TL;DR: Most boutique hotels focus on design, service, and branding, but ignore the strategic goldmine of customer research. By understanding how guests plan, book, and experience travel, hotel marketers can unlock insights that drive direct bookings, reduce reliance on OTAs, and build lasting guest relationships. This post breaks down how to get started and what to prioritize. — Why Customer Research Is Your Boutique Hotel’s Secret Weapon Boutique hotels like yours thrive on delivering personalized, memorable experiences. However, decisions about marketing, website content, and guest engagement are often made based on gut feel or assumptions. Customer research flips that on its head. It replaces guesswork with clarity, allowing hotel teams to market with precision and reach the right people with the right message at the right time. This is the purpose of marketing, right? More importantly, it helps shift the balance of power away from third-party booking platforms (OTAs), giving