It’s a familiar story: An intriguing advertising campaign gets customers in the door, but the experience does not always match what was promised. Why? The brand experience is often diluted to a few surface-level features. But, for your brand to truly resonate and leave a lasting impression with guests, your differentiation needs to be more than skin-deep.
Strong brands are like masterfully written novels. A striking cover and title may catch a reader’s eye, but the book’s real differentiation and value lie in the intrigue of the plot, the depth of the characters and the storytelling that happens on every page. In hospitality, the “setting” is your design and environment, your “characters” are your team members, and your “plot points” are the ways you deliver your experience. If the story is only on the cover but missing from the chapters, your guests will feel let down.
Stories that stick with guests
A highly effective brand strategy anchors decision-making across the organization, shaping everything from marketing and sales, design and architecture, and service culture and training. When a brand is integrated into a business’ DNA, it becomes a distinctive, ownable and deeply meaningful experience for customers.
Take San Antonio’s Hotel Emma, for example. Housed in a 121-year-old brewhouse, Hotel Emma illustrates how storytelling with relentless intention can deliver a 4.8-star average rating.
Upon arrival, guests aren’t just handed a key; they are welcomed with an ice-cold margarita and invited into a private library housing more than 3,000 books. In the hotel’s Tavern & Club room, guests can order the hotel’s signature “Three Emmas” cocktail, named after the scandal from the brewhouse’s past that stirred together romance, business and justice. Intrigued? So are the guests. But the story doesn’t end there.
Staff members are regularly briefed on the hotel’s historical details so they can share these tidbits with guests. On the final night of the guest’s stay, they receive an elephant charm, a nod to the former brewhouse’s “Elephant Cellar” where the beer tanks were once thought to resemble elephants. Together, elements such as these provide guests with tales to carry home, turning their stay into a lasting emotional connection for travelers in search of authenticity.
Bring your brand strategy to life
You don’t have to be a full-service luxury hotel to use this approach to great success. A well-defined brand strategy clarifies who you are, who you serve and the unique value that sets your brand apart. No matter the type of property, these four tips can help embed that strategy throughout the experience and, as a result, create a more meaningful connection with guests:
1. Map the narrative journey. Look objectively at the guest experience from beginning to end. Consider all parts of the journey including design, artwork, lighting and all other details in your public spaces and guest rooms as well as the critical points where there are opportunities for team member engagement. Ask yourself: What are the visual cues a guest sees? Are team members trained to infuse the brand strategy starting with the guests’ arrival?
2. Craft intentional signature moments. Identify two or three signature moments that tie directly to your brand strategy. These experiences should be something so distinctive that they stick with guests long after they leave. Depending on the type of hotel, a signature moment at check-in might be as simple as a meaningful message placed in the guest’s key packet or a more multi-sensory ritual, similar to the thoughtful welcome offered at Hotel Emma.
3. Invest in experiential training. Beyond standard service protocols, provide immersive training that helps team members internalize what the brand is all about. When team members are entrenched in the “why” behind the signature moments and design decisions, they can become confident brand ambassadors who will authentically deliver a more meaningful guest experience.
4. Enable stronger connections through daily briefings. Use shift change meetings to quickly share and reinforce a piece of the brand story. Alongside important operational updates, take a moment to highlight a simple, meaningful way team members can bring the brand to life that day. When teams are regularly inspired with practical ways to engage guests around what makes the brand unique, the strategy remains central and becomes part of the daily rhythm.
It’s time to tell your brand’s story in a way that goes beyond the surface. Thoughtfully weaving your brand throughout the guest journey transforms ordinary moments into something deeper, and more human. When a brand is lived, not just stated, it leaves a lasting impression, much like a great novel that stays with you well beyond the final page.
Karen McSteen is principal of consulting firm brandMatters and a member of the International Society of Hotel Consultants.This column is part of ISHC Global Insights, a partnership between CoStar News and the International Society of Hospitality Consultants.
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