TakeUp, a leading AI-powered revenue management platform purpose-built for independent hospitality properties, has officially published the results from its latest report called “The Voice of the Boutique Travel Guest 2025,” which happens to be a comprehensive survey of 350 travelers who regularly stay at independent properties.
Revealing key insights into guest expectations, booking behaviors, and technology acceptance, this particular research really goes the distance to touch upon the changing mindset of modern travelers who now prioritize meaningful stays over transactional bookings. The stated lowdown, in that regard, deems independent properties as ideal to meet these expectations.
It happens to be the case because of such properties’ ability to provide personalized service that larger hotel chains often cannot match.
More on the same would reveal how these properties leverage technology which enhances the guest experience without replacing the human touch, thus delivering top notch stays and achieving a unique competitive advantage in today’s fast-moving travel landscape.
“The biggest takeaway for independent property owners is that guests want the best of both worlds, personalized, authentic experiences enhanced by smart technology,” said Bobby Marhamat, CEO of TakeUp. “Properties that can deliver unique value while being transparent about pricing and leveraging technology to create seamless, personalized experiences will win in 2025.”
Talk about the whole report on a slightly deeper level, we begin from the fact that 95% of travelers say personalized offers or recommendations based on their interests would make them more likely to book a stay.
Next up, we have the topic focused on technology adoption. Here, a contingent of 85% emerged as positive regarding independent properties using technology like smart check-in, curated recommendations, and AI-driven pricing to enhance their experience.
Staying on the point of pricing, 87% respondents accept that there will be dynamic pricing, whereas on the other hand, 39% said they understand and expect rates to change based on demand. An estimated half of all surveyed respondents are also, markedly enough, willing to pay more for unique or high-quality experiences, while only 11% look for the lowest possible rate.
Hold on, we still have a few bits left to unpack, considering we haven’t yet touched upon 69% participants who say price transparency is very important, and therefore, they want to understand all costs upfront.
We also haven’t touched upon the fact that more than 59% plan to travel more in 2025 than in 2024, with weekend getaways (78%) and domestic travel (65%) leading preferences.
Rounding up highlights would be aspect revolving around booking behavior, an aspect which claims 57% discover properties through online travel agencies, but against that, 66% prefer booking directly with independent properties.
Among other things, we ought to mention how TakeUp’s survey also identified what prevents bookings. The leading factors behind this problem are understood to be limited or no guest reviews (39%), uncertainty about cleanliness or quality (38%), and inflexible cancellation terms (29%).
Founded in 2021, TakeUp’s rise stems from its AI-powered revenue management platform built for independent hospitality properties, including boutique hotels, inns, bed & breakfasts, and glamping retreats. The stated solution, in case you weren’t aware, effectively combines AI-powered pricing technology with oversight from dedicated revenue strategists to deliver dynamic pricing which adapts automatically to real-time property demand.
The company’s excellence in what it does can also be understood once you consider it has, thus far, empowered its customers to achieve 20% boost in average revenue and a 5 times boost in average ROI, while simultaneously saving them upto 15 hours a week.
“While our previous research focused on property owners’ challenges, this report flips the script to understand what guests actually want from independent properties,” said Marhamat. “The findings are encouraging for property owners—guests aren’t just looking for the cheapest option. They want unique experiences, personalized service, and transparency. Most importantly, they’re embracing technology when it enhances their stay.”
