John Cradden asks what can small operators in the hospitality sector do to enhance guest experiences and perceived value without significant capital investment?
If you book to stay at a hotel or a campsite, or visit a theme park or iconic tourist attraction, what are you really buying?
If you are a tourism or hospitality operator, talking about what your offer in terms of an experience can be an effective way of enhancing your guests’ experience and perceived value.
“Some of the strongest ways to add value can come from exploiting your local knowledge, improving guest interactions and better use of your existing assets”
Indeed, the term ‘experience economy’ will be very familiar to tourism and hospitality operators with many of them already embracing what it represents, which is a way of re-branding and re-marketing a mere product or service as an memorable experience. This approach is now applied to many sectors, namely retail, entertainment, events, arts, cultural, sporting and heritage, as well as tourism and hospitality.
A €4 billion opportunity
While the term was coined nearly 30 years ago, an Ibec Economic Insights report published in 2024 did a lot to popularise the notion of the experience economy for Irish businesses. According to Ibec, the experience economy as a whole contributes €4 billion annually to the Irish economy, generates export earnings (from inbound tourism) of up to €7.0 bn, and employs over 330,000 people.
The report said its emergence reflected a “fundamental shift in consumer demand, whereby consumers increasingly value experiences rather than a transaction that is typically traded in many goods and services sectors”.
It adds that the reach of the experience economy runs deeper than the surface of traditional front-of-house in hospitality, tourism and entertainment, embracing a supply chain with many ancillary suppliers and contractors, particularly in the food and drink sector.
It’s certainly not difficult to appreciate the value of embracing experience economy to the tourism and hospitality sector in particular.
Indeed, the Ibec report provides a number of case studies featuring six Irish businesses (albeit large ones) that includes a five-star hotel in county Clare, a Dublin museum, a large craft store brand popular with tourists, a music festival, and a linen supplier to the hospitality, leisure and healthcare industries.
Use what you know
So what can small operators in the sector do to enhance guest experiences and perceived value without significant capital investment?
Some of the strongest ways to add value can come from exploiting your local knowledge, improving guest interactions and better use of your existing assets.
Start by noting down everything you know about your local area and use this information to create a local guide (printed sheet or PDF) specifically for your visitors. Recommend hidden beaches or walks, suggest itineraries depending on the time of year and the day-to-day weather, and shout out local pubs, restaurants, stalls, artists and events. This will help make guests feel they are getting insider access.
You could take this further by working on your guest welcome experience, incorporating the local guide into a welcome pack along with a simple orientation map, a personalised greeting and practical advice about the area, such as parking, best times to visit places, etc.
Are there activities that you can organise in or around the grounds of your own premises that guests could participate in, such as storytelling evenings, guided nature works, or cooking or baking sessions or demonstrations? You could team up with other businesses to create these.
Building links with as many local businesses in your area may also generate ideas and opportunities to create a kind of destination eco-system that lifts all your boats in terms of revenue and income. Think of partnerships with bike-rental companies, local farms, traditional music venues, and artisan coffee stalls or vans. You could work on promotional materials and handouts as a group to make it look more professional.
This material could also incorporate storytelling to enhance the tourism experience, with information the history of your building and surrounding area, your family’s links to the business, and local folklore.
To add to guests’ convenience, you could work on anticipating common problems and thereby remove any potential friction that could spoil their experiences. For example, providing in advance clear directions to the destination, information on Wi-Fi and charging points, public transport option, and early breakfast options for those who want to hike or play golf.
During their visits, encourage your guests to post social media content about the destination, such as by recommending good photo spots for ‘instagrammable moments’, creating a branded hashtag or QR codes, and sharing photos with permission.
And don’t forget to provide opportunities for giving feedback, whether it’s a comments book at a reception or an online platform.
By combining this attention to small details, strong community business links and regular events or rituals can drive repeat visits and word‑of‑mouth, as well as strengthens margins, deepen customer loyalty and play to Ireland’s natural strengths of place, personality and welcome.
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