Tone of voice beyond the website: how people carry a brand
Most tone-of-voice guides are written for copywriters. Yet a brand’s voice is heard most often in a reply to an email, a message from the concierge or a greeting at the door.
Where clients actually hear the brand
Count the words a client reads on the website, then count the words they receive in emails, messages, confirmations and conversations. For most hotels, residences and private services, the second number is far larger. That is where the voice is made or lost.
Write for the people who speak
- Principles in plain words. Three or four rules a receptionist can remember: use the guest’s name, say what will happen next, never blame the system.
- Real examples. Before and after versions of common messages: a booking confirmation, a delayed transfer, a request that cannot be met.
- Words to use and to avoid. A short list, specific to the brand. If the brand never calls itself “luxury”, the team should know that too.
- Every working language. Guidance for each language the team uses, written by native speakers rather than translated from the English rules.
Templates for the moments that matter
Write ready-made texts for the ten messages sent most often, and for the three that are hardest: an apology, a refusal and a request for patience. Staff will adapt them, and that is the point. A good template is a starting point, not a script.
Train with conversations, not slides
An hour of role-play with real situations does more than any presentation. Listen to how the team already speaks; the best lines in the guide often come from them.
A brand is what people say when no designer is in the room.
The studio writes tone-of-voice guides that front-of-house teams actually use. See brand strategy & positioning.
