Abstract

Understanding the customer experience is important for practitioners and researchers to recognize customer perceptions and responses when interacting with different products, systems, and/or services. To achieve this, it is necessary to identify each direct or indirect interaction between customers and organizations, which are called touchpoints. Recognizing touchpoints throughout the customer’s journey enables organizations to evaluate the customer experience and identify where to make improvements to satisfy customer needs. This research identifies several touchpoints through the different stages of interaction with the hotel industry (before, during, and after the stay). Based on the experience of the authors and comments obtained in an experiment, 13 touchpoints were discussed and analyzed with the aim of grouping them. Thus, 8 touchpoints were recognized: (1) search for information, (2) book a room, (3) check-in, (4) room stay, (5) visit common areas, (6) order & receive food, (7) check-out, and (8) report experience. Finally, a customer journey map was created to represent the customer experience in the hotel industry identifying stages, touchpoints, channels, and emotions.