Positioning

nounHospitality branding

The decision about who a hospitality business serves, what it charges and why a guest chooses it over the place next door — settled before the name, the identity or the space.

In use: “We couldn’t agree the menu prices until we’d agreed the positioning.”
Also called: brand positioning · brand strategy

What is brand positioning — and why does it come first?

Positioning is a decision, not a slogan. It settles three things: who the business is for, where it sits on price, and why a guest should choose it over the place next door. Everything that comes after — the name, the identity, the space, the menu, the website — is easier once it is settled, and harder when it isn’t.

What does a positioning contain?

Four parts, each short enough to say out loud. The guest: a specific group of people and the occasion that brings them. The price: where the business sits against its competitors, and why that is right. The difference: the one thing a guest gets here that they can’t get next door. And the proof: the real features — the view, the chef, the room size, the service ritual — that make the difference believable.

Why does it come before naming and design?

Because every later decision reads it. A name has to sound like the price point. The identity has to look like it. The architect needs to know whether the lobby is for lingering or for passing through. Decide the positioning after the design and it becomes a description of whatever got built — which is rarely what the market wanted.

Decided after the design, positioning becomes a description of whatever got built.

How do you know it’s any good?

Three tests. Can the general manager say it in one sentence? Does it exclude someone — because a positioning that suits everyone persuades no one? And could the competitor across the road say exactly the same thing? If they could, it isn’t a positioning yet.

Common questions

Is positioning the same as a tagline?

No. A tagline is one expression of the positioning, written for guests. The positioning itself is an internal decision that the tagline, the name and the design all follow.

Does a small café need positioning?

Yes, and it is quicker to do. One page that names the guest, the price and the reason to choose you will guide the menu, the fit-out and the Instagram grid.

Can an existing hotel be repositioned?

Yes — when the numbers say the current position isn’t working. It usually starts with the audience and the price, and only then touches the identity.

Who should be in the room when it is decided?

Ownership, the operator or general manager, and whoever will build the brand. A positioning decided by one of them alone tends to be ignored by the other two.