Playing favorites

In Playing Favorites: What Makes a Go-To Brand in Travel, and Why Do Customers Stray?, Phocuswright examines the real drivers behind brand preference in travel and finds a consistent throughline across sectors. Loyalty programs matter, but they rarely lead. Instead, go-to brands are built on fundamentals that shape daily consumer experience, from perceived value and pricing fairness to reliability and ease. Points and perks can reinforce affinity, but they do not compensate for gaps in execution. For executives and investors, the message is clear. Brand strength is earned first through performance, then amplified through loyalty.

Across airlines, hotels and online travel agencies, value for the money emerges as the dominant factor in brand preference. For airlines, value, price, on-time performance and route convenience far outweigh emotional or aspirational attributes, with loyalty programs ranking well below these basics. Hotels show a similar pattern, with value and cleanliness outranking price alone, signaling that consumers are evaluating brands on outcomes, not inputs. OTAs skew even more heavily toward value and reliability, underscoring that in highly competitive, low-switching-cost environments, memorability is tied to consistently delivering what travelers expect with minimal friction.

Where differentiation does begin to appear is among international travelers, who place greater weight on experiential and brand-led attributes once core needs are met. Comfort, upgrades, lounge access and what a brand stands for play a meaningfully larger role for travelers flying or staying abroad than for domestic-only travelers. This suggests that brand identity and experiential investment matter most at higher trip stakes, when consumers are spending more, traveling farther and expecting a sense of recognition. For global brands, this is where emotional connection can become a competitive advantage, but only after operational credibility is established.

Pricing, while often conflated with value, plays a distinct psychological role in brand trust. Travelers are not simply seeking the lowest fare or nightly rate. They are looking for confirmation that they are being treated fairly. The perception of a fair price, relative to the product and experience delivered, reinforces the belief that a brand respects the customer. That belief, more than discounts or rewards, is what ultimately makes a brand memorable and a default choice over time.

The takeaway for the industry is pragmatic but powerful. Go-to brands are not built through marketing narratives or loyalty mechanics alone. They are built by delivering dependable value, removing friction and signaling fairness consistently across the journey. For startups, this sets a clear bar for differentiation. For incumbents, it reframes loyalty as an outcome of doing the basics exceptionally well, not a substitute for them.

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