The RDE-based hotel study reported here shows that it is not the particular
sense, but the experience that drives consumer interest and willingness to pay. A total of
315 respondents evaluated experimentally designed vignettes, comprising different
combinations of positive, pleasant sensory experiences that a hotel might offer its guests
as a point of differentiation. Each respondent evaluated a unique set of these vignettes.
The ratings to the vignettes were deconstructed into the contribution of each sensory
experience as a driver both of interest in the hotel and of relative amount of money one
was willing to pay versus a standard one-night hotel cost. These experiences covered
four different aspects of each of four of the five senses (seeing, touching, smelling and
hearing). It is not the particular sense but the particular experience that drives interest
and amount willing to pay. Three mind-set segments emerged: sensory seekers,
fragrance and touch and design and relaxation.
Keywords: Sensory experience, price analysis, RDE.
