Conrad Hotels has been around for many years – created at a time when Hilton Hotels (in the U.S.) and Hilton International (headquartered in the U.K.) were two separate companies and Hilton Hotels was not permitted to use the brand name outside the country – thus, Conrad, Hilton's luxury entry. After a number of efforts to grow the brand, efforts seem to be taking hold and Richard Blamey, senior vice president-brand management, believes that this time is the charm. Some brand insights from a recent LT360 interview by Harvey Chipkin:

•    Conrad´s message to the consumer lies in its advertising slogan: "The luxury of being yourself." The rationale behind that, says Blamey, is that, "We provide an individualized guest experience based on two platforms: 1) the hotels are different from one another; and 2) We are intent on tailoring a stay to the guest's needs."

•    "We don't position ourselves as a lifestyle brand," says Blamey, "but as a contemporary brand. We talk about contemporary attitude as much as contemporary design and contemporary architecture.

•    The days of building brand through glossy ads are numbered. The online communication medium is up to 30 to 40 percent of our budget. We invested a lot of resources last year photographing our entire Conrad portfolio, but that´s still less expensive than a full page ad.

•    "Travelers are less compartmentalized , so we must provide a greater degree of flexibility in terms of services and amenities. They may be switching from business to leisure to family mode in the same stay, so it´s quite a challenge to anticipate in the way we used to. We interact with them before the trip to find out what they expect to get out of that particular trip.

•    Many of our guests have been to Singapore and Hong Kong dozens of times, but they are looking to enrich that experience. If we can help introduce them to cultural events or new developments in the city, we have created an experience. We have to go beyond the four walls of the hotel."