Great hospitality is often about the little things.
A warm welcome. Remembering a guest's name. Calling a taxi when it's raining.
Or simply having an umbrella ready when somebody needs one.
For hotels, restaurants, bars and other hospitality businesses, branded umbrellas can provide a surprisingly effective combination of customer service and marketing.
When the Rain Starts, Be Ready
Picture the scene.
A hotel guest is dressed for dinner and discovers it's pouring with rain outside. A restaurant customer needs to walk back to their hotel. A wedding guest has to cross from the venue to a waiting taxi.
Offering them an umbrella is a small gesture.
But it's exactly the sort of thoughtful service customers remember.
Instead of saying, "Sorry, we don't have any," your staff can simply reach behind reception and say:
"Of course. Take one of ours."
Suddenly, an inconvenient moment becomes a positive experience.
Turn Customer Service into Brand Visibility
Now consider what happens next.
The guest walks outside carrying an umbrella displaying your hotel or restaurant's branding.
Other people see it.
It might travel through a busy city centre, arrive outside another venue or appear in photographs taken during the evening.
Your promotional umbrella has effectively become mobile advertising.
And unlike a conventional advert, it's advertising that's providing the customer with something genuinely useful at exactly the right moment.
Create the Right Impression
Hospitality businesses spend considerable time and money developing their image.
Interior design, signage, menus, staff uniforms and even small details such as glassware are carefully chosen to create a consistent experience.
Your umbrellas can follow exactly the same approach.
A luxury hotel might choose elegant black walking umbrellas with discreet white branding. A contemporary restaurant could use its distinctive corporate colours, while a lively bar or entertainment venue might prefer something much bolder.
The umbrella becomes another part of the overall brand experience.
Don't Forget Outdoor Areas
Branded umbrellas can also be useful for staff.
Hotels with separate buildings, restaurants with outdoor areas and venues hosting weddings or events frequently need employees to move customers around outside.
A supply of smart corporate umbrellas ensures staff remain professional and consistent even when the British weather isn't cooperating.
Larger golf-style umbrellas can be particularly useful when sheltering more than one person.
A Gift Guests Might Take Home
Some hospitality businesses may prefer to loan umbrellas.
Others can turn them into gifts for VIP customers, wedding parties, conference delegates or premium guests.
A quality umbrella has genuine perceived value and, crucially, can continue promoting your business long after the guest has checked out or finished their meal.
Every future rainy day can bring your brand back into their hands.
Make Rain Part of the Experience
At Promotional Umbrellas, we supply printed and branded umbrellas to UK businesses, including hotels, restaurants, bars, event venues and other hospitality operators.
From smart walking umbrellas and compact folding designs to large golf umbrellas and fully bespoke printed canopies, there are options to suit virtually every type of venue.
You can't control when it rains.
But you can control what happens when it does.
Have a branded umbrella waiting — and turn a rainy day into another opportunity to impress your guests.