Tourism positioning: customers buy feelings, not amenities.
When accommodation products are similar, the factor that creates choice and loyalty is the emotion that the brand evokes.
In tourism and hospitality, effective positioning must anchor on a specific emotion and a way to connect with the destination, not just a list of services or star ratings. Customers choose accommodations based on the feelings they expect to experience, and they return because of the emotional memories from previous trips. Correct positioning translates that feeling into words, experiences, and consistent imagery.
- products that are hard to distinguish from competitors by amenities alone
- the location and identity of the land is your unique advantage
- want customers to share and recommend instead of just making a one-time purchase
- positioning by listing amenities and star ratings, just like every competitor
- Try to reach every type of customer, failing to evoke clear emotions for anyone.
Travel and leisure is an industry where customers make emotional decisions first, then rational ones. They do not search online for "hotels with full amenities"; they look for "a place to escape the city" or "a spot for the whole family to truly relax." The question for each travel brand is: Are you selling what customers are actually looking for, or just listing what you have available?
Why is the list of amenities not enough?
Most accommodations compete on the same criteria: star rating, room size, breakfast quality, review scores on booking platforms. When the criteria are the same, customers have no basis for differentiation, and the final decision often comes down to price or the luck of the display algorithm.
Positioning relies on emotions to solve this problem. It’s not about saying, "we are different," but rather clearly naming a feeling that the target customers are seeking, then building the entire story and experience around that feeling.
Emotions and connections with the destination
Customers increasingly want accommodations that help them truly connect with the destination, a mood, or a lifestyle, not just provide a place to sleep near tourist spots. This is why an eco-resort should not position itself as "luxury amenities in nature," but should name a specific feeling: intentional tranquility, uninterrupted connection with nature away from screens, or the freedom of those without a schedule.
Emotions and the destination must resonate. A resort in the mountains can anchor the feeling of "returning," while a seaside villa can evoke the feeling of "pausing." Each location and regional identity has its own advantages, but these can only be leveraged when the brand translates them into feelings that customers recognize and desire.
Experience and rituals create memories.
Memories are what customers recount when they return home and what brings them back. Richer experiences create stronger differentiation and evoke deeper emotions. Brand rituals, which are intentional repeated actions that create a unique feeling, are how many hospitality brands build this.
Service-based positioning: Customers remember "spacious rooms, beautiful views, delicious food." Hard to recount, easy for competitors to copy.
Emotional and ritual positioning: Customers remember "the first time of the year I really didn't think about work" or "every morning they bring tea to the porch before I wake up." This story is told by the customers themselves, and no one can replicate it.
Common mistakes when positioning emotions
- Trying to appeal to every type of customer results in a lack of clear emotion for anyone; the message becomes diluted and no one feels the brand is speaking to them.
- Telling a generic story that is not tied to the destination or unique identity results in a narrative that could belong to any other establishment.
- Investing in beautiful images and words, but the actual experience does not match the promised emotions. This is the quickest way to break trust.
- Confusing features with emotions: "infinity pool with ocean view" is a feature, while "feeling like the world is just you and the sea" is the emotion.
A travel brand is not measured by what it offers, but by how customers emotionally perceive the brand. Emotional connection turns customers into brand ambassadors.
Glion, expert guide to hospitality branding.
The viewpoint of Sinh Vũ
In industries where customers purchase emotions, the most common weakness that Sinh Vũ encounters is not poor products, but brands that have not named the feelings they evoke. Hospitality businesses know they are beautiful and provide good service, but they have not articulated "what customers come here to feel" in a concise and consistent manner.
Sinh Vũ's approach starts with interviewing real customers: asking them what they remember, how they feel, and what makes them share with others. The answers often reveal the core emotions that the brand can anchor into, emotions that come from real experiences, not from internal meetings. From there, the brand voice, value proposition framework, and consistent story across all touchpoints are built.
Decision checklist
Topic: Positioning for tourism and leisure: connecting with customer emotions. Sinh Vũ guide, sinhvu.com
Select each item you find appropriate, then print or save as PDF to take with you.
If you have marked most of the signs above, this is the time to discuss in more detail. Sinh Vũ can help you review and propose a direction.
References
Vaia, brand differentiation in hospitality and tourism; Glion, expert guide to hospitality branding.; Fiveable, hospitality and tourism brand experiences. Supplemented by Sinh Vũ's practical experience in the tourism and service industry.
Frequently asked questions
We have good amenities, so why do we still not stand out?
Good amenities are a necessary condition to prevent complaints from guests, but they are not the reason guests choose you over competitors. When all competitors offer a pool, breakfast, WiFi, and good ratings, the decision shifts to emotions: which place makes me feel aligned with the trip I am dreaming of. A clear emotional positioning is what creates that differentiation.
How can you tell which emotions need to be anchored?
The most reliable way is to interview real customers, asking them what they remember most and how they felt after the experience, not which service they liked. The answers often reveal emotions they truly bought that the brand has yet to name. Sinh Vũ uses this customer interview step as a foundation before proposing any positioning direction.
Is brand storytelling sufficient, or does the actual experience need to change?
The story and the actual experience must align: the story evokes emotional expectations, and the actual experience must deliver on that promise. Investing in beautiful visuals and a great story but having an inconsistent on-site experience is the most common positioning mistake in the industry, and it erodes trust faster than not telling a story at all.