Let’s say you removed the logo and photos from your website, your collateral, your social media. Would anybody be able to tell the difference between your property and your competition?

If you’re relying too heavily on AI, you might not like the answer.

Marketers have joined other industries in celebrating AI as possibly the greatest productivity hack ever. Need a positioning guide? Ask Claude. Need a logo or brochure? Canva has thousands of templates. Need social media posts, website copy, a few blog entries? ChatGPT can generate them all, maybe in less time than it took you to write the query in the first place.

Hint: That’s not a good thing for hotels and resorts looking to set themselves apart.

Sure, AI is convenient, it’s inexpensive, it’s fast. It’s great at summarizing information, organizing ideas, and increasing efficiency. But it’s also very, very good at something you don’t want: making your brand look like everyone else.

You would never actually tell your audience that your property isn’t really any different than other hotels and resorts. Put too much AI in the mix, though, and you risk sending that message (whether you know it or not).

Branding Isn’t About ‘Average’

From a marketing perspective, AI isn’t designed to create something that has never existed. It takes from things that already exist and “predicts” the answer it thinks you want, pulling from what is has learned to create something that aligns with your request.

Even if your tool does exactly what you asked, does that sound like something that’s going to generate anything other than average results?

The greatest brands in the world became iconic precisely because they refused to settle for “average.” They created something distinctive, ownable, and unmistakably theirs. Because they had people like marketers, designers, and copywriters thinking about how to do exactly that and then executing on it. Their previous experience certainly informedthe approach, but it didn’t take bits and pieces and aggregate it into something “original.”

Nike’s content and brand wasn’t rooted in what Converse was doing.

Apple wanted to be the opposite of IBM and PCs, not piggyback on them.

Coca-Cola didn’t want to be indistinguishable from Pepsi. (We’ll talk about “New Coke” another time, OK?)

Those billion-dollar brands weren’t built by sounding like everyone else in their category.

Every headline, every advertisement, every visual, every campaign, and every customer touchpoint was designed with originality, with a point of view.

Those things are something too many brands are giving up these days, all in the name of convenience.

You Know ‘AI Beige’ (Even If You Don’t Know The Term)

Look at Instagram. Blog posts. Even LinkedIn. The patterns are impossible to miss.

The same language.

The same stock imagery.

The same Canva graphics.

The one-sentence-paragraph format that ruins any kind of flow.

You might think it’s “elevated” copy, but it says nothing memorable at all. That’s why it has been termed “AI Beige.” Even if it’s professional and technically “correct,” nothing about it stands out. (Unless we’re talking about those posts composed entirely of one-sentence paragraphs. Those are noticeable, and not in a good way.)

If you’ve been in this game a while, you might recognize it by another term: Safe.

Your Audience Knows ‘AI Beige,’ Too

Consumers are becoming very good at recognizing AI-generated content. And in instances where they don’t know, they might end up on a subreddit like r/isitAI.

While the first wave of AI was new and impressive, reaction to the next wave isn’t as positive. Consumers know when something feels generic or templated. We’ve all seen the semi-cartoonish visuals that businesses have been using for social posts, and we know they’re AI because they all have the exact same style.

And increasingly, we all simply scroll past it, including the people your business needs to reach.

It’s not just about the generic feel, either. People in every generation, but younger generations in particular, are beginning to question more than just the content. They’re concerned about AI’s environmental footprint, the creative industries it is disrupting, and whether they want to support businesses that don’t support their desire for authenticity.

The New Luxury? Original Thought

AI is available to everyone now, which means originality becomes exponentially more valuable.

Think of it like getting a thoughtful, handwritten thank-you note versus a dashed-off email after you give someone a gift. Which response are you going to appreciate more?

When every business can create a passable logo in five minutes, or generate a month’s worth of social media posts by the time you’re done reading this paragraph, or even build a website that looks pretty solid without even though they didn’t work with a designer or a writer, that becomes the baseline.

Which means the advantage goes to the businesses doing things that can’t be easily replicated. Things that take time, effort, and thought.

In hospitality, that means the hotels and resorts that tell original stories to bring people into the experience and forge connections. The ones that have a distinct voice, their own unique vibe, and design and photography that feel like someone put some thought into it.

Those are the properties that stand out, versus those that look for the easiest, lowest-cost path, thinking their customers won’t notice or care. (The ones you want notice, and they care.)

How Can You Win?

It’s pretty simple, really. Focus on quality over quantity, with a recognizable point of view. Be original. Think creatively instead of looking for creative shortcuts.

Remember, “faster” isn’t the marketing goal for businesses in your space. Your goals are things like “memorable,” “authentic,” and “distinct.” AI hasn’t nailed those down yet, which means the people who can deliver on those fronts for your brand are more valuable than ever. When you invest in them, the returns will be anything but artificial.

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We have decades of experience helping hotels and resorts stand out with authenticity and originality. Want to learn more? Get in touch today.