Brand Loyalty is a Two Way Street

From one of the biggest hospitality brands in the world:

“We believe that buying a Branded Residence with our name on it is the ultimate act of loyalty and trust from one of our clients.”

That is a bold statement. And, on the surface, it is absolutely correct.

Purchasing a Branded Residence is not a simple real estate transaction. It is a client choosing to emotionally and financially align themselves with a brand’s identity, promise, and perceived standard of excellence often committing millions based largely on reputation and aspiration.

But here is the uncomfortable question that statement should trigger at board level:

If this is the ultimate act of loyalty and trust, what is the brand’s reciprocal act of loyalty and trust toward the client?

Let’s examine the reality of the buyer journey.

A client responds to a brand-led marketing campaign announcing the launch of Branded Residences. The brand creates the aspiration. The brand creates the emotional hook. The brand creates the perceived value.

The client is then immediately handed over to a third-party broker, someone who has no relationship with the brand, the developer, or the long-term client experience.

The client agrees to purchase.The broker collects their commission and exits the relationship entirely.

At this point, the client has made one of the largest lifestyle and financial commitments of their life.

Let’s remember that Developers typically do not have long term engagement or loyalty programs with their clients, that is not their field of expertise, it is however the field of expertise of hospitality brands.

So where is the brand relationship throughout is process?

The developer sends a contract by email.No brand-led welcome.No recognition of the client’s significance.No symbolic or emotional onboarding.Just payment schedules and legal documentation.

Deposits are paid, often multiple tranches across 18 to 24 months.

Each payment represents reinforced trust.Each payment represents renewed commitment.Each payment represents increased emotional and financial exposure.

And what does the client receive in return?

Silence.

Automated payment reminders.

Transactional communication.

No anticipation.No storytelling.

No Brand Welcome.

No reinforcement of the lifestyle they were sold.

No cultivation of belonging to something exclusive or meaningful.

This raises a fundamental strategic contradiction:

Brands invest millions crafting emotional positioning, loyalty ecosystems, and guest experience strategies, yet during the most vulnerable and longest phase of the branded residence relationship, the client experience is almost entirely abandoned.

If we truly believe purchasing a Branded Residence is the pinnacle of brand loyalty, then we must also accept an equally uncomfortable reality:

Today, in most cases, the client’s loyalty is far greater than the brand’s commitment to the client experience.

And that is not simply a missed opportunity.

It is a reputational risk.

Because in the absence of curated engagement, the client does not bond with the brand, they bond with uncertainty, payment fatigue, and emotional distance from the very promise that justified their purchase.

So possibly the real boardroom question should move from,

“How do we sell more branded residences?”

To the real question of,

How do we design a buyer experience, from the very first contact through to handover, that is so intentional, immersive, and emotionally intelligent that it validates and continuously earns the trust clients place in the brand, from the moment they sign to the moment they receive their keys?

Until brands answer that question, this sector will continue to sell hype, while delivering administration.

Kevin Wash / VOS Consultants