A West Coast boutique hotel and a shoe designer have joined forces to market their brands through a $329 black and bright pink men’s shoe worn by valets and porters.
It’s a way to make both brands stand out in a recessionary climate, said Chella Levesque, marketing director for Opus Hotels in Vancouver and Montreal.
John Fluevog is an upscale Vancouver-based shoe store chain with stores in Toronto, Montreal, Boston, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The shoe stores and the hotel share a like-minded demographic, said Levesque.
“People want to stay at Opus because they want something that’s unique, something that’s distinct,” she said. “That’s exactly what a Fluevog owners wants. They want quality, but they are not scared of a little bit of style, flare and pop.
“Opus Hotels attracts business travellers from the U.S. as well as a large clientele from the film and music industries,” said Levesque.
“I was looking into touch points of the guest experience and the valets and porters are the first and last impression that guests have of our brand experience.”
Opus and Fluevog first formed the partnership at the height of the recession and “Opus Hotel, the Porter Shoes” was a way to stand out from other hotels that were discounting rates.
“I wanted a different story for our premium brands,” said Levesque. “I wanted to [approach] our two databases with a different message and this was a nice change from all of the discount stuff.”
