1.

Introduction and Background

Customer journey is a customer’s trajectory indicating how they move through different

stages while interacting with a brand or product category. Hotel, as a product category, is

a section of service industry that deals with guest accommodation. The explosive

popularity of the Internet and social media largely revolutionizes the hotel industry

landscape. In order to stay close to the customers and understand what the best strategy is

to interact and connect with them, mapping customers’ journey is essential for hotel brands

to win edges against their competitors in the industry.

2. Data and Methodology

In-depth interview and survey are chosen as two research methods for mapping customer

journey, which consists of 5 stages including need recognition, information search,

evaluation of alternatives, purchase and post-purchase.

In order to explore customer behaviors and the reasons behind them, in-depth interview, a

qualitative research technique was conducted (Appendix 1). 9 interviewees with rich hotel

booking experience were approached, including students, employees and retired people,

with an age range from 20 to 70. In addition, a survey including 10 questions was conducted

as well (Appendix 2). After circulating the survey via WeChat, WhatsApp, Facebook and

Reddit, 140 responses were acquired. K-means clustering, an iterative optimization

algorithm that clusters observations based on the mean of the distance between different

points, was used to segment the respondents based on their reaction to question 4, in which

they were asked to give scores to eight attributes of a hotel which indicates their importance

when respondents made decisions.

3. Key Findings

(1) In-depth Interview

The results from in-depth interview suggested that in need recognition stage, vacations

and business trips are the most common factors that trigger people’s needs for hotels. For

vacations, people tend to satisfy their needs for relaxation and special experience. 5 out of

9 people greatly value the quality, comfort and amenities like fitness centers and coffee

makers, while others don’t due to limited travel budget. For business trips, all interviewees

give priority to convenience (e.g., distance to conferences). Usually their expectations for

hotel conditions are lower under this circumstance. In information search stage, when

asked about the hotels in mind, interviewees generally searched from their past

experiences, and chain hotels such as Marriott and Holiday Inn were usually in their mind.

When asked for reasons, people mentioned that with frequent advertisements and

ubiquitous broadbands, they have strong impressions of these chain hotels and believe in

their consistent quality. For external search, aggregator websites like TripAdvisor are

absolutely the biggest winner. People search via these websites for hotel comparison and

also information like hotel reviews, deals, flight tickets and travel tips. 2 out of 9

interviewees also search in Google Maps to compare the distances to their destinations. In

evaluation of alternatives stage, price, cleanliness, service, ratings, location and

amenities, including breakfasts and coffee makers, are the aspects that all interviewees

would care about. Whereas, the weights that people put in these attributions vary a lot under

different travel purposes, and they also make adjustments according to their travel

companions’ demands. When traveling alone, people tend to have relatively basic needs,

but when traveling with partners, especially with families, their requirements for hotels
would be higher. In the purchase stage, while one interviewee prefers to view plenty of

hotels (i.e., 20 - 50) and enjoy the comparing process before making the final decision,

others tend to have a limited choice set within 5 options and would get fatigued with more

choices. In the post-purchase stage, people rarely use social media to share their

experiences of hotels, instead, they go back to the websites where they book the hotels to

leave reviews if necessary. Interviewees who don’t have the habit to make comments

would only do so if the condition is instantly lower than their expectations. Terrible service

and cleanliness are the common triggers for them to make negative comments, irrespective

of their initial reason for choosing a hotel.

Among five stages, interviewees present similar patterns in information search and post-

purchase, but different needs can trigger different requirements and evaluation for the hotel

attributes. Therefore, segmentation based on hotel attributes would be most appropriate

and provide feasible instructions for hotel design and modification.

(2) Survey

In terms of survey results, after applying K-means clustering method to the dataset, two

segments were found. In the first segment, Price attribute got the highest group mean,

following by Past Experiences, Loyalty Programs, Location, Amenities, Transportation,

Staff, and lastly, Room Condition. This group of customers have high price sensitivity,

value the experience they had with a hotel and prefer hotels that have loyalty program.

Besides, they don’t care much about staff and room condition (Appendix 3). Judged by

these characteristics, this group of customers is called Saver.

The second segment on average thinks highly of the room condition in a hotel, as well as

if they have nice and responsive staff. Transportation is the third most important attribute,
 while the price is the least important element that they would pay attention to (Appendix

4). Enjoyer is thus used to describe this group of customers.

The results from the survey suggested that more people, especially females in the age group

of 18-25 and 26-35, are willing to spend a few days as compared to a day or a month to

search for a hotel. Same ratio of male to female is observed in the category of 18-25 age

group, who are willing to search for a day as well as a few weeks. But in the age group of

36-45, more females are willing to spend time in search varying from a day, a few days or

a few weeks (Appendix 5). Almost 61% of the savers and 54% of enjoyers consider

vacation as their top most need for staying at a hotel. The second need being ‘Business’

followed by ‘Experience’ for both of the segments (Appendix 6).

4. Conclusion

In conclusion, based on the findings from the customer journey, in order to obtain optimal

number of hotel bookings, it is necessary to segment the customers into two groups: one is

Savers segment who are price sensitive, and the other is Enjoyer segment who value

experience and service, and to develop targeting strategies that uniquely addresses the

needs of the two groups.

5. Recommendations

Saver and Enjoyer customers both value transportation, therefore, we suggest hotel CMO

to (1) provide transportation services from the hotel to nearby attractions, public

transportation and airports which can make travelling easier also more affordable. If the

hotel CMO is to target Saver segment, we suggest them to (2) provide Saver various price
 discounts like regular coupon, holiday special deal, redeemable points from previous stay

and so on; (3) promote deals and offers on review sites like Expedia, TripAdvisor and

Booking.com, as well as deal sites like Groupon and Hotwire.

If hotel CMO wants to target Enjoyer Segment, we suggest them to (4) focus on superior

quality service, such as assigning a personal butler/staff so that customers’ requests are

satisfied in a timely manner; (5) ensure that all the amenities like fitness, coffee maker and

breakfast is available; provide an online virtual reality tour about the place of stay to show

what they can expect during their stay (room size, no. of beds , amenities etc.) as most of

the people in this segment rely on the hotel’s website for making booking decisions.

(Appendix 7)

6. Limitations

The number of people who have taken this survey is limited (around 150) and the number

of segments that are identified may be more if the survey is extended to a broader group of

people. Besides, the sample itself is not random enough considering most of the

respondents are in the age group of 18-25 . Furthermore, respondents are not entirely open

to replying to the questions as booking hotel is a relatively personal decision. To enhance

customer journey mapping, information such as social network analysis of influential

customers could be probed further to know how they have a wide social circle, and

marketing strategies can be developed around it; Third party data like Flight booking

patterns and shopping behavior of these people if made available could further enhance

the segmentation and targeting.

Appendices: Tables, Exhibits, Figures

Appendix 1. In-depth Interview Questions:

Stage 1 Need Recognition
1. Have you ever booked a hotel for vacation purposes? If so, when you book a hotel, what
kinds of needs of yours do you expect to be satisfied?
2. Have you ever booked a hotel for other purposes? In those situations, what kinds of needs
of yours do you expect to be satisfied?
3. Do you think your needs for a hotel will be different under different circumstances?
4. How does your choice for hotel differ when you travel alone/ travel with friends/ family?

Stage 2 Information Search

5. Do you think you are an experienced customer in booking hotels?
6. Now say you want to book a hotel, do you have a couple of hotels in mind? If you do,
why?
7. When you don’t have a hotel in mind and you need to do some research, what sources
you will use to search for that information? Why will you choose this channel for
information?
8. When we speak of hotel, could you give us some keywords you associate with it?
9. What are the different websites/platforms you use for searching for a hotel?

Stage 3 Evaluation of Alternatives

10. How do you usually evaluate a hotel option when you make a decision?
11. Why do you think these aspects are important to you when making a decision?
12. What is the minimum decision set/choice set that you would like to have before making a
decision(without having a decision fatigue)?

Stage 4 Purchase
13. If you are traveling with other people, when you decide to purchase, will you make the
decision by yourself, or discuss it with your partners?
14. When you discuss your options with your partners, what aspects do you usually talk
about? What aspects will cause an argument?
15. If you make a decision for a group without consulting them: Do you care about other
people’s needs? Why do you think you can make this decision for them?
16. When choosing hotels, do you prefer to choose from limited options (i.e., less than 5
candidates) or choose from a list of many different hotels?
17. Do you feel tired of making decisions?

Stage 5 Post-Purchase
18. Will you leave feedback online after your trip?
19. What will make you leave negative comments?
20. What aspects do you evaluate most when you giving feedback?
21. Where do you go to leave those comments?
22. Are you willing to recommend that hotel to your friends or post a review on your social
media?
Appendix 2. Questionnaire:
1. Under what circumstances will you book a hotel?
A. Business travel
B. Vacation or holiday
C. Experience of Stay (Ambience, Great Views, pool, spa and suite facilities)
D. Others

2. What sources of information do you check before you book?

A. Recommendation from friends/ families
B. Aggregator Websites (C Trip/Trip Advisor)
C. Social Media (Facebook Group / Instagram #topic / Influencer)
D. Search Engine (Google / Bing Keyword Search)
E. Display Ads / Ad Banners in Side Scrolls
F. Others

3. How much time do you take to search for the hotels before booking one?
A. Within 1 day
B. Few days
C. Few weeks
D. A month

4. How do you evaluate each of the below options when you choose a Hotel?
i. Price
ii. Location
iii. Transportation (To Attractions, Conferences etc.)
iv. Caring and Responsive Staff
v. Amenities (Gym, Spa, Parking etc.)
vi. Room condition (eg. cleanliness, comfort)
vii. Past Experiences
viii. Loyalty Programs

5. In terms of economic value, how do you rate the following brands?

a. Intercontinental
b. Hilton
c. Courtyard By Marriott
d. Holiday Inn
e. Super 8

6. In terms of Quality (Amenities, Room Cleanliness, Staff responsiveness) how do you rate
the following brands?
f. Intercontinental
g. Hilton
h. Courtyard By Marriott
i. Holiday Inn
j. Super 8
7. What hotel did you stay in your most recent visit, please indicate:

8. How would you rate your experience in stars of the most recent visit?
A. 1 star
B. 2 stars
C. 3 stars
D. 4 stars
E. 5 stars

9. a). What were the reasons for giving this rating?

A. Terrible room service and staff
B. The room is dirty and lack of essentials
C. The neighborhood is not safe
D. Transportation is difficult
E. Others

9. b). What were the reasons for giving this rating?

A. The service is nice and the staff is responsive to my request
B. Room is clean and beautiful
C. The hotel gave me a discount/staying gift
D. This place meets my expectation from its online review
E. Others

10. Please choose the age group to which you belong:

A. < 18
B. 18 – 25
C. 26 – 35
D. 36 – 45
E. 46 – 55
F. 55

11. Please indicate your gender:

A. Male
B. Female
C. Other
D. Prefer not to say

12. Generally, how much money are you willing to pay for staying in a hotel (per person per
day)?
A. $0 - $50
B. $51 - $100
C. $101 - $150
D. $151 - $200
E. > $200
Appendix 3. Saver Group Mean:

Appendix 4. Enjoyer Group Mean:

Appendix 5. Survey Results:

Appendix 6. Segment Based Need Identification:

Appendix 7. Secondary Research Links:
https://www.xotels.com/en/revenue-management/revenue-management-book/price-sensitivity
https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4089823.html
https://www.bernerbecker.com/latest-articles/market-segmentation-know-hotel-demand-comes/
https://luxe.digital/business/digital-luxury-reports/luxury-marketing-affluent-traveller/
https://www.siteminder.com/r/hotel-marketing-this-year/
https://thepointsguy.com/guide/best-hotel-loyalty-programs/
https://skift.com/2019/01/30/hotel-direct-booking-efforts-create-lasting-loyalty-new-report/