And so to bed…

I have written before about how the best customer experiences need to include not just customer needs but a brand-led perspective too.

However having stayed at a Premier Inn recently, I was reminded just what good case history the brand makes.

Premier Inn’s brand philosophy is that …

“Great days start with a good night’s sleep. We’ve thought of everything you need to have a great night’s sleep so you wake up ready to take on the world”

And they claim to be on a mission “to get Britain sleeping brilliantly!”

Clear, distinctive and for me personally, motivating. It is also a dream (sorry - couldn’t resist it) for the team developing their brand experience.

The philosophy and mission provide real focus for the development of their customer experience. It is all around a good night’s sleep.

A brief look at their website demonstrates how that aim has been manifested.

It starts with, “Our good night guarantee - Luxury kingsize Hypnos beds, your choice of pillows and a toasty duvet – everything you need for the soundest sleep. We're so confident you'll have a great night's sleep that, if you don't, we'll give you your money back. Just speak to one of our friendly reception team. This is our Good Night Guarantee.”

Next is what they call “Our restful rooms - Step inside, shut the door and cocoon yourself in our comfortable rooms, each thoughtfully designed for a great night’s rest. As well as our best ever bed, you’ll find a choice of pillows, toasty duvet and blackout curtains” lovely language and clever attention to details like blackout curtains.

Of course, if sleep is your focus you need special beds and Premier Inn now have specially designed for them “At Premier Inn, you’re not just getting out of the right side of the bed – you’re getting out of the right bed! In every one of our Premier Inn hotels, you’ll find a luxury kingsize Hypnos bed, guaranteed to send you off to a great night’s sleep.  With a thousand pocket springs supporting a pillow-top mattress, a toasty duvet and your choice of pillows, our bed is the stuff of dreams” Hypnos are clearly an obvious and on-brand choice of a partner, with their promise “The most comfortable beds in the world”

Then if you have had a wonderful night’s sleep you might want to take the bed home with. You can’t actually take the bed from your room home with you but you can do the next best thing as Premier have teamed up with Hypnos and you can buy your very own Hypnos bed and have it delivered to your home.

If it is the right bed, how about the right pillow – Premier offer not just a choice of pillow but advice on which is likely to be best for you, depending on whether you sleep on your back, your side or your front.

Before this turns into a complete advertisement for the brand it is worth noting that other initiatives include free audiobooks to help you ‘drift away’ and “sleep tips” for little dreamers - top sleep tips to help kids nod off in no time

The brand-led approach is clear but that doesn’t mean that they haven’t improved their check-in process and meals too. They have, but just they aren’t the main focus.

The one question remaining is whether this is all worthwhile and results seem to suggest it is.

Premier Inn is the UK’s top-rated hotel chain. 9 out of 10 Premier Inn hotels received TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence this year - that’s 621 of their hotels across the UK. They are No.I in TripAdvisor’s Best Family Hotels in the UK with nine of their hotels in the Top 25. They were named the UK's top rated hotel chain in the Which? Hotel report 2015.

They are also in the top 20 brands in KPMG Nunwood’s 2016 UK Customer Experience Excellence ranking.