Reinvigorating 'The Original'
The Savoy is more than a London icon - it’s a stage for unforgettable experiences. Since 1889, this grand dame of hospitality has combined Art Deco elegance with flawless service and a rich cultural legacy. With world-class dining, royal connections and a riverside setting, every stay feels uniquely special.
Still one of the capital’s most sought-after addresses, it proves that true excellence never goes out of style.
SAM RICHES DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING, THE SAVOY
DAVID GARDNER MANAGING PARTNER, 80 DAYS
CHLOE JOHNSON BRAND MANAGER, 80 DAYS
THE CHALLENGE
With well-over a century of history, The Savoy is a name synonymous with luxury hospitality. Yet, in a marketplace as saturated and sophisticated as London’s five-star hotel scene, even icons must evolve. By 2022, The Savoy found itself facing a challenge shared by many iconic hospitality brands: fractured perceptions, inconsistent messaging and an increasingly competitive landscape.
"Everyone has a story about The Savoy. Everyone has an opinion and perspective" reflected Sam Riches, Director of Sales & Marketing at The Savoy. “Yet that collective noise, while flattering, made it difficult for us to communicate a singular, confident brand narrative. Added to this was a shift in consumer expectations; for example, younger audiences wanted more than history; they sought originality, theatre and emotional resonance.”
Recognising that heritage alone was no longer enough, The Savoy partnered with 80 DAYS to embark on a strategic repositioning that would honour its past while defining its future.
GIVEN THE SAVOY'S UNPARALLELED LEGACY AS GREAT BRITAIN’S FIRST FIVE-STAR HOTEL, WHAT STRATEGIC ASPIRATIONS OR MARKET SHIFTS INSPIRED YOUR DECISION TO REFINE ITS BRAND POSITIONING?
Sam: I think there were two main drivers. First, London is arguably the most saturated five-star market in the world. We needed to be really clear on our relative points of difference and then communicate those with conviction.
Second, the rhetoric around The Savoy was incredibly noisy. Everyone, from the management team to the guests and even my own parents, had a different view on what The Savoy meant. It became really obvious that we needed a unifying brand story.
Chloe: Absolutely. We interviewed a good number of internal stakeholders and found so many personal interpretations of the brand. There were common threads, of course, but everyone came at it from a different angle. This clearly highlighted the need for strong brand positioning that would provide everyone with a consistent, shared language to articulate what The Savoy stands for.
David: And as someone who had actually never stepped inside The Savoy until that first meeting, I was genuinely surprised by the experience. It wasn’t stuffy or overly formal at all. There was a real sense of character and creativity that hadn’t yet come through in the external narrative.
Sam: Totally. That character comes from our people, and from Frank, our Managing Director, who really embodies that dash of eccentricity we want to own. He gave us the permission to be bold. He really encourages us to push boundaries, and lets us know when we’ve gone a little too far!
HOW DID RESEARCH INFLUENCE THE BRAND STRATEGY?
David: It became central to the project. Originally, it wasn’t a requirement, but it quickly became clear it was needed. We paused the strategic planning for a few months to conduct in-depth, comprehensive, research. This ultimately involved interviews with high-net-worth audiences across the UK, US and Australia, in-depth surveys of loyal guests, focus groups with local Londoners, as well as the stakeholder interviews Chloe mentioned – it all helped to cut through the noise. This data-informed approach revealed not only how The Savoy was perceived but insight into the most desirable segments and targets, where it could authentically differentiate itself and reclaim its leadership.
Sam: I’m really thankful we did it. It allowed us to remove assumptions and focus on facts. Everyone has feelings about The Savoy, but this was about uncovering what we could genuinely differentiate on; glamour, heritage, storytelling, originality and turning those into a strategy. And honestly, I think it helped us emotionally detach a little, to see the brand more objectively.
Chloe: We also immersed ourselves in the history; watching documentaries, reading books, even digging into the archives. It gave our team such an appreciation of what makes this place so special. We were all enchanted.
David: Oh absolutely. There were so many stories, some well-known, and some even The Savoy didn’t know about.
WHAT WAS THE FINAL POSITIONING SOLUTION?
David: A key finding the research reinforced was that the Savoy’s rich and fascinating history was one of its key differentiators. As obvious as this finding may sound, the reality was that potential guests associating this less and less with the Savoy, and in many instances were shifting this perception to competor hotels.
As a result, the chosen position strategy was “The Orginal”. This allowed us to reinvigorate The Savoy’s storied past, while amplifying its glamourous present and innovative future.
How did this new positioning come to life?
Sam: It started internally, with brand immersions and training for staff. We didn’t want people just learning lines, we wanted them to feel it. That’s why I now spend 45 minutes with every new starter. We talk about the brand, the strategy, the personality. If we don’t start inside, we can’t expect the outside world to feel it.
David: Then there was The Originals campaign. Modern influencers reinterpreting historic Savoy moments. It was playful, respectful, and beautifully executed. It showed you can be both iconic and fresh. And the brilliance of it is that it paid homage to the past, but its true power was in showing what originality means now. This approach was only possible because of the insights provided by the research data.
Chloe: And The Originals podcast, hosted by Alex Zane. It wasn’t about selling rooms; it was about aligning the brand with originality, creativity and personality. Celebrity guests from all walks of life sharing their stories of what made them a true original, and always with that Savoy twist. The podcast was sponsored by Lauren Perrier (another true original)… it was a confident brand alignment.
Sam: And then there was Scoff too! Our new food and beverage sub-brand inspired by Auguste Escoffier – one of history’s most original and ifluencial chefs who, along with Ceasar Ritz, is synonymous with the early history of The Savoy.
If you remove a few letters from the start and end of Escoffier, you get Scoff.
That name - wow, it was a journey to get it approved! But we believed in it. It was cheeky, theatrical, and rooted in our culinary legacy. Once it landed, it just worked. It was also another great example of turning heritage into something dynamic and contemporary.
David: I remember that moment so clearly. Everyone in the room just grinned they heard the new name. It had personality and story. And crucially, it was original.
"We’ve launched three new outlets, regained 50% of our inventory post-renovation and the buzz around The Savoy is palpable. It feels exciting - people are talking."
Sam Riches
WHAT KIND OF COMMERCIAL IMPACT HAVE YOU SEEN?
Sam: Well, in hospitality today there’s no magic wand of course, but we are definitely seeing a lot of marginal gains add up and the overall commercial results are phenomenal. What we’ve got now is a very solid comms strategy from all angles - internal, external, across all channels. It’s very consistent. Our new brand positioning has changed how we make decisions. We have a framework now. From sales decks to the naming of Scoff, everything ladders up. That’s what this work unlocked, absolute clarity.
David: From our perspective, it’s just been incredibly rewarding to see the positioning actually being used as a strategic tool. That’s what makes it sing.
Chloe: And to see that shift from legacy to momentum, from nostalgia to now.
Sam: We even created a playful video to support a B2B sales incentive with Virgin Atlantic, a showcase of what a stay at The Savoy could be – the ultimate prize. And while it was framed as a prize, it really acted as a brand piece, showcasing the entire offering. It’s now evergreen content that gets used right across sales and marketing.
And we have prospective clients who never called us before are reaching out. We’ve launched three new outlets, regained 50% of our inventory post-renovation and the buzz around The Savoy is palpable. It feels exciting - people are talking.
FINALLY, HOW DID YOU FIND WORKING WITH 80 DAYS?
Sam: Honestly? One of the easiest, smoothest processes that I’ve ever been through for sure. You guys are the specialists. You guided us like a shopping list through a supermarket - pointing us to exactly what we needed and why. I don’t say this about many partners, but you really are an extension of our team, one of us – that’s how we see it. You know more about The Savoy than many of us working here do!
David: That means the world to hear. Thank you, Sam.
Sam: And I mean it. I really appreciate all the work that you and 80 DAYS have done. That’s a lovely thing to feel, that we’ve got a real partnership.
Do you need help refining your hotel's brand positioning? We'd love to chat.