robert c. lewis - sage

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Quarterly Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration

DOI: 10.1177/001088048102200111 1981; 22; 51 Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly

Robert C. Lewis The Positioning Statement for Hotels

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51

The Positioning Statementfor HotelsIt is fairly simple to create an image for a hotel—but images may be good or bad,persuasive or not persuasive. Does your positioning statement include the threeelements required for effective marketing?

by Robert C. Lewis,University of Massachusetts

Robert C. Lewis, Ph.D., is an assis-tant professor qf marketing and man-agement in the department of hotel,restaurant, and travel administrationat the University of Massachusetts,Amherst. He received his doctorate

from the University of Massachusetts,where his areas of concentration werecommunication theory and marketing.

ALTHOUGH the concept of posi-tioning has been widely acceptedin a range of industries, by mostappearances it has largely escapedthe attention of hotel marketers.Whereas positioning relates to aproperty’s subjective attributes(and how they differ from com-petitive properties’ subjective at-tributes), hotel advertising hastraditionally emphasized such ob-jective product characteristics asnumber of rooms, prices,facilities, and amenities -charac-teristics in which competingfacilities are generally quitesimilar.

The concept of positioning in amarketing strategy calls for thecreation of an image-the con-sumer’s perception of the subjec-tive attributes of the propertyvis-~-vis those of the competition.This perception may be radicallydifferent from the property’sphysical characteristics. The dis-tinction between the perceptionand the reality is especially impor-tant for hotel marketers.

The Purchase Decisionfor Services

A hotel’s offerings comprise abundle of goods and servicesranging from tangible to intangi-ble.’ Because the lion’s share of

the hotel product-services-is atthe intangible end of the con-tinuum, it is often difficult to de-termine which attributes are most

important in the consumer’s pur-chase decision. Indeed, the intan-

gibility of services makes the deci-sion difficult for the consumer:he cannot taste, touch, feel, see, or

try a service before making thedecision; in fact, he &dquo;consumes&dquo;the service at the same time it is

produced. Moreover, becauseevery hotel property offers a

heterogeneous range of services,the consumer’s risk in the pur-chase decision is high. Finally, be-cause service offerings are easilyduplicated, the consumer cannotalways draw clear distinctionsamong competitive offeringS.2Thus, while a consumer can objec-tively measure, compare, andevaluate tangible products, andcan actually consume them, hecan measure and compare intan-

gible services only subjectively; hefinds it difficult to assign a mone-tary value to a service, and canconsume it only passively. Servicesare critical to the consumer’s per-

1It can be useful to think of these goods andservices as lying along a bipolar construct of tan-gible dominant and intangible dominant offer-ings. See: G. Lynn Shostack, "Breaking Freefrom Product Marketing," Journal ofmarketing,41 (April 1977), pp. 73-80.2For a more substantive treatment of these and

other unique aspects of services, see: John M.Rathmell, Marketing in the Service Sector (Cam-bridge : Winthrop, 1974).



52

Hotel marketers should not

forget that any positioningstatement must be directedto the needs and wants of

the consumer.

ception of a hotel property, how-ever, and generally have a long-term cognitive and affectualimpact on that perception; theimpact of tangible products isgenerally short-term.

Hotel marketers who recognizethe influence of intangible attri-butes on consumers’ decision-

making often react by advertisingthe abstract: the ineffable (&dquo;escapeto the ultimate&dquo;); the euphoric(&dquo;surround yourself with luxury&dquo;);the euphuistic (&dquo;capture thespirit&dquo;); the ephemeral (&dquo;make anyoccasion special&dquo;); and the an-tithetical (&dquo;get away to it all&dquo;). Theproblem with such an approach isthat the consumer will not buy aservice, no matter what its intan-gible attributes are, until a certainminimum threshold of tangible at-tributes has been reached. In fact,a halo effect is possible: the exis-tence of certain tangible charac-teristics is assumed to signify thata certain level of quality (anabstraction) also exists. Recogniz-ing this, many goods-producingcompanies imbue their recognizedtangible goods with abstract qual-ities in their advertising. Forexample, Charles Revson of Rev-lon Cosmetics reportedly said, &dquo;In

the factory, we make cosmetics; inthe store, we sell hope&dquo;-and thisstrategy is still apparent in Revlon

advertising.It is difficult to employ a similar

strategy in hotel advertising be-cause hotel products have a highdegree of sameness and hotel ser-vices are abstract. To emphasizethe concrete in advertising is tofail to differentiate oneself fromone’s competitors, while to com-pound the abstraction is to dilutethe reality one wishes to repre-sent. Thus, hotel marketers shouldfocus on enhancing and differ-entiating a property’s abstractrealities through the manipulationof tangible clues: &dquo;The degree towhich the marketer will focus on

either tangible evidence or intan-gible abstractions for [positioningan entity to its target market] willbe found to be ’inversely relatedto the entity dominance.&dquo;’3 Com-pare, for example, the intangibil-ity of Merrill Lynch services to thetangibility of its bull strollingthrough a china shop.

The Most Common FailingHotel marketers who have

adopted positioning strategiessometimes fail to incorporate onebasic marketing concept intootherwise good positions: theyforget that any positioning state- -’

ment must be directed to theneeds and wants of the consumer.

Many who have written aboutmarketing strategies also makethis mistake. Stating that position-ing is the first of three steps incultivating an image for a restau-rant operation, Sill suggested es-tablishing &dquo;an explicit statement ofthe type of restaurant [manage-ment] wishes to present to patrons&dquo;4(emphasis added). In the samevein, Tissian stated that after ahotel’s management has &dquo;iden-tified the property’s competitivestrengths and weaknesses, the re-sults of this analysis are articu-lated in the form of a positioningstatement. The positioningstrategy reflects a conscious deci-sion ... to communicate to themarket a definition of the prop-erty as a particular type of hotel ...this definition must be consistentwith the property it describes.&dquo;5The next step, according to Tis-sian, is to select the target audi-ences. The concepts set forth bySill and Tissian are essential to ef-fective positioning and may leadone to develop a fine positioning3Shostack, p. 78.4Brian T Sill, "Restaurant Merchandising for

the Independent Operator," The Cornell Hotel andRestaurant Administration Quarterly, 21, No. 1 (May1980), p. 28.5"Advertising that Sells Hotels," The Cornell

Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 20,No. 4 (November 1979), p. 19.



53

statement. However, they may justas easily lead one to formulate aposition corresponding to theimage that management wishes toproject or believes it projects,rather than one that differentiatesthe property from the competi-tion in a manner reflecting theneeds and wants of the targetmarket.

The Three ElementsTrue positioning entails three

elements. First-and least impor-tant-it creates an image. Why isthis least important? Becauseimages may be good or bad, per-suasive or not persuasive, inspir-ing or uninspiring. It is relatively _simple to create an image of somekind (although many hotel ads failto do so), and images alone do notincline the consumer to buy.The element that does influ-

ence buying behavior is the mostimportant of the three: the per-ceived benefits of the product orservice. Positioning a product orservice along benefit dimensions inan attempt to reflect consumers’attitudes forms the basis of an ef-fective strategy. Once the benefitdimensions have been defined,the marketer can isolate those

target markets consisting of con-sumers who hold similar attitudesabout a bundle of benefits as

they relate to a particular hotel orhotel class.The third essential element of

the positioning statement is that itdifferentiates the brand from theproduct class-in other words, itdistinguishes the hotel from otherhotels, whether they are truly dif-ferent or (as is quite likely) offeressentially the same products andservices. To combine these ele-

ments, the positioning statementshould be designed to create animage reflecting the perception ofthe property that managementwishes its target market to holdand reflecting promises on which

the property can deliver andmake good. The desired percep-tion must be based on consumer

benefits-first, on needs andwants, and second, on differencesbetween the property and its

competition. Consumers don’t buyproducts or services; they buy ex-pectations. Statements that bothpromise the consumer somethingand give him a reason to believein the promise are most persua-sive because they let the consumerknow what he can expect and whyhe should stay at a particularhotel.The three bases of persuasion

set forth by Aristotle-ethos(credibility), pathos (emotionalappeal), and logos (logic and rea-soning) -are still the best tools wehave; but first, said the phi-losopher, you must know youraudience. The positioning state-ment cannot be developed untilthe strategy has been established,and the strategy must be based onthe target market.

The DifferentiationElement

One differentiates a propertythrough the positioning statementby demonstrating the property’sunique attributes to the consumer.The positioning decision is themost important factor in develop-ing successful advertising, but&dquo;most brochures (and the prop-erties they describe) look alike&dquo;;6few advertisements and brochuresreflect any attempt at differentia-tion or positioning. When prod-ucts or services are similar, thebenefits unique to a propertymust provide the positioningdifferentiation.

Yesawich stressed this point innoting that lodging propertiesmust become competitor-oriented

The three bases of per-suasion set forth byAristotle-ethos (credibil-ity), pathos (emotional ap-peal), and logos (logic andreasoning)-are still thebest tools we have; butfirst, said the philosopher,you must know youraudience.

6Jane Maas, "Better Brochures for the Money,"The Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration

Quarterly, 20, No. 4 (February 1980), p. 22.



54

to be successful in the ’80s; know-

ing what one’s guest wants is of lit-tle value if five of one’s com-

petitors are already serving hisneeds.’ Identifying a property’sunique attributes or benefitsmeans not only knowing its strongpoints but also locating the weakpoints in the positions of com-petitors. Ideally, of course, thehotel marketer could discover an

unoccupied position in which hisoffering could generate new busi-ness or lure customers away from

competitors.The task of the hotel marketer

is to develop the desired con-sumer perception of the prop-erty’s benefits as opposed to thoseof the competition-keeping inmind that the consumer seeks

tangible clues to distinguish amongthe benefits of intangible servicesoffered by competing properties.Research and self-examinationshould indicate how one propertycan be set apart from others, whatits unique advantages are, andwhat positions remain to be filled.A few hotels have developed

positioning statements that differ-entiate them from the competitionand that offer unique benefits.Some examples:

. &dquo;A beautifully orches-trated idea in hotels&dquo; (position-ing a property in which everyroom is a suite)

. &dquo;Soars 46 stories over

Central Park&dquo; (for a propertyfeaturing panoramic views notusually found in New YorkCity)

. &dquo;We think that vacationcosts are outrageous&dquo; (for aunique, inexpensive vacationexperience)

. &dquo;There is an alternative to

high-priced hotels&dquo; (directedtoward the value-consciousbusiness traveler; all the stan-

Unique benefits differentiate

dard hotel amenities are men-

tioned, so the traveler can besure that the low price does notsignify low quality).More often, however, hotel po-

sitioning statements fail to differ-entiate and to offer unique bene-fits. Consider the following:

. &dquo;The flair and style of aHyatt. The efficiency andcourtesy of a Marriott&dquo;: Thesephrases explicitly position thecompetition, but fail to definethe position of the propertythey pertain to.

. &dquo;The golden opportunityfor the 80s&dquo;: This approach isused by a chain that competeshead-on with other &dquo;golden-opportunity&dquo; chains.

. &dquo;We have room&dquo;: This

phrase simply announces anexpansion that makes this hotelthe largest in the state.

. &dquo;We’re the difference&dquo;:This statement is weak becauseit is not accompanied by sup-porting evidence; the hotellooks like hundreds of others.

7Peter Yesawich, "Marketing in the 1980s," TheCornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quar-terly, 20, No. 4 (February 1980), p. 38.



55

The Benefit ElementThe benefits themselves are the

real reason the consumer comes

to a hotel. They are the image andthey are the elements that differ-entiate a hotel from its competi-tion. Benefits come in bundles,and it is the entire group of bene-fits offered that positions a hotelin relation to its particular targetmarket. Benefits vary in the ex-

tent to which they are assignedimportance by consumers, andtheir relative importance varieswith different service levels.&dquo; Posi-

tioning the benefits means mar-keting the correct expectation-because, in the final analysis, it isthe expectation that hotels have tosell to the selected target market.The first problem is to deter-

mine the key characteristic of thevarious benefit segments (groupsof consumers who attach similar

importance to a bundle of bene-fits). Such procedures as conjointanalysis, multi-dimensional scal-ing, and discriminant analysis canbe applied for this purpose,9 but itis also possible to adapt someolder, simpler concepts with aconsumer-behavior application toservices and hotels. Let us beginby considering the utility modeldeveloped by Lovelock to explainpurchase behavior as it relates toservices. Lovelock suggested that aconsumer evaluates a service onthe basis of its form utility, placeutility, time utility, psychic utility,

and monetary utility. to This modelallows the marketer to classifybenefits from a consumer’s view-

point, identifying the positiveutilities to be emphasized and thenegative utilities to be minimized.By applying the tools of the be-havioral sciences to create an

image and using tangible clues tosupport that image, the marketercan translate the utilities (whichare intangible) into realities thatdefine the property to various

target markets.Lovelock’s model is useful in

understanding how consumersevaluate services, and can bemade even more useful if com-bined with the following modifiedmarketing mix for hospitality op-erations, proposed by Renaghan:

(1) The Product-Serz~ice Mix:The combination of products andservices, whether free or for sale,employed to satisfy the needs ofthe target market.

(2) The Presentation Mix:All components directed bythe firm and used to increasethe tangibility of the product-service mix in the perception ofthe target market at the rightplace and the right time.

(3) The Communications Mix:All communications between thefirm and the target market thatincrease the tangibility of theproduct-service mix, that influ-ence consumer expectations, orthat persuade consumers topurchase. 11

Lovelock’s utility model andRenaghan’s hospitality mix can becombined in a benefit matrix that

helps the marketer understand

Consumers don’t buyproducts or services; theybuy expectations.

8Robert C. Lewis, "Benefit Segmentation forRestaurant Advertising that Works," The CornellHotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 21,No. 3 (November 1980), pp. 6-12. 9For application of these techniques in seg-

mentation and positioning, see: Paul Green,Yoram Wind, and Arun Jain, "Benefit BundleAnalysis," Journal of Advertising Research, 12 (Ap-ril 1972), pp. 31-36 (conjoint measurement);Yoram Wind and Patrick J. Robinson, "ProductPositioning: An Application of Multi-Dimensional Scaling," in Attitude Research inTransition, ed. Russell I. Haley (Chicago: Ameri-can Marketing Association, 1972); Lewis, op. cit.,pp. 6-12 (discriminant analysis); and YoramWind, "A New Procedure for Concept Evalua-tion," Journal of Marketing, 37 (October 1973),pp. 2-11.

10Christopher H. Lovelock, "Theoretical Con-tribution from Service and Nonbusiness Market-

ing," in Conceptual and Theoretical Developments inMarketing, Proceedings Series, ed. O. C. Ferrell etal. (Chicago: American Marketing Association,1979), pp. 147-165.11Leo M. Renaghan, "A New Marketing Mix

for the Hospitality Industry," paper presented atthe National Conference of the Council of Hotel,Restaurant, and Institutional Education, August13-16, 1980, Dearborn, MI.



56

the key characteristics of variousbenefit segments. The hotelmarketer can complete the matrixsimply by noting the property’sbenefits, management’scapabilities, and the market’s per-ception of the property and its of-ferings. (Exhibit 1 shows abstractsof some listings such a matrixmight contain.) If a similar matrixis prepared to describe the com-petition’s offerings, the marketercan perform an aggregated (non-segmented) positioning analysis.Even without a sophisticatedknowledge of his target markets,the marketer is prepared from hisown perceptions to develop thepositioning statement, includingthe identification of the desired

image, competitive differentia-

tion, and consumer benefits. Iftarget markets are identified, themarketer can also apply suchtechniques as conjoint analysisand discriminant analysis toevaluate the properties by benefitsegment and determine the pri-mary characteristics of the benefit

segments. The benefit matrix canbe used to identify the tangibleclues that make the intangiblebenefits credible to the desired

target markets.

The Positioning StatementCommunications used in the

marketing effort should be bothconsistent and customized to fitthe needs of individual targetmarkets. Rather than attempt tocrowd all information about every

service into one campaign, themarketer should promote eachservice to its own target market,featuring the positioning state-ment in some form in every com-

ponent of the campaign. This ap-proach allows the hotel to implantits main services in the mind ofthe consumer, while giving eachservice its own image to, say, thebusinessman, the meeting plan-ner, the travel agent, and the plea-sure traveler.The positioning statement is a

unifying element: all subposi-tionings are promoted under oneumbrella. Applied with this flexi-

’

bility and consistency, the position-ing statement creates an imagethat personalizes the operation;the customer who is buying an

EXHIBIT 1Hotel benefit matrix

Based on Lovelock’s utility model for services and Renaghan’s marketing mix for hospitality operations.



57

The market is identified-but not the benefits

abstract service is reassured. It dif-ferentiates from the competition;the customer knows why he ischoosing one hotel over another.It promises benefits; the customeris promised that his needs andwants will be fulfilled. Finally, po-sitioning supports these elementswith clues of tangible offeringsthat the consumer can observewith his five senses, indicating tohim there is substance behindthe promises.

The advertisements that ac-

company this article all incorpo-rate positioning statements-somegood, some less good. The posi-tioning statement in the adver-tisement that appears above is

very specific: &dquo;America’s BusinessAddress.&dquo; This statement clearlyidentifies the target market asbusiness travelers, but it fails toprovide an image, to indicate ben-efits, and to differentiate the

properties advertised from the

Communications usedin the marketing effortshould be both consistentand customized to fit theneeds of individual targetmarkets.



58

competition; there are no tangibleclues to support the intangiblecontention.The statement &dquo;Capture the

Spirit Worldwide&dquo; (below) createsan image that is tenuous, nebu-lous, and intangible. It contains noreference to tangible benefits thatdifferentiate these hotels from

competing properties, relying in-stead on abstractions. Accordingto Hyatt, the target market com-

&dquo;

prises present users who alreadyhave the &dquo;spirit,&dquo; but this position-ing is not clear in the advertise-

ment, and the advertisement’s ap-proach ignores a vast potentialmarket. In short, although the adis one of an attractive series in an

attention-getting campaign, itlacks a positioning statement thatwould commit it to the consumer’s

long-term memory.In contrast, Marriott’s adver-

tisement incorporates all of theimportant elements of position-ing : it is clearly directed to thebusinessman, creates an image,differentiates the benefits by placeand time, provides tangible clues

Attention-getting but tenuous



60

Hotel marketers should enhance anddifferentiate a property’s abstract

realities through the manipulation oftangible clues.

An extremely clear image

in its presentation and communi-cation (see columns 2 and 3 in thebenefit matrix), and supportsthese elements graphically so thatthe consumer can believe &dquo;The

right hotel is never hard to find.&dquo;The Stanford Court’s adver-

tisement is another outstandingexample of positioning. Theimage is extremely clear; the dif-ferentiation and the utilities

(form, place, time, and psychic)are presented clearly and com-municated with strong, tangiblebenefit clues; all elements are in-

tegrated ; and the target market isidentified in a single positioningstatement: &dquo;For people who un-derstand the subtle differences.&dquo;

Smaller, lesser-known prop-erties can be positioned just aswell as large hotels and chainproperties. The LArmagnac ad atleft identifies a target market,creates an image, and differ-entiates the property it advertisesin terms of the benefit matrix.Note particularly the positioningstatement &dquo;An uncommon inn,&dquo;and the tangible clues that sup-port it.

In the two La Quinta ads, wesee one effective approach andone approach that falls short.Both ads appeared in The Wall



61

Street Journal. The ad at rightidentifies the target market anddifferentiates the property; theother positions La Quinta only asone of many golf resorts, failingto state a differential advantage.

ConclusionAny hotel marketer can devise a

positioning statement, and, as theconcept of positioning has gainedcurrency in the industry, manymarketers have done just that.However, most hotel positioningstill fails to incorporate the ele-ments crucial to effective market-

ing : communicating a uniquebenefit image, supported by tan-gible clues, to a defined targetmarket. The marketer whose posi-tioning statement encompasses allthese elements will have a marked

competitive advantage in the yearsahead

The positioning statementdistinguishes the hotelfrom other hotels, whetherthey are truly different or(as is quite likely) offer es-sentially the same prod-ucts and services.

Below right, differentiation; above left, no competitive advantage



robert c. lewis - sage

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