The Complexity of Hospitality Rebranding: Aligning Talent with Shifting Brand Values

When an owner decides to convert an existing hotel into a new brand, especially one with a strong lifestyle identity or a branded residence concept, the rebranding process starts with location fitting and consumer-facing elements. Marketing teams meticulously design new touchpoints, refine the visual language, and define the future guest persona. Behind the scenes, one of the most critical success factors often receives less attention: the talent experience. Lifestyle brands cannot exist without people who embody them, and rebranding places pressure on both current and incoming employees. Values become the bridge or the fracture between brand DNA and talent DNA.This is where a strategy built on valuegraphics can provide clarity.

From Guest Behavior to Talent Behavior: Why Values Matter

David Allison’s research highlights a simple but transformative truth:

values are the only real driver of human behavior.

Demographics tell us who someone is. Psychographics tell us what they did before. But neither explains why they act the way they do. People make choices whether as consumers or employees based on what they value.

Valuegraphics were originally designed to understand consumer behavior, yet I found the logic applying seamlessly to talent experience too. Just as guests are drawn to brands that express their personal values, employees gravitate toward workplaces that align with what matters most to them. This becomes especially critical during rebranding, when the brand’s value system shifts. The alignment or misalignment between the new brand DNA and the values of the people delivering it determines whether the transition blooms or fractures.

Example:
A guest who values health & wellbeing chooses hotels with calm spaces, balanced experiences, and mindful design. An employee driven by that same value thrives in respectful, serene work environments. In a wellness-oriented rebrand, they become a natural culture carrier. In a nightlife-driven concept, they may disengage not due to skills, but because the environment contradicts what they value.

This is the power of values: They shape the experience guests seek and the behavior employees bring, making values alignment the foundation of any authentic, successful rebranding.

But what do we concretely mean by values? The researches of Allison highlight a list of 56 values identified in order of importance for the world, some examples of them are : Family who ranks 1st, Relationship as 2nd and other (at random) as Financial Security, Belonging, Personal Growth, Harmony, Morality, etc. Tests are used by psychologists to help people undrstand their value and make sure their life is aligned with those in order to ensure a certain peace of mind.

Why Rebranding Creates Talent Tension?

Rebranding shifts expectations, tone, and culture. In lifestyle hospitality, where identity is the product, this shift requires more than new uniforms or redesigned public spaces but it requires a different kind of behavior. HR profesionnal typically faces two parallel challenges:

1. Ensuring current talent can authentically deliver the new brand

Some employees align naturally with the new values. Others struggle, not because they lack capability, but because the brand now demands behaviors that contradict what motivates them.

2. Attracting incoming talent who reinforce the brand rather than dilute it

Recruiting on experience alone misses the engine of behavior: values. Without a values lens, teams become culturally fragmented, and the brand’s personality loses coherence.

And then a cascade of unwanted results can also show up such as a difficult talent experience for the new comers if the former talents already onsite create a negative atmosphere around this rebranding. Some tools can help.

Using Valuegraphics Archetypes in HR Strategy

The valuegraphic model identifies 15 universal archetypes or groups of people "tribes" driven by similar core values. For HR leaders navigating rebranding, these archetypes help:

• Clarify the values embedded in the new brand DNA with the marketing teams 

• Map the values that currently drive the team

• Predict alignment, resistance, and tension points

• Shape EVP, communication, and development programs for maximum impact

The examples below illustrate how values translate directly into hospitality. 

Concrete Examples Showing Impact on Performance and Results

Example 1 — Guest Engagement in Branded Residences

Focus: Wellness, Care & Long-Term Relationships

Scenario

A hotel transitions into a branded residence model, where success depends on familiarity, emotional consistency, care, and wellness-focused interactions.

New brand values: Care - Responsibility - Wellness - Consistency
Aligned archetypes: Responsibility - Wellbeing - Stability

Misalignment Scenario — Front Desk Example

A front desk associate motivated by material success and quick advancement

This associate prefers fast-paced hotel environments with high guest turnover, tips, visibility, and opportunities for rapid promotion.
In a branded residence, the rhythm is slower and emotionally consistent. Residents expect meaningful, wellness-oriented interactions, not transactional ones.

Misaligned Behaviors

• They don’t take the time to understand residents’ routines or personal needs

• When asked for suggestions (gyms, healthy cafés, quiet spaces), they recommend generic or trendy spots, not aligned with the residence’s wellness identity

• Interactions feel rushed, surface-level, or scripted

• They focus on tasks with visible recognition, ignoring subtle resident cues

• They appear impatient with repetitive requests from long-term residents

Impact

• Residents feel the associate “doesn’t get them”

• Trust and comfort decline

• Complaints about lack of personalization increase

• Emotional consistency disappears

• Turnover rises because the employee quickly becomes disengaged

• New hires who value wellness become confused: why does the front desk model something opposite to the brand’s promise?

Alignment Scenario — Front Desk Example

A front desk associate motivated by wellness and human connection

This associate naturally enjoys supporting others and providing steady routines.
They take genuine interest in residents’ lifestyles and well-being goals.

Aligned Behaviors

• Learns residents’ preferences and anticipates their needs

• Recommends local wellness-oriented spots: cozy cafés, walking trails, yoga studios, healthy meal options

• Maintains warm, consistent daily check-ins

• Creates small rituals that enhance stability and comfort

Impact

• Residents feel known, supported, and emotionally safe

• Engagement increases and renewal rates rise

• Brand reputation strengthens (“it feels like home”)

• The associate becomes a cultural anchor for the community

• New hires see values modeled clearly and consistently

Example 2 — Shifting to a modern concept focused on a sustainability

Scenario:
The new brand identity centers on local partnerships and sustainability.

New brand values: authenticity, locality, sustainability
Aligned archetypes: Environmentalism, Tradition, Trust

Performance Outcomes: 

Misalignement 

Operational decision: Buying generic amenities to save costs. A supervisor focused solely on efficiency orders generic, mass-produced amenities because they are cheaper and quicker to procure.

Impact on Brand, Culture & Performance

• Guests perceive the sustainability message as “greenwashing"

• Audit scores fall due to poor brand consistency

• Community impact is lost, no support for local suppliers

• New hires who joined because of the sustainability-driven rebrand feel confused and discouraged:

  -> They don’t understand why leadership contradicts the brand promise

  -> They begin doubting the company’s authenticity and their own fit

  -> Early cultural engagement weakens

Bottom line:
A small cost-saving decision creates a brand contradiction and a cultural disconnect, especially for newcomers hired for their environmental values.

Alignement

Operational decision: Sourcing from local, sustainable partners. A supervisor motivated by environmental values collaborates with local artisans to create signature in-room products that reflect the region and the brand’s sustainability commitments.

Impact on Brand, Culture & Performance

• Guests photograph, share, and talk about the amenities -> organic visibility

• Retail revenue increases as guests purchase the products

• Strong and meaningful community partnerships develop

• The brand’s sustainability positioning becomes authentic

• New hires feel aligned and inspired, seeing leadership model the values they were hired for

Bottom line:
Operational choices strengthen both the brand experience and the internal culture, making the rebrand credible and living.

Some other examples could be the shift from a taditionnal hotel that focused on legacy, heritage luxury to a lifestyle concept turned toward creativity and more lay off, where the talents from the previous team were used to greet every gust by their last name using title like Sir/Madam where the new targeted guest expect them to call them by their first name and recommend the ultimate trendy super-instagrammable spots in the city.

Why Values Drive Sustainable Talent Ecosystems

“Humans are magnetically drawn toward the things they value because what we value determines what we do.” During hotel rebranding, aligning EVP and talent strategy with valuegraphics reduce friction and helps in culture embodiement.

With values alignment:

• Employees deliver the brand effortlessly

• Guests feel authenticity rather than scripted hospitality

• Recruitment becomes more targeted

• Retention strengthens through meaning and fit
  

Performance grows through behavior that feels natural. 

Below is a table I have created that can help developing a HR brand matching value-based strategy for rebranding. 

The articles/books I've read to write this article:

• Allison, D. (2022). The death of demographics: Valuegraphic marketing for a values-driven world. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.

• Hein, A. Z., Elving, W. J. L., Koster, S., & Edzes, A. (2025). One size fits all? Employer branding in different contexts, Corporate Reputation Review

For more insights and talk about this topic, feel free to contact me at lamya@lvsacrosscultures.com or connect with me on LinkedIn here!

Thank you for reading,

Lamya