Put almost any hotel through a neat customer-journey diagram and it can sound wonderful. So let’s test the diagram with an imaginary booking, complete with invented reviews. The destination will reveal itself soon enough.
Awareness: Instagram envy
I’m scrolling Insta, see my friend sipping G&Ts in a cute seaside hotel. She tags the location. It looks adorable. Whitewashed walls, ocean views, rustic signage. Immediately, I’m thinking: “I need this in my life.”
Consideration: down the rabbit hole
I Google the hotel. The official website (owned content) sells me hard: • “Family-run boutique hotel with personal service.” • “Fine dining prepared by our passionate in-house chef.” • “Unique character and unforgettable experiences.”
Partner content adds to the glow, a travel blogger calls it “quirky British hospitality,” and a lifestyle magazine describes it as “charmingly eccentric.” Sounds like Insta meets Country Living.
Comparison: the review-platform dive
Then I open a booking platform to see what guests might say. In this fictional version, the reviews are… mixed:
⭐ “Staff were unforgettable, the waiter spoke little English but had great enthusiasm. I think I accidentally ordered a hamster.” ⭐ “Owner personally came to our table… and shouted at us. 10/10 entertainment.” ⭐ “Breakfast was served, then thrown, then replaced. Best laugh I’ve had in years.” ⭐ “Booked the ‘gourmet dinner.’ Was told the chef had stormed out. We went to the chippy instead.” ⭐ “Beautiful sea view… slightly obscured by a moose head in the dining room.” And my brain goes: okay, this isn’t exactly Ritz-level, but at least I’ll have an experience.
Booking: YOLO
I see a deal: free cancellation, pay on arrival. That feels safe. Loyalty points? Pfft, I just want to know if I’ll survive breakfast first. I book.
Experience: chaos tourism
Check-in is… an experience. The owner shouts at the staff. The staff argue in three languages. A guest’s Waldorf salad never arrives. Someone faints. A fire drill goes wrong. Honestly? Best entertainment of my life. Forget Netflix.
Advocacy: you HAVE to see this place
I leave a review: • “Beds were fine, service was a circus. Wouldn’t recommend to my parents, but absolutely recommend to my enemies.” • “A once-in-a-lifetime stay. Mainly because I wouldn’t survive a second one.”
And now the big reveal… congratulations. You’ve just booked Fawlty Towers.
That is my cheeky point. A polished brand story and the accounts guests share can create very different expectations. Reviews offer another perspective to evaluate, rather than a guaranteed hiding place for the truth (Filieri et al., 2021). And maybe we sometimes enjoy the messy bits. If people watch Below Deck or Four in a Bed for the chaos, perhaps hospitality brands could show more of how a curveball gets handled instead of pretending none ever arrives. The experience continues across the whole journey, including what happens after something goes wrong (Lemon & Verhoef, 2016).