Distributors would rather you didn’t have a brand, OTA such as Booking and Airbnb included. Amazon, thrives on generic products that fight for visibility in a sea of sameness. The more generic, the more companies need to spend in retail media. To the distribution world, a brand’s differentiation is a threat.
Wait up! Did you know that this is just an excerpt from the complete and free newsletter that is available here? Sent out once a week, original viewpoints, insights and interesting things to read.
But as a hotelier or brand owner: your greatest chance at independence, control, and long-term value lies in your brand.
Not your logo. Not your latest website redesign. Your brand in the deeper sense, i.e. what guests experience, what they say afterward, how they feel about your team, the story you tells, the consistency of your service and communications. Your brand is your reputation made tangible. It’s what sticks after the campaign ends and the guests leave or your customer uses the product.
Hotels that command loyalty, pricing power, and repeat business have clarity around their brand. They know what they stand for, and so do their guests. People don’t just stay there, they tell their friends. They don’t compare them; they return to them. Because they trust them.
Every business has a brand, whether it’s crafted or accidental. The question is whether it’s clear enough to act as a compass, and strong enough to resist commoditization in that sea of sameness. Standing out isn’t about being weird or quirky for the sake of being different. It’s about becoming so clear and consistent in what you do that you rise above your category.
That doesn’t take a massive budget. It takes observation. Identifying what you do better than the others. A bit of courage to tell that story. And a lot of repeated consistency.
For hotels and businesses navigating the increasingly noisy, price-driven world of digital distribution, growing one’s brand isn’t a luxury. It is what puts you in the drivers seat of your distribution. Build it well, and it becomes your leverage. Build it poorly, and you’re just another room in the list.
Thanks for reading. Subscribe for free to receive new posts.
About me: I’m a fractional CMO for large travel technology companies helping turn them into industry leaders. I’m also the co-founder of 10minutes.news a hotel news media that is unsensational, factual and keeps hoteliers updated on the industry.
