| Summary: | The luxury travel market is following the global travel trend as experiencing the fastest growth in the travel industry, exerting a crucial influence on New Zealand's tourism market. This study focuses on the luxury accommodation market in New Zealand, to answer the research question, "what factors influence the guest experience in luxury accommodation?" Hence, the study aimed to identify factors influencing luxury accommodation experiences and determine how these factors influence and enhance guest perception of luxury accommodation experience. The study adopts a qualitative approach to a case study of New Zealand cases. Thematic analysis was applied to the data, which were collected from the TripAdvisor platform. The results indicate that the following factors are the main influences on the guest experience in luxury accommodation: service, ambience, facilities, décor, view, food and beverages, and location. Pine and Gilmore's (1999) widely recognised experience dimensions model is discussed in terms of guest satisfaction in luxury accommodation, in different contexts. In the luxury accommodation sector, the "entertainment" dimension was found to be the dominant influence in this study, on enhancing guest experiences, followed by "aesthetics and escape," and "education," which had the least influence on enhancing guest experiences. The discussion addressing experience influences and Pine and Gilmore's dimensions explores customers' perceptions of value in relation to their accommodation experience, and provides practical recommendations for providing customers with memorable luxury accommodation experiences. The findings address the objectives of the study and contribute to knowledge and discussions in the literature about luxury accommodation experiences. In addition, the study also provides suggestions for luxury accommodation managers on guest expectations, satisfaction, and marketing orientation.
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