Creating an Irresistible, Value-Based Experience: How Valugraphics Elevate Hotel Stays?

Personalization Beyond Demographics: The Check-In Example

Imagine you have two arrivals scheduled for 4 PM. As a savvy guest relations talent, you check their profiles in the PMS, using the info gathered from their booking platform or the pre-check-in form you sent (hopefully it's a direct booking). Both are 28-year-old women, traveling alone, probably single, and visiting for leisure. You want to create a bespoke check-in experience that starts before their arrival and continues well after the first exchange at the front desk. You know your hotel’s value: full of wealthy resources such as a talented barmaid, a selection of curated food, wellness options, and local talents who know the destination. Great.

You could be charming by presenting all the services, but you’re smart and already know that targeting everyone is targeting no one. So, you have their age, gender, and marital status, and let’s assume these are your only data points. For pre-check-in, you compile a list of the trendiest restaurants in town, the kind of places where people go to see and be seen, inspired by the last article you read about where the celebrities hang out during fashion week. You send this just as they’re likely in the taxi on their way. Check-in done, you’ve prepared a warm welcome with a fancy Champagne cocktail and macarons. Confident, you do exactly the same for both. They have the same age and profile; they should react the same way: delighted!

But here comes the yellow card: one is absolutely delighted, comes back to the front desk, asks to give you a big hug, and can’t wait to start shopping for the most fashionable dress for dinner. The other? Very happy to be here but you noticed she didn’t touch the Champagne or macarons. She asks about breakfast time and type tomorrow and looks around for a calm spot to sit for reading this new book she bought on her way, about self-development.

The difference? What drives them. They might have the exact same demographic profile, but that doesn’t mean they share the same “why”: what they are truly driven by. If the first guest might value experience, social status, and relationships first, the second might place health and well-being and personal growth before all else, for which Champagne and sweet macarons have no place in her priorities toward personal growth and well-being.

Values: The True Drivers Behind Guest Decisions

This is where valugraphics can help hoteliers to create meaningful experiences, from operations to strategy. To better understand how, let’s dive into why values are powerful drivers, how they work, and some tips for applying them.

Values Are Powerful Drivers

“Humans are magnetically drawn toward the things they value because what we value determines what we do.” — David Allison

Milton Rokeach’s classic 1973 survey identified 36 core values such as “wisdom,” “equality,” “inner harmony,” and “financial security.” Modern research, including David Allison’s valugraphic database, expands this to 56 values ranked by global importance, from “health & well-being” to “possession.”

Simon Sinek suggests values should be verbs, reflecting how people behave, rather than static nouns describing ideals. These values shape how individuals act consistently with positive actions. Importantly, he emphasizes having a clear “Why” tied to these values, a purpose that inspires action and guides choices.

Values as Filters in Decision-Making

David Allison links values with neuroscience, explaining how what someone finds most important biases their decision-making. Processes that are all happening in the prefrontal cortex: 

“Neuroscientists will tell you that your prefrontal cortex uses one overriding set of filters to determine how to respond to incoming data. That set of filters? The things we care about most, otherwise known as our values. If you decide to buy a car, it will be because of a set of values your prefrontal cortex is using to evaluate the various options.”

Booking a hotel works the same way as the car example: a guest will choose based on what they value. A description emphasizing “health and well-being” might attract someone prioritizing wellness, while words like “exclusive” and “social status” appeal to another guest’s values.

Alarik Aenender calls the prefrontal cortex the brain’s CEO as it orchestrates all brain functions and integrates intelligence. Proper function here is essential for personal development. Allison sums it up: “It sorts and sifts through all the incoming information you are bombarded with during the day and then issues directives about what to do next. All your behaviors, emotions, and decisions begin with the work of the prefrontal cortex.”

For hoteliers, awareness of this process is a powerful tool to design guest experiences that truly resonate.

Applying Valugraphics: Tips for Hoteliers

Operations

For a pre-check-in form, the GEM could still ask about demographics (where guests come from, their age, marital statut, etc.), while adding a question to rank values, either as nouns or in sentences, as Simon Sinek recommends. For example:

Rank from 1 to 5 by order of importance:

• Relationship (dedicating time to human beings)

• Health & Well-being (eating well for my mind and body)

• Personal Growth (spending time learning)

• Possession (acquiring material things that elevate my status)

• Experience (discovering new exciting things)

Strategy

Using valugraphic databases provides valuable insight into the dominant values within specific regions or demographic groups. This allows the creation of marketing strategies and guest journeys that resonate with the distinct priorities of targeted traveler segments.

David Allison highlights a compelling dynamic in value perception: in some regions, "experiences" and "possessions" are nearly valued equally. In hospitality, it could mean the stay itself can be seen as both an intangible experience and a meaningful acquisition.

In European markets, this insight intersects with a broader cultural preference where luxury is often defined not only by the end product but by the story, heritage, and savoir-faire behind it. Unlike in regions where status is tied primarily to tangible symbols of wealth, European guests often seek the story behind which reflect the heritage: authenticity, narrative, and craftsmanship. The value lies as much in the how and why as in the what.

This shift is evident in the evolution of hospitality offerings. For some leading brands, the experience has become the product. The rise of branded residences exemplifies this trend, where lifestyle, service, and identity merge into a seamless, lived-in expression of the brand.

An experience-driven website can also play a key role in conveying this philosophy. Far beyond functionality, it serves as a digital expression of the guest journey: immersive, emotionally engaging, and aspirational. When crafted with intention, it turns the promise of a stay into something memorable and shareable and sometimes almost like a possession in itself.

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By embracing valugraphics, hoteliers can create irresistible, value-based experiences that speak directly to what guests care about, turning every stay into a meaningful memory.

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For more insights and talk about this topic, feel free to contact me at lamya@lvsacrosscultures.com or connect with me on LinkedIn here!

Books and articles I read to write this article:

• Allison, D. (2020). The death of demographics: Valuegraphic marketing for a values-driven world. Page Two Books.

• Sinek, S. (2009). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Portfolio.

• Alarik Aenender (website) CEO of the brain - The leader of the brain. 

• De Mooij, M. (2019). Global marketing and advertising: Understanding cultural paradoxes (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.

• Rokeach, M. (1973). The nature of human values. Free Press.

Pulitzer Barcelona, Spain - captured by Lamya Valter Schmidlin