlton is widely recognized as one of the premier luxury hotels for the tourism industry around the globe.

What Makes Ritz-Carlton a Luxury Brand?

• Private baths for each guest room
• Lighter fabrics that allow for a more thorough wash
• Extensive flowers in public areas to create a welcome and warm environment for guests
• Multiple choices for dining with gourmet cuisine
• Waitstaff wears formal clothing to exceed customer service expectations
• Intimate and smaller lobbies to create sense of personalization for guests
• Premier locations world-wide

Ritz-Carlton as a brand, strives to inspire the meaningful journey's of life in desirable destinations all over the globe.

Brand Personality

The Ritz-Carlton brand can be described as authentic, genuine, imaginative and diverse. The brand strives to "analyze strategic implications by evaluating longitudinal data regarding the performance of major hotel brands in the market place, both in terms of guest satisfaction and revenue indicators" (O'Neill, 17). In doing so, the brand has become an authentic experience in which customers know what they are getting into prior to booking their stay at a Ritz-Carlton location. Consumers understand the brand as an authentic experience and expect to receive the same genuine service in a modern yet traditional environment for each and every stay.

Goodbye scripted phrases, hello diverse authenticity

As the consumers of Ritz-Carlton evolve, so does the brand. In recent years, the brand went through a re-brand transformation in which many physicality's of the brand changed. Amidst these changes the core foundation of Ritz-Carlton stayed the same. While the level of customer service has remained of top excellence, the style in which the service is delivered has drastically changed. Emotion marketing has helped this brand transformation. "Emotion marketing impels people to act on such feelings- and gives them a reason to go beyond a single purchase, to long-term loyalty" (Robinette, 2).

The Future of the Ritz-Carlton Brand

Ritz-Carlton will continue to revolutionize the luxury tourism industry and enhance the hotel experience of guests around the globe. The brand has sustained the ever changing evolution of the minds of consumers on a global level and not only does the brand continue to physically expand, but continuously meets the needs and wants of its diverse consumers. The Ritz-Carlton defines experiential luxury and as more consumers are finding the value in experience, the brand will only grow in the years to come.