In today’s experience-driven economy, organizations invest significant resources in designing aesthetic environments, personalized services and special moments intended to leave a lasting impression. Yet, despite these efforts, not all experiences impact guests. The question then is: What determines whether a guest experience is truly impactful?
Our research suggests that the answer lies as much in the experience itself as in the way it is received. More specifically, it depends on the extent to which guests are mentally present and engaged during the experience.
Why the Hotel Guest Experience Often Lacks Presence
In many situations, guests are only partially attentive. They may be distracted by their phones, preoccupied with work or family concerns, or simply moving from one activity to another and cannot fully notice what surrounds them. As a result, even well-designed experiences can be underappreciated.
Our findings recommend reconsidering how value is created in experience-based contexts. Traditionally, emphasis has been placed on improving the objective quality of offerings such as enhancing service standards, refining design or adding new features. While these elements remain important, they represent only part of the equation. Equally important is the guest’s cognitive state during the experience.
The Psychology of Guest Experience
We focus on one specific concept, namely socio-cognitive mindfulness, which is defined as a state of being aware and actively engaged in the present moment. When guests are mindful, they process experiences differently. They notice more details, from design elements to service interactions, and they engage more deeply with what is happening around them. This conscious attention enriches their overall perception of the experience, making it more personally meaningful and memorable.
Importantly, socio-cognitive mindfulness also contributes to guest well-being. Being fully present allows guests to disconnect from daily stressors and derive greater enjoyment from the moment. Rather than simply consuming an experience, they live it more fully, which enhances psychological states and further leads to more favorable attitudes toward the hospitality brand. In addition, guests who are more attentive and engaged are more likely to express intentions to revisit, recommend the experience to others and maintain a positive relationship with the brand.
Designing Experiential Hospitality
To show this, our research draws on multiple empirical studies conducted in hospitality and tourism contexts. Across these studies, we examined how guests’ socio-cognitive mindfulness influences their experience perceptions, brand attitudes and behavioral intentions. The findings consistently show that guests who are more attentive and mentally engaged report more positive evaluations of their experiences, more positive attitudes, and greater intentions to revisit and recommend the brand. Importantly, the results also indicate that mindfulness enhances not only how experiences are evaluated, but how they are felt, contributing to greater enjoyment and overall well-being.
We suggest that organizations should not only focus on delivering high-quality experiences but also on creating conditions that encourage guests to actively engage with them. For example, reducing unnecessary distractions, structuring experiences to allow moments of pause, and guiding attention toward key elements can all help achieve a greater sense of presence. Well-being begins with guests slowing down and noticing their surroundings.
Based on these insights, we provide the following recommendations for hospitality companies:
1. Train Staff to Use Socio-Cognitive Mindfulness
Frontline employees play a key role in shaping attention. Specific gestures can be woven into their daily tasks to include psychology in the guest experience. For example, encouraging staff to highlight details (“Notice the local materials used here, etc.”), tell stories about the place and culture, or invite guest participation can significantly deepen situational awareness. Small cues or reminders from staff to be fully present help increase how deeply guests engage with and remember the experience.
2. Design Environments that Support Presence and Well-Being
Integrate calming sensory elements (natural light, soundscapes, scents) and frame experiences as opportunities to disconnect and recharge. Guest experiences that stimulate sight, sound, smell, or touch in a well-thought-out way are more likely to capture attention and enhance memorability. Still, companies have to be careful not to unintentionally overload guests with stimuli. It is recommended to highlight a few key experiential elements rather than everything at once.
3. Embed Socio-Cognitive Mindfulness Cues Across the Guest Journey
Use simple cues such as welcome messages, apps, or signs in the hotel to encourage guests to notice their surroundings and be present. These cost-effective interventions are easy to scale across different property types and will help bring back guest attention to the current moment.
4. Adapt Mindfulness Strategies to Different Guest Segments
Hospitality managers could tailor socio-cognitive mindfulness interventions to specific guest segments. Well-being-oriented travelers may be particularly receptive to mindful experiences. Boutique and resort properties may respond well to immersive, nature-based experiences, while urban or budget guests may prefer lighter touchpoints like digital prompts or brief staff interactions
5. Extend the Hotel Guest Experience Beyond the Stay
Encourage guests to reflect on their experience after departure through follow-up messages or journaling prompts (for example, what they discovered or appreciated most during their stay). This deepens meaning, reinforces memories, and strengthens long-term connections.
Presence as a Strategic Imperative in Hospitality
Taken together, these findings suggest that socio‑cognitive mindfulness represents a strategic lever for value creation in hospitality. This perspective challenges traditional assumptions that experience quality is primarily driven by tangible or procedural attributes, and highlights the importance of psychological processes in experience co‑creation.
From a managerial standpoint, designing for presence encourages a longer‑term view of guest relationships that are more likely to be driven by meaningful memories. Such memories play a decisive role in post‑stay evaluations, word‑of‑mouth, and loyalty formation. In this sense, experiential well‑being becomes closely intertwined with brand strength and competitive differentiation, particularly in markets where functional quality is increasingly standardized.
Finally, integrating socio‑cognitive mindfulness into customer experience design invites hospitality organizations to rethink success metrics. This type of attention to presence and engagement opens avenues for evaluating experiences based on their capacity to promote emotional resonance. As guest expectations continue to evolve toward more meaningful and psychologically supportive experiences, designing for presence may become a defining feature of responsible and future‑oriented hospitality practice.
Reference
Valentina Clergue & Yasemin Oruc (2026) Enhancing guest behavioral attitudes and intentions through experiences: a socio-cognitive mindfulness perspective, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 43:1, 236-254, DOI: 10.1080/10548408.2025.2587288
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