NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Guests are increasingly craving unique experiences out of their hotel stays, whether that comes in the form of a one-in-a-kind property or offerings that are specific to that hotel.
In order to deliver on these experiences, hoteliers are collecting guest data and bolstering their marketing efforts to take advantage of the experiential travel trend.
During the "Strike a Chord with Experiential Hospitality" session at the 2025 Hotel Data Conference, revenue-management and sales experts discussed the best practices to be successful with giving guests an experience.
Use data to personalize a trip
Dominic Donatoni, senior enterprise client sales consultant at direct booking platform Revinate, said there are a lot of ways to collect data: through email, surveys, guest preferences, social reviews, etc. But that data has to be genuine and acknowledged for it to mean anything. Another source could be the staff on property picking up cues from past guests on what made the biggest impact during their stays, he said.
Personalization leads to guest confidence and loyalty since they feel special, Donatoni said.
"At the end of the day, what I love to say is data is just information. It's only when it's activated does it spark insight, drive decisions and reveal its true value," he said. "Something to think about when you're collecting the data: What are you doing with it?"
Once the guest data is collected, the hotels have to put those responses into action so it can be turned into an experience for the guest and an opportunity to generate revenue for the property, said Sara Masterson, president of Olympia Hospitality.
Hotels should act proactively rather than reactively, reaching out to guests before their stay with offers to make dinner or spa reservations if their guest profile indicates interest, she said.
This data can also be used to identify which guests generally aren't coming to the property, Masterson said. Operations can then try to change their approach to widen their demand net and attract these guests.
Deliver on the experience
A big part of driving home an experience is making the offerings curated specifically to the guest rather than just another package, said Priya Chandnani, senior vice president of sales, revenue and distribution strategy at Sage Hospitality Group.
"I love the concept of creating enhancements, where they're creating their own experience, and they're building it from scratch," she said.
For example, if guests want a bucket of beer in their room when they show up or a picnic on the beach, it's worth it for the hotel to deliver on that experience in the long run, Chandnani said.
"The experience doesn't have to be costly to the hotel as much as it's really personal to the guest that's staying there," she said. "It's OK to spend a little more if you know that that's what's going to bring the guest back."
Hotels can also partner with a local company to offer a unique experience that grounds the hotel in the community, Masterson said.
She used the example of Olympia's Inn by the Sea property in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. It has a long-standing partnership with a native lobsterman who brings guests onto his boat and shows them the process of lobstering, which is an important piece of Maine's economy. The guest gets an experience specific to the property and location, and the lobsterman gets to sell his lobster, making it a mutually beneficial relationship.
"It's just an example of sometimes you do have to look outside your four walls, but really want to stay true to the brand ethos that you're trying to provide to guests," Masterson said.
Brandon Burtis, vice president of revenue strategy at Pacifica Hotels, said his team takes a step back and talks through what is drawing people to the destination first. Once that is determined, they work on providing a tailored experience that will draw in hotel guests.
He said Pacifica has a San Diego property that partnered with a local surf school right on the beach since guests who choose to travel to San Diego would likely be interested in that experience.
Market to guests
Authenticity has to be present not just in the experiences, but in how a hotel chooses to market those experiences as well.
Chandnani said best practices and standard operating procedures allows for scalability and consistency across marketing platforms.
"Once you set out an idea, you have buy-in from your operations teams as well as your marketing teams. The best thing to do is stay consistent with proper communication and SOPs across all of your teams so that you can scale, you can stay consistent, you can stay authentic to that experience," she said.
Marketing messages don't necessarily have to feature a special package or a rate discount. Sometimes, including information such as a restaurant menu is enough to get the point across, Donatoni said.
"It's building awareness, making it authentic. ... Information is not a bad way to stay front and center with your guests," he said.