A balancing act: Negotiating authenticity in luxury lodges

Abstract

This study explores the negotiation process underpinning the creation of authentic experiences in luxury lodges. The findings of this study highlight how this is a balancing act performed by the hosts through the provision of an authentic experiential platform connecting guests with unique places and genuine people and is of a luxurious nature. Staged experiences are authenticated by the guests through their bodies and minds, activating, in turn, experiences of existential authenticity. Contributing to service marketing and management literature, the study departs from purely abstract authenticity conceptualisations by applying an experience design and management lens to understanding authentic experiences. Practically, our findings demonstrate how authenticity is operationalised in luxury lodges and how these experiences are understood and valued by tourism and hospitality consumers and providers, providing crucial implications for luxury accommodation marketers and managers.

Keywords

Authentic experience luxury lodge luxury accommodation consumer-based authenticity high-engagement research

Introduction

Authenticity is a complex, nuanced and overly studied concept in many disciplines, featuring disparate interpretations and conceptual challenges (Rickly, 2022). Although some authors have advocated its abandonment (Reisinger and Steiner, 2006), in practice, authenticity remains fundamentally important for tourists and tourism marketers and managers (Belhassen and Caton, 2006; Gilmore and Pine, 2007; Moore et al., 2021). It is also considered a significant element of the tourism and hospitality experience (Manfreda, 2022; Manfreda et al., 2022; Mody et al., 2019) and a lens to evaluate the quality of such experiences (Thrift, 2004).

Interestingly, despite the importance of authenticity in tourism and hospitality experiences, authenticity theory is rarely factored in service experience design and management studies (Rickly and McCabe, 2017). Rare exceptions have been primarily conceptual (e.g., Farrelly et al., 2019; Gilmore and Pine, 2007; Rickly and McCabe, 2017), providing limited empirical evidence from real-life business practice. Moreover, authenticity research in tourism and hospitality has mostly been conducted on heritage and cultural tourism experiences, leaving commercial hospitality contexts largely underexplored (Hwang and Seo, 2016). Some efforts in researching authentic experiences in hospitality settings have been in (ethnic) restaurants (e.g., Le et al., 2021b; Muskat et al., 2019), with equally limited investigations in the context of peer-to-peer accommodation, homestays and mainstream hotels (Mody et al., 2019; Mura, 2015; Zhang et al., 2020).

The heightened importance of authenticity in particular service settings (Kandampully et al., 2023), and specifically in luxury experience consumption (Manfreda, 2022; Manfreda et al., 2023; Yeoman and Mcmahon-Beattie, 2018), has been previously articulated. Championing this are luxury lodges, renowned and portrayed in the media for creating authentic experiences (Tourism Australia, n.d.). These lodges are part of a luxury tourism and hospitality movement providing less conspicuous and more meaningful experiences (Lewis, 2022) in response to the heightened needs of luxury travellers for simpler, slower and more authentic luxury accommodation experiences (Manfreda et al., 2023; Yeoman and Mcmahon-Beattie, 2018). In Australia alone, the demand for this type of accommodation experience has exponentially increased (Escape, 2022), with Tourism Research Australia showing a significant rise in property investment for small and more boutique and tailored accommodation options that respond to this customer desire (Tourism Research Australia, 2021).

In scholarly research, luxury lodges have been previously studied in relation to their sectorial characteristics (Morrison et al., 1996), their ties with sustainability (Hassanli and Ashwell, 2020; Moscardo and Benckendorff, 2010; Rishi et al., 2015; Ryan and Stewart, 2009), and, more recently, experience quality and co-creation (Harkison, 2018; Harkison et al., 2018a, 2018b, 2019; Manfreda et al., 2023; McIntosh and Siggs, 2005). However, while some of these studies have highlighted links between luxury lodges and authentic experiences (e.g., Manfreda et al., 2023; McIntosh and Siggs, 2005), no previous studies have investigated what constitutes and how to create authentic experiences in luxury lodges. Simultaneously, this context can offer unique opportunities to study authentic experiences and uncover how to design, stage, manage and market them.

We adopt the theoretical framework of Kolar and Zabkar's (2010) consumer-based authenticity approach to provide a service marketing and management lens to the study of authenticity in hospitality settings. Under this approach, authenticity directly relates to the customers’ enjoyment and perception of their experiences based on their values, motivations, self-image and socio-cultural context. However, customers’ perceptions can be influenced by marketers and managers tasked to understand these individual perceptions, manage them and respond to customers’ uniqueness with appropriate and specific propositions through the rendering of authentic offerings (Gilmore and Pine, 2007; Kolar and Zabkar, 2010).

With this study, we immerse ourselves in the lived experiences of guests and hosts of Australian luxury lodges and attempt to make sense of the role and practice of authenticity in hospitality business contexts, proposing a multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary picture of what constitutes authentic experiences and how they are created in luxury lodges. Thus, we contribute to service marketing and management literature and authenticity discourse by answering multiple calls to (1) increase attention toward the processes of authenticity production and consumption (Cohen and Cohen, 2012; Lugosi, 2016), (2) to investigate the role of authenticity in tourism and hospitality service experience design and management (Rickly and McCabe, 2017) and (3) to explore authenticity as a relational construct that captures the co-created and multi-dimensional nature of tourism and hospitality experiences (Le et al., 2021a; Rickly, 2022), focusing on its real-life application in tourism and hospitality (Moore et al., 2021).

Theoretical background

Authenticity in the (luxury) accommodation experience

Investigations on authentic experiences in commercial accommodation have risen in recent years. This is likely the result of increased market competition from alternative types of accommodation in direct opposition to traditional and mainstream hotels, such as homestays (Aziz and Selamat, 2016; Di Domenico and Miller, 2012; Mura, 2015; Wang, 2007) and peer-to-peer accommodation (Birinci et al., 2018; Mody et al., 2019; Paulauskaite et al., 2017). These studies have acknowledged traditional hotels’ lack authenticity, given by the standardised product offered and the highly trained and scripted social interactions, in direct contrast with experiences in non-traditional accommodation that are considered more authentic, localised, personalised and more meaningful for guests. Although they reiterate the importance of authenticity for the hospitality experience, these studies show how traditional accommodation falls short in delivering such experiences.

In contrast, service marketing and management research has more recently featured renewed attention on the role of authenticity in the broader luxury consumption experience. Studies have identified important links between the perception of authenticity and the overall evaluation of these experiences as luxurious (Holmqvist et al., 2020; Wirtz et al., 2020). Luxury accommodation literature has identified positive associations and an extended need for investigation between perceived authenticity and the overall customer experience. For example, Cetin and Walls (2016) highlighted the heightened value placed on local and authentic atmospherics by guests in determining luxury hotel experiences. Furthermore, they emphasised that smaller boutique accommodation is better placed to provide such experiences. Similarly, Wu and Gao (2019) and Buehring and O’Mahony (2019) identified authenticity as a key emotional constructor capable of evoking the most positive guests’ evaluations and leading to memorability. Other studies have found positive associations between the authenticity of the physical and social dimensions and the overall luxury accommodation experience evaluation (Ariffin et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2020). However, Birinci et al. (2018), Hwang and Seo (2016) and Manfreda et al. (2022) suggest that while current studies have highlighted the importance of authenticity for the luxury accommodation experience, these investigations have not shed light on what constitutes and how these authentic experiences are created.

Luxury lodges and authenticity

Like other forms of non-traditional accommodation, luxury lodges have previously been associated with providing authentic experiences (Manfreda et al., 2023; McIntosh and Siggs, 2005). Luxury lodges, typically small establishments in remote, regional or rural areas, are known for providing a highly personalised experience, well-integrated into the place they are located (McIntosh and Siggs, 2005; Morrison et al., 1996). Synthesising existing literature (Harkison et al., 2018b, 2019; Manfreda et al., 2023; McIntosh and Siggs, 2005; Morrison et al., 1996), Luxury lodges can be defined as establishments that (1) offer personal interaction between guests and hosts, generating meaningful bonds; (2) provide a unique opportunity or advantage for guests afforded by the location, physical structure or services offered, reflecting a well-defined experience of place; (3) offer special activities to guests, reflecting the rural and remote location, as well as the unique characteristics of the establishment; (4) have a small capacity (generally less than 25 rooms); and (5) offer luxury experiences, reflecting the high quality of both tangible and intangible experience determinants, driving a premium price.

These lodges display an interesting interplay between homestays and peer-to-peer accommodation characteristics – such as the size, the level of personalisation and a homely feel (Birinci et al., 2018; Harkison et al., 2019) – and traditional hotels features – such as high staff-to-guest ratios, high-quality standards, safety and security (Harkison et al., 2018b). In this, luxury lodges position themselves as an interesting ‘in-between’ context of study with the ability to contribute to advancing insights on creating authentic experiences for the broader luxury accommodation industry.

Luxury lodges exhibit strong associations with key authenticity constructs in the tourism and hospitality literature, such as the concept of home (Di Domenico and Lynch, 2007; Di Domenico and Miller, 2012; McIntosh and Siggs, 2005; Mura, 2015; Wang, 2007), the social aspects of authenticity (Brooks and Soulard, 2022; McLeay et al., 2019; Wang, 1999) and the lodges’ location in natural and remote environments, which are reflected in the ‘imperfect’ and ‘natural’ luxury of these experiences (Manfreda et al., 2023). These characteristics and activities can activate experiences of authenticity (Moore et al., 2021; Vidon et al., 2018; Wang, 1999), highlighting the significance of luxury lodges in providing authentic experiences. More recent attempts at characterising the luxury lodge experience have been made (Manfreda et al., 2023) and have further highlighted the significant ties of these experiences with authenticity, particularly concerning their deep connection with the broader destination (and hosting culture), the authentic bonds that can be established among hosts and guests, and the ability of luxury lodges to allow guests (and staff) to show their ‘authentic selves’. However, research into this context remains limited (Hwang and Seo, 2016; Kandampully et al., 2023; Manfreda et al., 2023), and, to the best of our knowledge, no research has yet investigated what constitutes and how these authentic experiences are created in this context. The paucity of studies in this context demonstrates a lack of attention that is not aligned with that of hospitality consumers and providers, hence, stressing the need for more foundational research in this area.

Authenticity – Does it still matter?

In contrast to the scarcity of research on authentic accommodation experiences, tourism authenticity discourse has been and continues to be prolific (Rickly, 2022). This has led to a wealth of conceptual and theoretical work, but overall, the real-life practice of authenticity still needs to be understood (Rickly and McCabe, 2017). In the attempt to make sense of the many perspectives on authenticity, tourism scholars have created typologies to encapsulate these numerous interpretations, often differentiating between object-related authenticity (objectivist, constructivist and postmodern) and subject-related authenticity (existential) (Wang, 1999). More recently, new typologies have also been linked to performative and psychoanalytic theory (Knudsen et al., 2016; Knudsen and Waade, 2010; Vidon and Rickly, 2018). However, while authenticity theory remains a contested ground, the authenticity of tourism and hospitality experiences continues to show high relevance in practice (Moore et al., 2021).

In response, what we see in the literature today is an increasing number of approaches and models that depart from the more abstract question ‘what is authenticity’ and devote attention to answering questions related to ‘how authenticity is used, who wants and needs authenticity and why, who authenticates, and what authenticity does’ (Rickly and Vidon, 2018: 2). In light of this recent shift, authenticity is interpreted as a relational construct (de Andrade-Matos et al., 2022; Rickly-Boyd, 2012) emerging in the interaction between subject and object. This view helps reduce the fragmentation of traditional authenticity conceptualisations without incurring paradigmatic tension and allows for a better understanding of the complexity and holistic nature of authentic experiences (de Andrade-Matos et al., 2022). Therefore, scholars have suggested reconsidering how authenticity is studied and urged employing a multi-dimensional approach to bridge single-sided conceptualisations (Belhassen and Caton, 2006), shifting authenticity studies to focus on authenticity production, consumption and authentication processes (Cohen and Cohen, 2012; Lugosi, 2016; Rickly, 2022).

Scholarly interest in authentication, rather than the conceptual resolution of authenticity, was raised by Cohen and Cohen (2012), prompting researchers to adopt a more practical lens to understand how authenticity is manifested in tourism and hospitality settings and activities. Authentication can be understood as ‘the processes by which qualities of authenticity are constructed, assigned, evaluated or experienced’ (Lugosi, 2016: 100). It ‘endows an object, site or event with authenticity’ (Cohen and Cohen, 2012: 1298). Cohen and Cohen (2012) distinguish between two different but intersecting modes of authentication, ‘cool’ and ‘hot’, with the former relating to the process of ‘declaring or proving’ the authenticity of a tourism event, and the latter involving the personal, emotional and performative process that authenticates such events. Authentication processes have been studied under multiple perspectives and research has investigated different stakeholders and their power to authenticate (e.g., Brooks and Soulard, 2022; Chatzopoulou et al., 2019; Cohen and Cohen, 2012; Lamont, 2014; Lovell and Thurgill, 2021; Lugosi, 2016). Bruner (1994) suggests that authentication becomes a matter of power. It is not important to identify whether an object is (in)authentic. It is indeed crucial to understand who has the right to decide whether the object, scene or experience is authentic or not. This is an open call for scholars to increase investigation of how authenticity is constructed and consumed in tourism and hospitality contexts (Cohen and Cohen, 2012; Lugosi, 2016), thus maintaining the relevance of authenticity for both tourism and hospitality theory and practice (Rickly, 2022).

Theoretical lens: Kolar and Zabkar's (2010) Consumer-Based Approach to Authenticity

It is not our intent here to present an evaluation of each approach to authenticity and authentication, given the already available and comprehensive reviews on the matter (e.g., Rickly, 2022). For this study, we adopt one emerging approach for investigating authentic experiences, Kolar and Zabkar's (2010) consumer-based approach. In line with recent directions, this approach demonstrates multi-disciplinary applicability and reflects the multi-dimensionality of authenticity and the hospitality experience constructs (Rickly, 2022).

Kolar and Zabkar's (2010) consumer-based authenticity is considered a pragmatic approach aimed at understanding the operationalisation of authenticity for marketing and management rather than its conceptual resolution. For this reason, the consumer-based approach does not purposefully take a stand on defining what is (in)authentic. Instead, this approach is instrumental in understanding what the end user accepts and rejects as authentic (Kolar and Zabkar, 2010; Le et al., 2021a), thus enabling the exploration of authentication processes and power relations. These unique authenticity perceptions are often the product of the intermingling of different authenticity perspectives, which appear to be related and interconnected in the mind of consumers, marketers and managers. Thus, the approach focuses on two areas: (1) consumers’ authenticity perceptions; (2) operators’ shaping and management of these perceptions. This approach allows for a multi-dimensional understanding of authenticity, bridging traditional approaches (Rickly, 2022) and enhancing marketing and management implications.

MacCannell (1973) differentiates frontstage (purposefully staged for tourists) and backstage (where authenticity lies) of tourism environments and highlights the role of tourism operators in enacting such performances. Furthermore, Pearce and Moscardo (1986) suggest that authentic experiences are not only a product of the interaction with tourism environments but also with people. Although experiences can be affected by elements inherent to tourists themselves and their motivations (Cohen, 1979), thus outside the control of a supplier, tourism experiences can be enhanced by managing physical and human interaction (Walls et al., 2011), and communicating these value propositions appropriately to tourists (Knudsen and Waade, 2010). An important point emerging from the consumer-based approach is, therefore, the influential role of operators in staging, marketing and managing authentic experiences. For this reason, commoditisation – or the staging and commercialisation of tourism offerings – has been understood by authors to have significant roles in facilitating authenticity perceptions in tourism experiences (Gardiner et al., 2022) and in stimulating tourists’ fantasy (Knudsen et al., 2016), which may lead to increased travel consumption activities and behaviours, allowing destinations and offerings to emerge in the mind of tourists (Knudsen and Waade, 2010). Thus, through staging, communication and performance, tourism and hospitality operators seek to manage the impressions that tourism customers have developed of them and their offerings (Le et al., 2021b).

Under the consumer-based approach, authentication plays an essential role. The consumer-based approach assumes that every individual can decide what is (in)authentic. Thus, authenticity can be considered a claim made by tourism providers and either accepted or rejected by tourism consumers (Kolar and Zabkar, 2010). This also aligns with Gilmore and Pine's (2007) idea that authenticity is personally determined and that, for offerings to be perceived as authentic, they must be accepted reflections of the consumer's image (Brooks and Soulard, 2022). The consumer-based approach, therefore, accepts that the authentication process is personal and emotionally laden (‘hot authentication’), and that, ultimately, customers have the power to decide what is authentic or not (Cohen and Cohen, 2012; Knudsen and Waade, 2010; Kolar and Zabkar, 2010).

Despite the significant utilisation of Kolar and Zabkar's (2010) approach, which has facilitated investigations of the multi-dimensionality of authenticity and has provided a foundation for thinking of authenticity as an evaluative judgment, the approach itself (and subsequent model) does not explore matters of authentication in depth or offer explanations of how authenticity evaluations are formed within customers and shaped by providers (Le et al., 2022). To address this limitation, for this study, we support Kolar and Zabkar's (2010) stand on authenticity as a consumer-oriented concept and attempt to shed light on what constitutes authentic experiences and how they are created by guests and hosts in luxury lodges.

Methods

Given the personal, context-specific and highly situated nature of authentic experiences, we opted for a qualitative multiple-case study methodology informed by a constructivist paradigm. This strategy stresses the socially constructed nature of reality, the involvement and intimate relationship between the researcher and the object (and subjects) of inquiry, and its context and time-bounded nature (Denzin and Lincoln, 2011). Given the uniqueness of each case study, the method does not aim for generalisable findings, instead offering an exploration of specific settings, specific organisations or specific groups of people and their relationships (Johansson, 2007; Yin, 2013). Nonetheless, selecting multiple cases allowed for more compelling findings than single-case studies (Yin, 2013) and enhanced the findings’ robustness and transferability (Eisenhardt, 1989; Woodside, 2016), thus extending their significance beyond the selected cases.

It is relevant to state that the research team comprises a variety of people, including a doctoral student, established academics and an industry practitioner. Some of the authors (3) have extensive professional experience in luxury hospitality firms and, therefore, possess familiarity and connections within the context under investigation. Specifically, the first author, who conducted the fieldwork and led the analytical process, is a Caucasian female in her 30 s who has lived in Italy, Switzerland and Australia and has more than 10 years of professional experience in luxury accommodation.

Research procedures

Given the lack of an Australian classification for luxury lodges, we synthesised literature (Harkison et al., 2018b, 2019; Manfreda et al., 2023; McIntosh and Siggs, 2005; Morrison et al., 1996) to purposefully identify and select suitable case studies. The connections and familiarity of some of the authors with luxury lodges operators assisted in conveniently selecting three case studies, a sample ultimately determined by the willingness of the luxury lodges to participate in the study and theoretical saturation (Jennings, 2010).

The luxury lodges included in this study are distinctive spaces. Although each of the lodges was largely different, some key characteristics were observed that made these spaces a unique context of investigation (Table 1). Our goal in selecting the three case studies was to showcase the diversity of lodges, each situated in a different Australian state, with varying geographical locations (coastal, hilly and outback) and providing unique guest experiences. By increasing the diversity of our sample, we aimed to highlight the differences among the selected cases and enhance the transferability of our findings (Eisenhardt, 1989; Starman, 2013; Tobin and Begley, 2004).

Table 1.

Profile of cases.

Property name	Location	Form of ownership	N. of rooms	N. of guests	N. of staff	Staff ratio to room	Staff ratio to guest	Average rate (per room)	Package Format	Inclusions
The Bay Lodge	Tasmania	Privately owned	20	46	78	3.9:1	1.7:1	$2800	All inclusive	Overnight stay, all meals and beverages, in-suite minibar, on-site and off-site experiences (approx. 14), use of private airport lounge
The Outback Lodge	Western Australia	Privately owned	10	20	20	2:1	1:1	$2800	All inclusive (Adult-only)	Overnight stay, all meals and beverages, in-room minibar, off-site experiences (approx. 6)
The Hills Lodge	South Australia	Privately owned	14	28	30	2:1	2.1:1	$1500	B&B (Adult-only)	Overnight stay, breakfast, in-suite minibar, on-site and off-site experiences (approx. 8)

The three selected lodges – The Bay Lodge, The Outback Lodge and The Hills Lodge (all names are pseudonyms) – are respectively located in Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia. All the lodges take advantage of a unique location, regional or remote and are connected to distinctive landscapes, cultural sites and natural attractions. Each lodge displayed a unique ethos, being connected to natural settings, historical places or social activities. As a result, each lodge's experiential offerings were substantially different yet retained a common connection with the place (space and people) in which they belonged. Two of the three lodges (The Bay and The Outback Lodges) only offered all-inclusive packages, while the third (The Hills Lodge) was the only one offering package options that span from B&B to an all-inclusive. All lodges had extensive inclusions in their packages that always comprised on-site and off-site experiences. Each lodge presented a small capacity (less than 20 rooms) with an elevated staff-to-guest ratio (higher than 1:1). All lodges also displayed a flattened organisational structure, often employing people with leadership skills and experience across various departments. More extensive case descriptions of each lodge are provided in Supplementary Material.

The data collection took place between July 2021 and January 2022, during which the lead author spent extended time at each lodge. We employed a variety of high-engagement research techniques (Ye et al., 2020), including participant observations as a guest of the luxury lodges, participative shadowing of the lodges’ hosts (staff and managers) and semi-structured interviews with guests (photo-elicited and dyadic) and hosts (individual) (protocols and sample questionnaires are provided in supplementary material). The chosen techniques allowed the lead author to build close and intimate relations with participants in each setting, culminating in the collection of rich and insightful data. Participants were sampled using a combination of purposive, convenience and snowballing techniques. They were recruited mostly onsite, in collaboration with the luxury lodges managers and staff, except the three luxury lodges’ General Managers, who were contacted prior to fieldwork and participated in devising appropriate recruitment strategies, and, later on, in the data collection as participants. To protect their anonymity, all names utilised to refer to the lodges and participants are pseudonyms (see Participants’ characteristics in Supplementary material).

The lead author shadowed luxury lodges hosts (front and back-of-house staff and managers) during their working shifts (Czarniawska, 2007). During this time, she could participate in the luxury lodge's daily life, attend managerial and departmental meetings, and be actively involved in the daily operations of the lodges. This provided various opportunities for collecting data, including gathering video and pictorial evidence, recording dictated commentaries and preparing post-observational reflexive write-ups. Individual semi-structured interviews with staff and managers in each lodge complemented the rich insights from the observations to provide a triangulated picture of the processes, activities and participants’ views on staging and managing authentic experiences.

The lead author also participated in overnight stays and various guest activities during the fieldwork to better understand the guests’ perspectives. This enabled the familiarisation and understanding of each luxury lodge context and a firsthand experience of the creation process underpinning authentic experiences in luxury lodges. Participant-generated, photo-elicited, semi-structured interviews with luxury lodge guests (Ye et al., 2020) complemented the participant observations. Most of these interviews were dyadic, which reflected the shared nature of these luxury lodges experiences, consumed in interaction with travel companions. We asked participants about their backgrounds, travel experience, expectations and reflections on their current experience. We then asked them to choose a photo(s) representing an authentic experience of their current luxury lodge stay. They were prompted to describe and discuss the photo(s) and the context in which they were taken, the reasons for taking and selecting the photo(s), emotions and sensations felt while taking them. Given the complex and ambiguous nature of the meaning of authenticity, photo-elicitation and the employment of dyadic interviews assisted in the articulation of the guests’ views on authentic experiences in luxury lodges. The techniques also enabled the establishment of a more playful, intimate and trusting relationship with the guests (Wilson et al., 2016), enhancing the length, depth and richness of the interviews, thus, increasing the trustworthiness of the data (Bergs et al., 2020; Bjørnholt and Farstad, 2014).

Together with documentation, archival records (e.g., past guests’ feedback) and physical artefacts (photos and physical evidence), we collected 37 interviews with 45 participants, 9 shadowing sessions and 229 h of observational data. The study participants included a total of 21 guests, 15 managers and 9 frontline staff members across the three cases. Of these 45 participants, 47% were female, and 53% were male (no participant identified as non-binary). Although most participants were Australian (87%), 33% identified with a cultural affiliation other than Australian, and the majority had extensive international travel and professional experience. Further details on the participants’ characteristics can be found in Supplementary Material. All data was fully transcribed for analysis, translating into 744 pages and 322,000 words of textual material, and 526 photos and videos (from participants and the lead author).

As for much qualitative research, analysis began during data collection, with the lead author reviewing material, listening to audio recordings and creating memos and annotations as data collection unfolded. These were regularly shared with the second author of this paper to ensure reflexive practice and validation. This process allowed the researchers to identify when theoretical saturation was reached. We conducted an inductive thematic analysis of the data from each case (Braun and Clarke, 2014), with codes and themes generated progressively. This also included an initial write-up of each case description (see Supplementary material) to familiarise the research team with the peculiarities of each lodge and preserve their contextual elements (Eisenhardt, 1989). Each case was analysed individually (within-case) and iteratively, identifying key themes for each case. The findings from each case were then compared to identify similarities and differences to build more robust theory and increase the transferability of the findings (Flick, 2002; Woodside, 2016). Interestingly, we identified a strong alignment in perspectives across participant groups (guests and hosts) and across cases, which made the cross-case comparison easier. The emerging themes and key findings from the cross-case comparison were triangulated with the guests’ photos, the pictorial and physical evidence gathered by the lead author, and validated by the co-authors of this paper, academic colleagues external to the study and industry practitioners based in luxury lodges.

Findings and discussion

The cross-case comparison highlighted a negotiation process between hosts and guests in creating authentic experiences. We see the luxury lodge as an experiential platform encompassing the location, its characteristics, the lodge itself and the participants of these experiences. We dive into how the hosts make full use of this platform to render authentic experiences and how the customer responds to this proposition by authenticating the hosts’ efforts, while also allowing them to experience existential authenticity. Adding empirical evidence to the conceptualisation of authentic experience proposed by Moore et al. (2021), we identified five key themes that are presented in the section below: the first three themes relate to the experience of the authentic (the object, or the luxury lodge and how it creates and manages an experiential platform to render authentic experiences), and the last two themes relate to the experience of authenticity (the subject, or personal feelings experienced by the guests).

Managing an authentic experiential platform

Theme 1: Connecting with unique places

Participants emphasised the contrasting nature of the luxury lodge, which is seen as a medium to connect with, yet a refuge from, the harshness, untamed, vast and wild nature of the landscape. Although participants recognised that ‘taming’ this wildness required considerable effort (as lodges are often located in challenging environments), guests perceived hosts as ‘mastering’ the elements, finding a balance between the often-opposing forces coming from the inside (the luxury experience) and the outside (the untamed landscape). This elicited a sense of reassurance, safety and security for guests.

The ability to actually place this [the lodge] here [in the outback] is just a quiet statement of competence and almost mastery [of the hosts] over the elements. [Bob – Guest TOL]

Lodge designs take advantage of the landscape and are often conducive to unobstructed views, blending the inside and the outside and reflecting the landscape in the interior and exterior design choices (e.g., shapes, colour schemes, decorations and architectural features). Such design has the explicit purpose of eliciting awe and wonder (Sheldon, 2020), and creating a sense of congruence between the inside and the outside, the lodge and the broader destination, facilitating immersion (Figure 1).

[An authentic experience is] Commitment to the natural environment through the creation of a beautiful space that seeks to blend into the environment. Create a bridge to nature, not a barrier from it. [Keri – Guest TBL]

We observed how seemingly unplanned natural encounters added to the guests’ perceptions of the authenticity of the luxury lodge experience. Activities designed to encourage connection with the natural environment and the wildlife provided guests excitement and connection. Using natural and raw materials and design accents that recalled natural features within the lodge itself added to the natural beauty of the lodge. Utilising natural resources (e.g., artesian pools, local produce) increased the perceived connection with the natural place, extending it to the broader place and culture. These practices reflect those proposed by Gilmore and Pine (2007: 57) to enhance ‘natural authenticity’ by ‘infusing offerings with the elements and properties of nature’.

They've taken in the landscape. The materials that they've used […] the pottery in your room, the glass in your room, it's all locally sourced. So, it's a community. It just feels very real and it is part of this South Australian region. [Monica – Guest THL]

In line with Rickly-Boyd (2012) and Vidon et al. (2018), the connection and integration of nature in the lodge experience was seen as a platform to explore the self, reconnect with the inner self and able to elicit intense sensorial experiences and deep emotional bonds with the place (Figure 2).

Figure 1.

Lodges blending the inside and outside through design features.

In line with past research on heritage tourism (e.g., McIntosh and Siggs, 2005; Nguyen and Cheung, 2016), participants also mentioned the importance of history in the connection to unique places. The history, significance and character of the particular location of the lodge are often highlighted during the lodge experience through the employment of storytelling. Lodges (and their staff) were observed to place a significant effort in articulating the stories of the land and the lodge itself, integrating it as part of the history of where they are located.

[An authentic experience is] the history. It is not something that we [hosts] are making up or changing for the sake of marketing or what we think guests are going to want to hear. It's actually someone and some place's true, real story, their actual history. [Harvey – Manager THL]

Some of the strategies utilised to connect with the character of the place were, for instance: naming suites and lodge services (e.g., spa, restaurants) to specific local references (natural or historical); mirroring the character and history of the place and the lodge itself through specific design choices; the provision of ‘bedtime stories’ highlighting facts about natural and historical characteristics of the place; designing specific touchpoints (e.g., during activities organised by the lodge, on arrival and during dining experiences) during which storytelling was purposefully used to enhance this connection. Such practices can link to those discussed by Gilmore and Pine (2007: 49) to enhance ‘referential authenticity’, intended as the perception of something authentic because it ‘refers to some other context, drawing inspiration from human history and tapping into our shared memories and longings: not derivative and trivial’. Importantly, participants felt that not shying away from the ugly truths of history and the place, and avoiding cultural appropriation, enhanced the authenticity of the experiences.

There's so much indigenous history around here. If I talk about it [being non-indigenous], I wouldn't feel it's that authentic. […] I wouldn't feel comfortable with being like that. [Marlin – Staff THL]

Staff members at the lodges were encouraged to experience the place, build their local knowledge through site visits and join guests during their activities to share meaningful stories with them. In some cases, staff were recruited based on their interests in nature and history. Lodges also had specific roles, such as guides, and experience hosts, whose task was to take guests out on activities, connect them with the place and share these stories.

Figure 2.

Natural details of the lodge experience.

Theme 2: Connecting with genuine people

Congruent with Wang (1999), participants all agreed that a critical determinant of authentic experiences lies in the social experience at the luxury lodge. This involved the relationship with the hosts and those with other guests, family and friends back at home, the travel companion/s, the broader local community, local suppliers and tourism operators.

All participants agreed that the relationship with hosts impacted the authenticity of their experience the most. Participants identified the establishment and nurturing of personalised and close relationships with passionate and proud hosts as a vital determinant of these experiences.

When you meet someone that so loves what they do […] so passionate about what they do, that's authentic to me. [Mark – Guest TBL]

Hosts were described as trusting, personable, warm and truthful. They were observed to be very open to expressing their true selves, contrasting guests’ opinions and sharing the parts of their lives and jobs that, in traditional hospitality work, are not encouraged to be shown (Figure 3). Anton:

We were talking about some gins with Michael [bartender], and he was like, ‘I don't really like this one.’

Eleanor:

He was willing to say that.

Anton:

Yeah, he was willing to say it.

Eleanor:

Good on you, dude. Have your opinion.

Anton:

He wasn't just agreeing with everything we said.

[…]

Eleanor:

Yeah. He must be a real human. Not just trying to please us. […] In that sense we were connecting person to person.

[Anton and Eleanor – Guests TBL]

Such displays were enabled by the small capacity of the lodges, the overwhelming sense of hospitableness, and an innate interest in people fostered (and chosen) among staff and managers. Lodges highly valued these interactions, even creating ad hoc positions (e.g., guest relations manager, lounge hosts, experience hosts) whose role was essentially connecting person to person with guests. A guest-centric, empowering organisational culture nurtures hosts’ differences and encourages their displays, allowing for flexibility, freedom and time for staff to spend with guests in building personable relationships. Similar to previous literature on authentic homestay experiences (Aziz and Selamat, 2016; Mura, 2015; Wang, 2007), these relationships frequently resembled fictive kinships and elicited a sense of home.

Figure 3.

Moments of personal connection between guests and hosts.

Consistent with Brooks and Soulard's findings (2022) on the creation of normative communitas, guests sharing their experiences with like-minded fellow guests and the hosts’ efforts in creating a liminal community of equals were also highlighted to enhance the perception of authenticity of the lodge experience by participants. Guests were convivial and reciprocally hospitable with each other and the staff, forming long-lasting friendships and relational bonds. This was encouraged by hosts through many strategies: the design of the lodge featuring communal spaces (e.g., lounges, communal dining) and a relaxed atmosphere for guests to let their guards down and share knowledge, worldviews and life experiences with other guests; onsite and offsite activities, meant to provide controlled challenges and be shared with other guests, creating a sense of comradery; the astute yet subtle part played by staff in understanding individual differences and matching and introducing guests with similarities (e.g., similar cultural background, similar life experiences, similar interests). This also meant hosts were required to recognise guests without affinity and decide to separate them when necessary.

The provision of an often adults-only space and design of shared experiences enabled guests to (re)connect with travel companions. Aligning with Chen et al. (2022), participants often highlighted how important the presence of a familiar travel companion was in the perception of the authenticity of the lodge experience, in turn activating experiences of interpersonal authenticity.

Usually my first photograph at the location is her standing out a balcony or sitting somewhere with the glass of wine, with the backdrop. After 41 years [of marriage] I don't think the location would be the same without the two of us there. It's a couple's location. Whether you're married, courting, or whatever […] they [luxury lodge experiences] are all focused on couples as a time to reunite or rekindle. [Matt – Guest THL]

Lastly, guests are purposefully exposed to the local community, passionate producers and operators through external and targeted collaborations with locals, suppliers and local tourism operators. The lodge hosts made a significant effort to bring these people to the front and centre of the experience and purposefully feature their peculiarities, work and stories (Figure 4).

We need to have good close relationships with those icons in the region. And being able to have those relationships in place allows our guests to experience what they would experience as if they were living here. [Elizabeth – Manager THL]

In line with the importance placed on congruence and collaboration by Manfreda et al. (2022), a strong alignment (in brands and values) between the lodge ethos and these external collaborators was deemed crucial. The interaction with these people enhances the relational value of the experience, facilitating guests to experience the ‘local's life’, the sharing of local knowledge, bringing the backstage (or the people that are usually, in hotels, in the backstage) frontstage and equal protagonists of the experience.

Figure 4.

(Re)connecting with travel companions.

Theme 3: Being truly luxurious

Participants perceived the lodge experience to be authentic when it was perceived as truly luxurious. Participants explained how the lodge image portrayed externally, and then experienced in situ, needed to uphold the guests’ luxury standards and expectations and be true to its brand promise (Mody et al., 2019). Participants highlighted the importance of being true to each lodge's ethos (being of a luxurious nature) and the uniqueness of the experience offered (Gilmore and Pine, 2007; Harkison et al., 2018a). They articulated their perception of luxury as ‘understated’ and ‘imperfect’, sensible to its place (the location) and the nature and history of the lodge.

We are not comparing ourselves to other hotels. So, what makes it really authentic is that we're just trying to keep to our roots […] Sticking to the whole originality of the homestead definitely makes it authentic. [Cameron – Staff THL]

All participants differentiated between the luxury experienced in these lodges (imperfect, mismatched, raw, homely, characteristic, toned down) and traditional hotels (sterile, impersonal, standardised, conspicuous). Guests favoured a luxury experience that was true to the place, the property's ethos and the experience they were after (which was not conspicuous) (Figure 5).

There is a choice of what goes in here [the lounge] … sort of cluttered chic. If you look, they got three or four different types of chairs, and now you've got the leather and wood chair etc. They are matching but they don't match. Usually you go ‘I want a unified thing.’ You look at that [pointing at the lounge], that's just nice. […] Somebody has thought about what needs to go where before it got here and put in. And doesn't look stage managed, it doesn't look as though you're in some organised hotel thinking. You still got some strange objects and bits and pieces in there, which just feels authentic. [Bob – Guest TOL]

This luxury perception was created through significant attention to detail during the guest experience. Often this meant substantial research (and time and resources) conducted by the hosts to select objects, people and design activities that could convey a sense of place without compromising quality. This is congruent with Aziz and Selamat's (2016) and Manfreda et al. (2023) findings on the importance of quality in the small accommodation experiences. Aligning with Revilla and Dodd (2003), quality, in particular, was often described as sensorial and emotional and was significantly enhanced by signalling (through storytelling) to guests the efforts, thoughts and reasons behind the choices made in selecting objects, furnishing and materials (but also people and activities) capable of connecting guests with places and people.

I think those stories really do that [create an authentic experience]. People love to hear about where we get our mugs. They love to hear that we support the local businesses that are here. It just really helps connect people to the region and people love storytelling. [Giovanna – Manager THL]

Even the paintings and the pottery. When you start to look at them, once somebody slightly points it out to you […] then you understand that they're all unique piece. If somebody's made them, somebody's taking the time to choose them, to make them fit. [George – Guest THL]

Such experiences were also perceived as authentic because of their extreme exclusivity (Wirtz et al., 2020). Although exclusivity was an obvious consequence of the premium price of the lodge, exclusivity was intended as something that engaged the individual in non-ordinary activities and unique experiences, impossible to replicate in other places. These exclusive experiences were felt only accessible to people with the required knowledge and expertise to appreciate them. Hosts, in this effort, were seen as ‘experts of their backyards’ and often perceived by guests as ‘custodians’, sharing their local and invaluable knowledge and expertise with guests, giving the guests exclusive access to the region (and the lodge) backstage (Figure 6).

[The experience] is real because I'm getting to experience exclusive things like the Mirimiri Falls yesterday. I know that's not available to everyone, but for me that's an authentic and exclusive experience. [Sally – Guest TOL]

Figure 5.

Representations of imperfect and homely luxury.

The subjective experience of authenticity

Theme 4: Bodily performance

In line with research highlighting the role of embodiment and performance (Knudsen and Waade, 2010; Mura, 2015), participants acknowledged that an authentic experience is perceived through their bodies and senses. Often participants associated the experience with physical performance, in which their bodily feelings (e.g., senses, fatigue, heat, sweat) elicited an experience of authenticity.

In the Kimberly we're out in the dust, the safari cars are open, it's not like we're driving around in a Rolls Royce down to the waterfall. We're all in our hiking boots. It's a very real experience for the place that we're in. [Imogen – Guest TOL]

This resulted from something felt physically in the interaction between the guests and the place (made of spaces and people) and delivered by the lodges in the design and management of deliberately multi-sensory experiences, leveraging on the guests’ senses to elicit experiences of authenticity.

In the lounge, in the daytime, is super bright and it really ignites your senses and you feel quite awakened being in here. […] But then you come here after dark, and all the lights are dim, the fireplaces are on, the lighting is down, there is a certain scent around. To me, that is an authentic experience because they [hosts] have thought out of how it's going to look and feel for a guest. [Mary – Manager TBL]

Participants also highlighted the activity of ‘dressing up’ – almost as if they were ‘performing a role’ – or the ability to ‘dress down’ – not obeying traditional luxury standards (e.g., black tie for dinner). The physical experience of dressing (up or down) was conducive to greater freedom, play, fun and comfort, encouraging them to be ‘out of their heads’ and ‘in the moment’. Aligning with Brooks and Soulard (2022), this activity also allowed guests to feel less awkward around other guests, facilitating the creation of communitas, thus, activating interpersonal authenticity. Lodges facilitated these behaviours by not having dress codes and integrating ‘ridiculous’ outfits for guests to wear for specific activities (e.g., beekeeping; oyster farming), creating an equalising experience for all guests (Figure 7).

Figure 6.

Attention to details and visual signalling.

Participants perceived the contrasting nature of some bodily feelings as triggers of the experience of authenticity. Notably, many participants highlighted the tension between physical comfort felt on-site and the physical discomfort perceived when, for example, undertaking activities outside the lodge or derived from the harsh conditions of the location (e.g., climate, wilderness). Guests seemed open to a certain amount of physical discomfort to feel the experience as ‘more authentic’. However, consistent with Mura's (2015) findings, they were not prepared to endure this discomfort for an extended time, perceiving the lodge as a safe port of physical comfort where the body (and the mind) could rest, relax and experience physical pleasure.

[The outback] is threatening, but a spectacle to us […] There's an interest to go out and see it and then return to safety [at the lodge] at the end of the day. [Bob – Guest TOL]

Although the perceived physical comfort and discomfort are highly subjective, the design and management of experiences conducive to their co-presence are intentional. Hosts appeared to be aware of what Tasci and Knutson (2004) argue is needed for guests to achieve their desired experience. That is, a balance between novelty, threat & discomfort, and familiarity, security, comfort & taking pleasure in ‘manageable threats’. Hosts achieve this balance by creating an extremely homely and comfortable lodge feel to provide an oasis or refuge. They encourage guests to explore the outdoors or have challenging experiences through the intentional design of time-limited activities and the support of experienced staff. Close attention to details and organising extra arrangements (e.g., carrying the water, offering guests homemade protein balls/refreshing beverages to bear the physical experience of the outdoors) assists in managing the guests’ discomfort and not exceeding their individual limits.

How do you have a luxurious walk in National Park? A very hard thing to do. To transfer over there might be luxurious. But you're so uncomfortable, there's no one carrying you off the mountain and feeding you grapes to get you to the top. You're out in the elements and you're walking up to the top of the mountain. There's a guide there carrying a water for you, but that is their job rather than it being a luxurious element. [Jonathan – Manager TBL]

Figure 7.

Representations of sensorial experiences.

Theme 5: (Re)Connecting with the inner self

Participants associated the experience of authenticity with a series of emotional and cognitive outcomes deriving from their encounters with places and people at the luxury lodge. Although the hosts can create the conditions for and influence such experiences, ultimately, an experience of authenticity is highly impacted by the guests’ state of mind and mental openness, aligning with the idea of ‘hot authentication’ proposed by Cohen and Cohen (2012).

I think [having an authentic experience] comes down to the guests being receptive to it. For example, the river cruise boat broke down two days ago when the guests got on it. Obviously, that wasn't intentional. It was a maintenance issue. But it's all about how well the guests handled it. It was part of an adventure for them. It's a story to tell over dinner. [Jane – Staff TOL]

The luxurious nature of the lodge (the platform) and the homely feel provided by the lodge and the hosts (safety, care, security) enabled the removal of tensions and mental burdens, enhancing the sensitivity to the experience and their openness to connection (with places and people). This was also achieved through early interactions between hosts and guests during the pre-arrival and arrival experience. Hosts used this time to create a sense of freedom and safety, often using empathy to understand the guests’ mood, and humour as a tool to break down barriers and disarm people.

[Guests] bring whatever is happening in their life […] ‘Am I going to fit in? Am I dressed correctly? I wonder what it's going to be like. Is it going to be worth the money that I've spent? It can't be worth it.’ […] It can be quite a confronting experience when a guest walks through those doors […] We try to just break down any barriers, start creating a trusting, friendly, fun environment. And as soon as you build that trust and you start dropping away any sort of inhibitions or any preconceived ideas, you actually tend to relax into it and start enjoying it. [Johnathan – Manager TBL]

Congruent with Manfreda et al. (2023)'s and McLeay et al.’ (2019) findings on the creation of communitas in specialist accommodation, the luxurious nature of the lodge removed worries and tensions, allowed for relaxation, and enabling guests to also experience interpersonal authenticity through (re)connecting with travel companions and other guests. The luxury lodge platform and activities performed in it enabled guests to explore, strengthen and test their relationships with partners and others.

We came two days ago, we found out we still like each other [referring to his partner], and now we are ready to leave more connected. [Tony – Guest TBL]

Participants also associated mindfulness with the experience of authenticity. Participants perceived authenticity in letting go of mundane burdens, past and future, and enjoying the moment. The staging of immersive environments, the intensely sensorial experience of the luxury lodge and the liminal nature of these places assisted in creating a platform (and influencing a state of mind) where guests could be in the moment, relax, be themselves, (re)connecting with their true self and displaying it with others, thus, enhancing guest’ personal wellbeing and the creation of communitas (Figure 8).

On reflection, it is not the gorgeous staff, the amazing food, or the lovely surrounds, it [authentic experience] is about the tranquillity and the ability to sit back and enjoy yourself. [Kristoff – Guest TOL]

Participants were observed to revert to a child-like state of wonder, comfort, naivety and freedom. This was facilitated by hosts looking after their primary needs (food, safety and comfort), creating a homely atmosphere through their hospitableness, hence, allowing guests to experience intrapersonal and interpersonal authenticity (Light and Brown, 2020; Wang, 1999), a return to an aligned centre, or lead to the discovery of a better centre (Cohen, 1979).

[An authentic experience] is enriching and helps me to achieve perspective in life, a sense of love and feeling grateful for the indulgent experience. [Keri – Guest TBL]

Participants discussed that having an open mind, uncluttered by ordinary and mundane thoughts, enable guests to learn new knowledge and skills, be more reflective, and improve themselves. Merging past research looking into authenticity motivations, guests were seen trying to concomitantly escape alienation and existential anxiety (Vidon and Rickly, 2018; Wang, 1999) and using these experiences to learn and transform (Brooks and Soulard, 2022; Light and Brown, 2020).

It [authentic experience] is the opportunity to disconnect from their reality, but then tap into something new and something eye-opening. The knowledge that they learn and the knowledge that they share […] It's really giving you the opportunity to try and do something new. [Elizabeth – Manager THL]

This was assisted by the care and guidance of the staff, who devoted significant time and effort to helping guests achieve their specific goals through personalisation and attention to detail, allowing them space for self-reflection. Staff was observed encouraging guests to try new things and face personal challenges (big or small) while providing enough reassurance and comfort (physical and psychological) for guests to feel liberated, courageous and experimental.

It is important to note that, just like physical discomfort, typically not associated with luxury experiences (Manfreda et al., 2022), cognitive and emotional experiences were not always perceived as positive and reflected in moments of confusion, shocking and ambivalent feelings.

There is an unusual juxtaposition between the two elements of the rugged wilderness and the extreme luxury, and we shouldn't be serene in this environment […] when I walked in for the first time, there's this terrible, terrible, mild confusion because of this juxtaposition of a luxury oasis in an area in which it shouldn't really be. [Bob – Guest, TOL]

These moments also have the potential to trigger experiences of existential authenticity and, when associated with elements like awe and liminality, enable guests to feel gratitude (Hsiao et al., 2023) and alter life perspectives. The purposeful design of spaces within the lodge meant to disorientate guests, and the (uncomfortable) truths often proclaimed through storytelling about the place create a platform for these feelings to emerge.

Figure 8.

Representations of emotional and cognitive experiences.

Conclusions

Given the limited investigations into how authenticity is practiced in business contexts, particularly as part of highly staged hospitality experiences such as those in luxury lodges, this research provides an understanding of how to design, stage, manage and market these experiences. It supports existing conceptual work and reaffirms the importance of authenticity in hospitality experiences and its relevant role for practitioners (Rickly and McCabe, 2017). This study explored the process of negotiation of authentic experiences in luxury lodges. By employing a consumer-based authenticity approach (Kolar and Zabkar, 2010) and high-engagement research techniques, we made sense of authenticity in a real-life situation as understood and valued by customers and providers.

The original contribution of this paper relates to the theorisation of authentic experiences in luxury lodges, exploring their creation through an experience design and management lens. The study presents various intertwined theoretical and practical implications. Firstly, adding to authenticity discourse and service marketing and management literature, the findings depart from purely abstract authenticity perspectives. Instead, they empirically reveal that an authentic experience is, in essence, an active negotiation between subjects and objects, between an authenticated proposition offered by the host and the guests’ subjective experience of authenticity (Kolar and Zabkar, 2010; Moore et al., 2021). This process explains and enables the co-existence of different and, at times, contrasting authenticity conceptualisations in the mind of guests and hospitality practitioners. The consumer-based authenticity approach, thus, enables us to freely and pragmatically explore how guests and hosts make sense of and attach value to authenticity elements of experiences, assisting hospitality marketers and managers in knowing how to shape, manage and market such elements.

Secondly, the findings of this study highlight authentic experiences as complex, multi-dimensional and interactive networks of relationships and connections (de Andrade-Matos et al., 2022). They stem from the dyadic and co-created interaction between object and subject, in which places, people and activities staged, managed and marketed by the hosts are authenticated by guests through their bodies and minds, in turn triggering experiences of existential authenticity. The findings practically demonstrate the relational nature of the concept of authenticity while moving beyond single-sided conceptualisations (Knudsen and Waade, 2010; Rickly-Boyd, 2012) and add empirical evidence to Moore et al.'s (2021) argument that authenticity is processual, performative and (inter)active.

Thirdly, contributing to the understanding and conceptualisation of authentic experiences as activity-based (Moore et al., 2021; Rickly-Boyd, 2012), we propose a reciprocal influencing process: by purposely marketing and managing the luxury lodge as an experiential platform, the hosts influence the guests, who bring with them specific motivations and the power to decide whether their experience is authentic. Thus, the host's role is to understand these motivations and personalise the platform for guests to achieve their goals for that experience. That is, both guests and hosts co-create the authenticity of these experiences. The findings suggest that highly staged experiences, such as the ones under study, are authenticated under the condition that operators can manage the tensions between contrasting experiential forces (e.g., comfort/discomfort, familiarity/novelty and inside/outside) and match them with guests’ motivations, goals, needs and desires. Hosts of luxury lodges must recognise that ‘the paradoxical human nature craves balance’ (Tasci and Knutson, 2004: 89). Practitioners perform a balancing act through personalisation, hospitableness, storytelling and collaboration, taking advantage of what places and people offer and matching it to what the guests really want. Although the role of personalisation, hospitableness and collaboration have been previously uncovered in luxury accommodation experience marketing and management studies (e.g., Ariffin et al., 2018; Manfreda et al., 2022, 2023), storytelling has not been previously discussed in shaping and managing luxury accommodation guests’ authenticity perceptions. The findings of this study illustrate how storytelling is used across various touchpoints during the guest journey and embedded in the design and management of these experiences, and the importance of employing marketing and operational staff with storytelling abilities to create, shape and manage guests’ authenticity perceptions. These findings can significantly benefit luxury hospitality marketers and managers who seek to enhance authenticity signalling across the customer experience journey and direct attention and resources to intensify guests’ authenticity perceptions before, during and after the experience consumption. We suggest further investigations be conducted on the importance of storytelling for experience marketing and management in these contexts, extending to the broader hospitality industry.

Fourthly, the findings of this study provide evidence for tourism and hospitality operators on how authentic experiences are created. In this way, we empirically answer questions that Rickly and McCabe (2017) pose on whether it is possible to experience places authentically that have been designed and the usefulness of circulating this back to practitioners tasked to design, stage, manage and market these experiences. This study provides a holistic, practical blueprint of strategies and practices utilised by luxury lodges in the conception, design, marketing and management of authentic experiences in luxury lodges. The findings draw attention to the role of a careful design and management of experience scapes that convey perceptions of authenticity and to the importance of featuring them and their authentic elements through marketing initiatives and platforms in order to shape guests’ perceptions before and during consumption. These include but are not limited to the physical environment, its cultural and natural components, the people (the hosts), the community, their stories and history. Additionally, we recommend investing time and resources in branding activities that reflect the differentiated and contrasting (‘imperfect’ and ‘natural’) luxury of the lodges to enhance brand authenticity. All these findings also offer significant insights for the training of executive leadership (who oversees and takes high-level decisions), marketers (who ideate, communicate and monitor the quality of experiential offerings) and line staff (who operationalise these practices daily) of luxury lodges.

Lastly, in studying the lived experiences of guests and hosts, we have extended the conceptualisation of consumer-based authenticity by including the role of embodiment, emotion and cognition in creating authentic experiences in luxury lodges (Knudsen and Waade, 2010). Responding to calls to integrate phenomenological and performative theory in authenticity studies (Rickly, 2022), this study provides a multi-disciplinary overview of the psychological process that guests undergo during their stay, thus, highlighting the extent to which hosts can influence it through their practices, presenting implications for psychological well-being and transformations. Extending into humanist and positive psychology theory, we suggest that the psychological nature of this process must be considered when designing, staging, managing and marketing (but also studying) authentic experiences. When employing a consumer-based authenticity approach, we recommend that future investigations include embodiment, emotion and cognition as part of their measurement models to more holistically capture the multi-dimensionality of authenticity. Future studies extending an in-depth exploration of the role of authentic experiences, and the influence of hosts, in inducing well-being and guiding guests’ transformations are called for.

Some opportunities for future research are highlighted due to the limitations and delimitations of this study. Although using a multiple-case study design can enhance the transferability of the findings, we presented a picture of a phenomenon set in time and space. Future research can extend this investigation through comparative studies in different geographical and cultural contexts, or test the findings of this study by employing quantitative methodologies, thus extending their generalisability across contexts. Finally, the study was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic when Australian border restrictions impeded international visitation. Although the background of participants in the study reflects diversity and internationalisation (in heritage and personal/professional experiences), we recommend future studies extend the investigation into how culture can influence authenticity perceptions for both guests and hosts in commercial accommodation and how this may impact the marketing and management of luxury lodge experiences.

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-1-jvm-10.1177_13567667231172995 - Supplemental material for A balancing act: Negotiating authenticity in luxury lodges

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-jvm-10.1177_13567667231172995 for A balancing act: Negotiating authenticity in luxury lodges by Anita Manfreda, Rajka Presbury, Scott Richardson, Frans Melissen and Justin King in Journal of Vacation Marketing

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Anita Manfreda

Supplemental material

Supplemental material for this article is available online.

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