The building blocks of luxury accommodation experiences: A meta-ethnographic synthesis

While luxury accommodation experience research has increased in the last decade, the field shows little accumulation of knowledge over time, requiring further foundational development. This study presents a meta ethnographic synthesis of sixteen qualitative studies to propose a new conceptualisation of the luxury accommodation experience. The study follows Noblit and Hare (1988) seven-steps methodology for the interpretative synthesis of qualitative empirical studies, an under-utilised methodology introduced by Smit, Melissen, Font, and Gkritzali (2020) in tourism and hospitality research. The synthesis model highlights the emotional, multidimensional and process-driven nature of the luxury accommodation experiences, created by guests, hosts, and external others through the social interaction occurring within a physical and sensorial environment and influenced by personal and situational factors. The synthesis also underlines three factors characterising the luxury accommodation experience, congruence, culture, and collaboration, providing a foundational framework to advance hospitality luxury experience research. Implications for practitioners are also highlighted.

Automated summary

While research on luxury accommodation experience has increased in the past decade, there is still limited knowledge accumulation in this field. This study utilizes meta ethnographic synthesis of sixteen qualitative studies to propose a new conceptualization of luxury accommodation experience. The findings highlight the emotional, multidimensional, and process-driven nature of luxury accommodation experiences, influenced by social interactions, personal and situational factors. The study also identifies three factors characterizing luxury accommodation experience - congruence, culture, and collaboration, providing a foundational framework for further research in the field of hospitality luxury experience.