Experiences Are Replacing Ratings
Choice is being reorganized.
Welcome to Issue No. 006 of Sojourn. An independent publication delivering strategic interpretation for leaders shaping the future of travel and hospitality.
Interpretation: For a long time, travel decisions were about comparison. Better, worse, more, less. Now they start somewhere else. People don’t begin by asking which hotel is best. They begin by asking what kind of days they want to have. The stay isn’t the product anymore. The time you live inside it is.
From lists to feeling: Stars, rankings, and awards still exist, but they don’t carry the same weight. Choices are now shaped by quieter things. A photo you saved. A place a friend mentioned. A story that stayed with you. Decisions aren’t being handed off to institutions anymore. They’re being made by instinct. A place can look perfect and still feel wrong. Another can be simple and feel exactly right.
You don’t really compare a place like Fogo Island Inn or Tierra Hotels to anything else. You decide whether that is the chapter you want to ‘live’.
How people choose now: People are looking at fewer places, but choosing with more care. They’re not trying to find the ‘best’ option on paper. They’re trying to find the place that fits how they want to feel. The filter isn’t quality anymore. It’s fit. No one ends up at Casa Cook by accident. It’s not a booking. It’s a choice.
What this changes: Platforms still help people browse. But meaning is what makes them decide. Hotels aren’t just competing with each other anymore. They’re competing with different versions of the life someone wants to live for a few days. The experience itself has become the category.
Bottom line: People aren’t booking trips. They’re choosing how they want to spend their time.