Modern travelers have more hotel options than ever before in history. This is fantastic for so many reasons, but also can feel very overwhelming. Which of the hundreds of hotels in that city should I choose? From a psychological standpoint, let’s explore how to pick the best hotel to help you feel more confident and less overwhelmed.
Searching online and through apps are by far the most common approaches when it comes to selecting a hotel. They are so convenient as you can sort by location, star rating, price, and amenities. They’re usually pretty comprehensive and include the vast majority of commercial hotels.
Some of the longstanding major players here are Expedia, Hotels.com, and Booking.com.
We shouldn’t forget to include traditional Bed & Breakfasts or AirBNB’s. In this article, we’re focusing on traditional hotel selection. However, keep in mind that the options expand even further when all forms of accommodation are considered.
Strategies & Factors in Picking a Hotel
So what are the psychological factors of hotel selection? When presented with a list of hotels, how do you know which one to choose?
To answer this question, let’s look at the opposite end of the spectrum. You already have some sense of the type of hotel that you would like, but you really know the type of hotel that you would never stay even if they paid you a million bucks! Almost instantly your mind eliminates all the hotels that don’t meet a minimum threshold of acceptability.
You can use this to your advantage by filtering your hotel search results to eliminate the location, star ratings, hotel brands, or amenities that you absolutely don’t want. So, without even knowing precisely which hotel you do want, you’ve already succeeded in narrowing your list.
Now that you’ve already pared down your list, let’s look at the five main factors involved in your selection process. These five factors are: hotel brand history, visual media, price, the reasons for your stay, and consumer ratings. Let’s explore each of these in greater detail.
Brand History
First, you are relying on some of your personal history even when you don’t consciously realize it. If you’ve had positive or negative experiences with a particular hotel brand, this can influence your hotel choice. That’s where terms like “brand loyalty” come into play.
You are influenced in your decision based on your personal history with that particular brand, and hotel marketers know this full well. They try to highlight the benefits and positive familiarity with their brand to entice you to stay with them again.
For many of us, there’s a prestige factor involved as well. Certain brands market themselves as luxury brands. Just like luxury car manufacturers, these companies know they can charge a premium simply for the opportunity to use their prestigious brand. The brand may or may not be the best for you, so keep this in mind.
By recognizing any positive or negative bias you have towards a particular hotel brand, it puts you back in control of making well informed decisions about how valuable that is to you.
Visual Media
We are visual creatures. Pictures and videos go a long way in guiding hotel choices.
Imagine that two written hotel descriptions are identical but you saw one option with crisp bright photography and the other with dim amateur-looking pictures. Which hotel would you stay at?
Hotel marketers spend a lot of money making their websites, brochures, and advertisements because they know the influence of visual media. Reels and Videos are part of the visual arsenal for hotel marketers as well.
Like delicious eye candy, the subtle message behind many of these images is that YOU can picture yourself enjoying that beautiful landscape, attractive hotel amenity, or scenes of relaxation bliss.
As a used car salesman once told me, “once I can get you picturing what it would feel like to drive this beauty, I know I’ve already got you sold”.
The advice here is to bear in mind that any visual media from the hotel company is likely professionally photographed, edited, and placed in an exquisitely well thought out manner to influence you towards making a reservation.
Importantly, take the time to check out any other photographs of the hotel property, including non-edited visual media like customer photos or even street-level views from Google Maps.
Hotel Price
Price is a pretty obvious consideration when it comes to picking a hotel. People sometimes use the strategy of trying to pick the most expensive hotel that they can afford. There’s an upper limit of price, and so people look in the highest range they can afford. Alternatively, people make seek bottom-line cheap hotel stays.
Beware that the listed hotel price may not include all the added taxes, resort fees, or any room upgrades. Gone are the days of arriving to the hotel and asking for a room with a view…now most larger hotels tack on an extra fee for upgraded views.
Don’t forget to check the pricing for overnight parking, as this often gets overlooked but can really add up for longer stays (think, $20 to $50 per night multiplied by however many nights you plan to stay). Check for cancellation fees as well, and check out this previous Psychology of Travel post regarding whether or not you need travel insurance.
Also, remember to consider loyalty points programs, as these can help you score some sweet discounts and extra perks. Different travel companies have different versions of loyalty programs, but most will deliver discounted prices or other amenities to help encourage repeat customers.
Hotel chains, airlines, and travel-related credit cards are the most common types of loyalty programs. Brian Kelly, aka The Points Guy, has a longstanding history of pointing people in the direction of the best ways to capitalize on loyalty programs.
Comparison sites like trivago scour prices from other sources across the internet, leaving you with a nice range of pricing options. You an also sign up for hotel newsletters from their respective websites, which may let you in on some good discounts as well.
Reasons for Your Stay
Another primary consideration involves your perceived reason for the hotel stay. Do you simply need a spot to lay your head at night before getting back on the road tomorrow? Or is this hotel a resort destination unto itself with expectations of various on-site restaurants and amenities?
By identifying the reason for your stay, you’ve identified your needs for the hotel amenities. Family-friendly versus romantic couples getaway? Quick stopover or extended stay? Traveling for business or leisure pursuits? Each of these respective examples highlight what you need during the visit.
Mostly, we’re talking about available activities here. For the business person, necessary activities would be things like accessing wifi for emails and meetings, conference rooms, or finding a business center with available printer for documents. You could always consider a mobile printer for travel as well!
When your reason for the stay is to entertain your family, you may not spend any time at a business center whatsoever. However, you definitely want the on-site kid friendly restaurant and pool with the water slide.
So, very consciously select the reasons for your stay and then filter your hotel search results by the amenities that match your needs.
Consumer Ratings
Consumer ratings and reviews hugely influence our decisions. I know that I’ve looked at hotel options that have beautiful pictures with well-known brands, but lousy customer ratings. It has made me think twice, and in some cases choose another hotel option due specifically to the ratings and comments.
Sure, some of these ratings and reviews are fabricated by the hotel or by their competition. Again, this highlights the awareness of hotel marketers about the importance of positive star ratings, reviews, and online presence.
It’s more time-consuming to leave a thoughtful review than to click a rating button. So, read the actual reviews rather than just the rating scores to get a better sense of whether the reviews reflect areas of concern for you.
Statements like “a lifeguard rudely blew his whistle at me when I was sprinting to dive in…I was offended” may not carry that much concern for you as you’re not planning on going to the pool anyway.
Trip Advisor is one of my favorites to find helpful and seemingly genuine (for the most part) customer reviews. Check more than one site for cross comparison and to get the most well rounded views.
Conclusion
The next time you find yourself feeling overwhelmed with a massive amount of hotel options, take a deep breath and relax. In travel, people want to take steps to minimize potential problems and highlight enjoyable aspects within a comfortable price point.
You want to pick the best hotel, but there’s so many hotel options out there. How do you improve the chances of finding that enjoyable hotel stay at the right price?
To help, consider the five main factors involved in hotel selection from a psychological perspective.
Read the reviews (not just the rating scores), consider your previous experiences with the hotel brand, learn to identify the reasons for the price point and think about whether those are the things you value, look on more than one website for comparison, and remember to align your reasons for traveling with the hotel choice to match to the amenities you’d prefer.
Have a favorite hotel you’d like to share? Comment below with more hotel recommendations and travel tips for your fellow travelers. Plus, remember to sign up for the free Psychology of Travel Newsletter for all the latest updates.
Also, we now have an ebook available, check out the Psychology of Travel ebook here!
Happy Travels,
Dr. L
Founder, PsychologyOfTravel.com
The content on this page may include affiliate links from advertisers. It may earn a commission from actions readers take on these links (at no cost to you), such as a click, purchase, or subscribe. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Read our Privacy Policy.
Reviews give us a good idea of where to stay. We then intuitively feel it out, thinking of location, how long we’ll rent the room for and perhaps brand continuity too. Most brands remain true to their customer service and overall experience. Super post.
I need to find a hotel in Gulfport soon since I’ll be staying there for a few days in two weeks as a break from work because of how exhausted I’ve been these days. I appreciate you letting us know that the listed hotel price might not include the added taxes, resort fees, or room upgrades, which is why we should properly check this first before we make a decision. I’ll take note of this while I look for a beach hotel near Gulfport to consider booking soon.
Glad you found this helpful, and hope you’re able to get some good rest and relaxation soon!
So, my boyfriend and I caught this intense baseball game while on vacation, and he was so captivated by the sport’s history that he’s now dead set on finding and booking a hotel near the Baseball Hall of Fame for our next trip. It’s like he’s on a mission to soak in all that baseball greatness and I want to be supportive so here I am. We love your suggestion on how you may choose what hotel facilities you need by determining why you’re staying, such as if you want to bring the family or go on a romantic break.
That’s great, Lily! Thanks for sharing…that’s a great example! Hope y’all have fun on your trip.
Enmeshed in the everyday grind, I’ve discovered that I long for an extraordinary vacation. I can’t help but think of living in the lap of luxury in a five-star hotel room, where each feature seems like a special treat for me. I’ll have in mind that, as some individuals opt to book the priciest hotel they can afford, pricing is a rather clear factor to take into account when choosing a hotel.
Thanks Lily, great points!