Identification of a lodging brand's competitive set is a necessary prerequisite to the formulation of effective marketing strategies. The authors use analytical techniques established in empirical studies of consumer packaged goods markets to analyze market share and brand switching. They show, for the first time, that competitive sets of hotel brands can be characterized in terms of consumer characteristics such as usage context and level, post-purchase satisfaction and demographic measures. The implications of the results for the formulation of marketing strategy are discussed.