Give the Right to Be Right: Free Will, Algorithms, and How Hotels Can Design Real Choice

Gaspard Bizeul is the recipient of second-place (in a four-way tie) in the HFTP Fall 2025 Blog Competition.

Travelers like to think they pick their hotel. In reality, a stack of algorithms shapes the decision long before a booking form appears: relevance and ranking algorithms define what is even “considered,” bidding algorithms elevate sponsored placements above organic results, and AI recommendation engines compress the shortlist into a single suggested option, all amplified by other people’s opinions. The cumulative effect is an algorithmic illusion of choice. Hotels that understand this architecture and design for felt autonomy can convert more directly, create stronger attachment, and reduce dependence on intermediaries.

Reviews Define the Field of View

Tripadvisor’s ecosystem alone is vast enough to shape demand. The company reported more than 1 billion reviews and opinions across roughly 9 million listings and analyzed 31 million new reviews and opinions in 2024. It also removed or rejected 2.7 million fraudulent reviews in 2024 as detection improved. These numbers matter because they show how “consensus” is constructed at scale and how much curation sits behind the ratings travelers trust. (Tripadvisor, 2025)

Crucially, the playing field is not entirely organic. Tripadvisor’s Sponsored Placements are paid ads that place properties near the top of search results and above organic listings. This is legitimate advertising, but it means much of what travelers see first is not neutral. For hoteliers, that creates both a channel opportunity and a communications duty to be clear about why visibility improved. (Tripadvisor, n.d.)

Influencers Concentrate Attention

In luxury, tastemakers can create a demand waterfall with a single post. A case often cited is Gstaad Guy, a satirical yet highly effective luxury tastemaker who has crossed from parody into brand power, partnering with top labels and selling out collaborations. None of this is neutral, which is why regulators require clear disclosure of material connections in endorsements. Guests deserve to know when visibility is earned, when it is paid, and when it is a blend. (Business of Fashion, 2023; FTC, 2023)

Outside hospitality, new formats are emerging that try to anchor influence in verified purchasing. The invite-only Selleb concept uses receipts as proof of what tastemakers actually buy, transforming receipts into a kind of social currency. While this lives in fashion, the idea is relevant to hotels that want to measure and reward real influence rather than impressions. (SCMP, 2025; Andover, 2025)

AI Answer Engines Are the New Gatekeepers

The discovery layer is shifting from search results to AI-generated answers across Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity. A growing AEO (answer engine optimization) industry promises to help brands appear inside these synthesized answers, which compress attention even more. For hotels, that means optimizing content so large language models can cite and summarize it, not only so web pages rank. (Search Engine Land, 2025; Backlinko, 2025; Forbes, 2025)

Large platforms confirm the trajectory. Booking Holdings has told investors its AI features are already improving conversion and reducing customer support contacts, which is a direct cost and revenue lever. At the same time, industry observers warn that agentic AI could bypass traditional marketplaces and suppliers that do not surface well in conversational discovery. Hotels that do not build a presence for AI answers risk being de-prioritized before a human ever sees them. (Booking Holdings, 2025; Financial Times, 2025)

Why Guests Love What They Believe They Chose

This is where psychology becomes a profit center.

Self-Determination Theory shows that autonomy, competence, and relatedness increase motivation and satisfaction. When people feel a decision is theirs, they value the outcome more and stay more engaged. In hospitality terms, perceived autonomy can raise satisfaction with the same room and the same service. (Ryan & Deci, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2022)

There is also choice-induced preference change. After choosing, people rate the chosen option more positively and the rejected one more negatively. A classic series of experiments even used vacation destinations and found that these shifts emerge immediately after choosing and can endure years later. The act of deciding creates attachment. (Sharot et al., 2012)

Add the IKEA effect. When people invest effort in assembling or co-creating something, they value it more. In a hotel context, when guests co-design parts of their stay, perceived value rises without changing the physical product. (Norton, Mochon, Ariely, 2012)

Translate these findings into a front-end experience and you get concrete moves that increase conversion and stickiness.

Designing the Feeling of Freedom

Hotels cannot fight algorithms, but they can design around them. Start by making every recommendation explainable. When a site suggests a room or package, include a short note that ties the suggestion to the traveler’s inputs, not opaque rankings. A line like “because you said you prefer quiet mornings” or “because you stayed near spas before” restores perceived control, and explainable recommenders have been shown to increase trust and uptake in tourism contexts. (Neubig et al., 2024)

Choice should feel authored, not infinite. Rather than hundreds of variants, present two or three “you-shaped” paths that respect stated constraints. For example, “quiet wing near spa at 10% off” versus “corner suite with workspace and late checkout.” Let guests toggle. Each small confirmation becomes an act of authorship that reinforces the decision they are making.

Build light co-creation into pre-arrival. Short, finishable flows that let guests assemble a mini-itinerary or select in-room touches harness the IKEA effect, raising perceived value through psychological ownership. The key is to make steps quick, visible, and reversible before check-in, since incomplete effort does not produce the same lift. (Norton, Mochon, and Ariely, 2012)

Visibility is also shifting from search results to answer engines. Treat AEO as a direct-booking lever by publishing entity-rich, structured facts that large language models can cite, maintaining clear pages for who you are, what you offer, for whom, and why you are different, and monitoring how often the brand appears inside AI answers to tune content accordingly. (Search Engine Land, 2025; Backlinko, 2025)

Finally, own the voice you project. Develop a clear brand persona and publish recurring editorial that expresses values, while disclosing creator collaborations per policy and investing in authenticity signals. Hospitality can even borrow verification ideas from fashion’s receipt-anchored models, such as the Selleb concept, when showcasing “who really comes here.” (FTC, 2023; SCMP, 2025)

From Feeling to Revenue

Designing for felt autonomy is not just brand poetry. It tracks to measurable outcomes.

Higher direct conversion: Clear explanations and co-crafted packages reduce friction and increase the likelihood of a confident click on your site. Large platforms already report conversion lifts from AI-supported journeys. (Booking Holdings, 2025)

Lower cancellations and fewer support contacts: When guests feel ownership over the plan, they are less likely to churn or call to re-work details. Booking also attributes fewer support contacts to AI-assisted flows. (Booking Holdings, 2025)

Better review dynamics: Guests who believe they chose their experience are more forgiving of small misses and more vocal about hits, a predictable corollary of choice-induced preference change. That improves reputation compounding in a world where review platforms still shape demand at massive scale. (Sharot et al., 2012; Tripadvisor, 2025)

A short word on integrity…

Transparency is non-negotiable: Disclose paid relationships, avoid dark patterns, and resist the temptation to manufacture authenticity. Storytelling works best when you “show the strings,” but do not script the entire puppet show. The aim is to return a feeling of freedom to the guest while guiding toward great outcomes.

Deliver Authenticity

Hospitality has always sold more than beds. It sells a story guests can own. In an era of algorithmic discovery and social proof, the most valuable asset a hotel can deliver is the feeling that the guest’s choice was truly theirs. This feeling increases satisfaction, resilience, and advocacy. True hospitality is giving people back the feeling of freedom and giving their opinion the right to be right.

This blog post was awarded second place (in a four-way tie) in the Fall 2025 HFTP/MS Global Hospitality Business Graduate Student Blog Competition presented by the HFTP Foundation. Participants are students participating in the Master of Science in Global Hospitality Business, a partnership between the Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership at the University of Houston, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and EHL. The blog posts that received the top scores will be published on HFTP Connect.

Gaspard Bizeul earned a bachelor’s degree in Management and Marketing of Limited Goods. He is now pursuing a Master in Global Hospitality (MGH), focusing on hospitality management and real estate. Gaspard is curious, hands-on, and people-oriented. He loves hotels, brands, and the stories they tell. His goal is to design guest experiences that feel personal and memorable. He enjoys connecting data with creativity: market research, clear marketing ideas, and simple financial models that support good decisions.

References

• Andover. “Receipt Revolution: On the Promise of Receipt-Verified Influence.” (2025).

• Backlinko. “Answer Engine Optimization (AEO): How to Win in AI Search.” (2025).

• Booking Holdings. “Earnings Call Commentary on AI Features and Conversion.” (2025).

• Business of Fashion. Coverage of creator collaborations and brand partnerships including Gstaad Guy. (2023).

• Expedia Group. “Traveler Value Index” and “Unpack ’25.” (2025).

• Financial Times. “Online Travel Prepares for Rise of AI Agents.” (2025).

• FTC. “Endorsement Guides and FAQs.” (2023).

• Neubig, S. et al. “Visualizing Explainable Touristic Recommendations.” Springer. (2024).

• Norton, M. I., Mochon, D., & Ariely, D. “The IKEA Effect: When Labor Leads to Love.” Journal of Consumer Psychology. (2012).

• SCMP. “Meet the Sisters Behind the Selleb App.” (2025).

• Search Engine Land. “From Search to Answer Engines: How to Optimize.” (2025).

• Sharot, T., et al. “Is Choice-Induced Preference Change Long Lasting?” Psychological Science. (2012).

• Tripadvisor. “2025 Transparency Report.” (2025).

• Tripadvisor Business. “Sponsored Placements: How It Works.” (n.d.).

This article originally appeared on HFTP.