Travel is back, and bigger than ever. Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, leisure travel has surpassed pre-2020 levels, with nearly 60% of U.S. Travelers saying they plan to travel more this year than last. But expectations have shifted. Today’s travelers are demanding flexible bookings, honest pricing, and seamless digital experiences as the new standard, not perks.

The good news? The Suzy platform provides a full suite of methodologies that brands need, including the brand-new AI-moderated conversational research methodology, Suzy Speaks.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through a playbook for how travel & hospitality brands can use Suzy to stay competitive in the modern travel landscape. We’ll break down key methodologies, industry challenges, and real-life applications to help you:

• Test consumer reactions to pricing and policy changes in real-time
  
• Validate marketing and messaging that builds trust and drives bookings
  
• Identify loyalty friction points and test benefits by segment
  
• Optimize digital experiences and AI-powered customer support
  

Test consumer reactions to pricing and policy changes in real-time

As inflation and economic uncertainty continue to shape traveler decisions, price remains one of the biggest deal-breakers. In fact, 96% of travelers cite price as a key factor when choosing flights. But the definition of "value" is more complex than ever.

The Challenge

In today’s economy, price is no longer just a number, it’s a signal of value, fairness, and trust. Travelers have become highly sensitive to unexpected add-ons, fees, and policy changes. After navigating pandemic-era cancellations and constant schedule shifts, they now expect clarity and flexibility as a baseline.

Many travel & hospitality brands are facing pressure to increase fares while offsetting operational costs, but without alienating customers. This leads to changes like dynamic pricing models, less lenient cancellation policies, or stricter baggage rules. While financially necessary, these shifts can backfire if they feel confusing or unfair to the traveler.

In the real world, travel & hospitality brands might be experiencing any of the following scenarios, indicating the need to test pricing and policy changes in real-time:

• Frequent flyers abandoning their booking when a surprise seat selection fee appears
• Travelers increasingly switch carriers after facing friction in the booking or rebooking process
• Increase in negative feedback or call volume after new policies are announced

These are emotional decisions, and they happen fast. That’s why it’s critical for brands to test pricing and policy updates before rollout.

The Solution

To mitigate pricing missteps, travel & hospitality brands can use monadic testing to evaluate consumer responses to different pricing tiers, policy structures, and fee bundles in isolation. This allows for clean, unbiased reads of appeal, fairness, and intent to book. For deeper insight into emotional reactions, especially around sensitive changes like cancellation policies or baggage fees, Suzy Speaks enables AI-moderated conversations where consumers speak candidly about their frustrations and expectations.

Recommended methodologies	Monadic Testing: Allows for isolated testing of one pricing model per respondent to avoid comparison bias. Collects appeal, perceived fairness, and purchase intent. Suzy Speaks: Captures nuanced reactions to policy language, emotional triggers around price fairness, and the psychological drivers behind booking behavior.
Key questions answered	How do different pricing structures affect booking intent? What emotional language do travelers use when describing price fairness? What policies (e.g., rebooking, cancellation) drive friction or loyalty?
Expected outputs	Comparative data on which pricing models are most appealing by segment Voice-of-the-customer quotes illuminating perceived value and pain points Actionable language to use in pricing comms and policy disclosures

Deep-dive: Monadic Testing

When testing pricing tiers, add-on fees, or new policy structures, clarity and isolation are critical. Monadic testing is the gold standard for evaluating these kinds of sensitive concepts because it eliminates comparison bias. Each respondent is shown a single version of your concept, such as a bundled fare option, change fee policy, or tiered pricing offer, and asked to evaluate it independently across a consistent set of KPIs.

This allows brands to measure metrics like purchase intent, perceived fairness, and clarity without the noise of side-by-side comparisons. Because real-world travelers never see multiple versions of your pricing strategy at once, monadic replicates that real-life decision environment.

Example of a monadic test, isolating reactions to specific policy concept stimuli

Bottom Line

Travelers react emotionally and quickly to pricing and policy changes, so it is important to test prior to making changes. Use monadic testing to get clean reads on pricing reactions and Suzy Speaks to explore the emotional reality behind booking behavior,ensuring both your prices and your policies feel fair and competitive.

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Validate marketing and messaging that builds trust and drives bookings

The post-pandemic traveler is more skeptical and emotionally attuned than ever. In fact, 85% of travelers now expect clean, safe, and reliable services to be the default—not premium features​. They’ve lived through delays, cancellations, and constantly changing travel advisories. As a result, they’re no longer swayed by generic ads or vague promises.

The Challenge

Travel brands must now communicate trust, flexibility, and real-time support in every piece of messaging,from booking confirmations to video ads. But too often, brands develop campaigns in a vacuum, based on creative intuition instead of real-world feedback. That disconnect can lead to copy that feels tone-deaf or visuals that don’t match the experience.

travel & hospitality brands might see this challenge play out in the following ways, indicating the need to test marketing messaging ahead of campaigns:

• When a campaign promotes “no-hassle travel” but the customer’s experience and feedback tells a different story
• Declining engagement and booking in specific audiences even though new marketing and ad campaigns have launched 
• Or when a message meant to reassure travelers about AI-powered support instead reminds them of past frustrations 

Without validation, marketing efforts risk falling flat,or worse, creating distrust.

The Solution

Brands can deploy A/B testing to directly compare different creative executions, evaluating which assets drive the highest relevance and booking intent. To explore the “why,” Suzy Speaks enables travelers to articulate in their own words how messaging made them feel, and whether it built or broke trust.

Recommended methodologies	Creative Testing (A/B): Compare different versions of ads, taglines, or offers to see which performs best on brand perception, trust, and relevance. Suzy Speaks: Gather voice-based feedback on ad tone, message clarity, and resonance with real traveler experiences.
Key questions answered	Which messages most effectively convey trust and value? Does the tone align with today’s travel expectations? How do visual elements influence recall and confidence?
Expected outputs	A performance dashboard showing top-performing creative by segment Qualitative context around which elements made the message land (or not) Optimization guidance to improve upcoming campaigns

Deep-dive: Creative Testing

Run quant-based creative tests to evaluate KPIs like clarity, relevance, and booking likelihood or purchase intent. Then, layer on Suzy Speaks to unpack why some ads work emotionally, especially around themes of safety, support, or flexibility.

Example of an ad campaign test around the influence of celebrities

Bottom Line

Modern travel messaging must go beyond aesthetics. With Suzy, you can validate what builds trust and use real consumer language to fine-tune your marketing for impact.

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Identify loyalty friction points and test benefits by segment

Loyalty isn’t dead,but it has changed dramatically. Today’s consumers aren’t necessarily sticking with brands out of allegiance; they’re staying because of ease, value, and reward. Travelers now evaluate loyalty programs with a critical eye, often comparing multiple brands’ perks in real time before making a decision.

The Challenge

The challenge for brands is twofold. First, many loyalty programs are still built on outdated models that prioritize points over experiences. Second, loyalty initiatives often treat all flyers the same, offering blanket benefits that fail to meet the diverse needs of different traveler segments.

In practice, an travel & hospitality brand might be seeing these scenarios, indicating the need to dig deeper and identify loyalty incentives by segment:

• A reduction in loyalty program sign-ups from Infrequent travelers, who feel excluded from meaningful perks, 
• Increase in complaints from frequent flyers, who exhibit annoyance by redemption complexity or limited availability. 
• An increased abandonment rate of travelers from a loyalty program, because it’s too hard to use,or they may fly with a competitor simply because the reward felt more immediate or personalized.

The Solution

Start with TURF analysis to identify the most appealing combination of benefits that maximizes reach across segments. Use MaxDiff to quantify which rewards are considered “worth it” and which are underwhelming. Then, use Suzy Speaks to dig deeper into loyalty emotions,what drives true connection vs. Transactional participation.

Recommended methodologies	TURF Analysis: Optimize combinations of perks (e.g., free upgrades, lounge access, priority boarding) to identify the best bundles by audience segment. MaxDiff: Quantify preference strength across loyalty perks. Suzy Speaks: Capture real stories around loyalty frustrations, redemption wins, and what it means to feel “valued” as a customer.
Key questions answered	What loyalty rewards drive the highest emotional connection? Which features are most motivating for high-value vs. occasional flyers? What pain points cause disengagement?
Expected outputs	A ranked and optimized benefit structure tailored to key segments Voice-of-the-customer feedback on what loyalty feels like Clear action plan for evolving or overhauling outdated programs

Deep-dive: TURF Analysis

TURF identifies which combo of benefits gets you the most unduplicated reach. For example, if only 25% of travelers care about free upgrades, but 65% care about waived change fees, TURF reveals the smartest way to structure benefits that actually matter.

Example TURF results from a credit card research project

Bottom Line

Loyalty is no longer about accumulation,it’s about feeling recognized. Use quant to build the right structure and Suzy Speaks to understand what turns casual customers into brand advocates.

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Optimize digital experiences and AI-powered customer support

As travel & hospitality brands race to digitize the traveler experience, many have leaned heavily into automation, from AI chatbots to loyalty portals to app-based bookings. But while these tools promise efficiency, they often lack empathy and leave gaps in the customer experience. For example, only 34% of consumers say AI chatbots are useful for travel & hospitality-related tasks.

The Challenge

Travelers report mixed feelings about AI support. Some appreciate the convenience, but many feel frustrated when bots can’t solve real problems, escalate issues effectively, or provide a human touch when it’s needed most. At the same time, loyalty programs delivered through apps can feel transactional, lacking the warmth or recognition travelers crave.

Brands might be experiencing any of the following real world scenarios, indicating the need to optimize their digital or AI-powered customer support channels:

• Drop-off during specific moments in the digital journey
• Negative feedback around AI support agents 
• An increase in travelers trying to speak to a real human support agent

Finding the right approach to the digital or AI support journey is most important during moments of disruption, flight delays, cancellations, lost luggage, when consumers expect personalized service and instead hit a wall. These negative interactions can erode brand trust fast, especially if there’s no easy path to speak to a human or resolve issues quickly.

The Solution

Use Suzy Speaks to explore the emotional response to AI support, chat tools, or app-based experiences. This conversational method captures frustration, confusion, and moments of delight in a way static metrics can't. Then, layer on UX testing to identify usability barriers that block satisfaction.

Recommended methodologies	Suzy Speaks: Let users walk you through support experiences, what worked, what didn’t, and how it felt. UX Testing + Heatmapping: Identify digital drop-off points and visual confusion in booking flows, support tools, or redemption paths.
Key questions answered	Where are consumers getting stuck with AI tools? Do automated experiences feel helpful or dismissive? What human touchpoints are still needed?
Expected outputs	Emotional map of user journeys through your digital support system Clear UX improvements to reduce friction and increase resolution rates Honest feedback to inform AI scripting, tone, and escalation design

Deep-dive: Suzy Speaks

This AI-moderated voice-based research approach allows respondents to speak freely in natural conversation, revealing emotional cues that traditional surveys often miss. With faster turnarounds than live qual, Suzy Speaks helps brands explore feedback at a deeper level at scale to uncover the real emotions and blockers to a better experience.

Example of a response to Suzy Speaks question around what AI tools travelers want to see

Bottom Line

Digital support should enhance,not erode, trust. Pair UX testing with Suzy Speaks to capture the emotional reality of your support experience and make meaningful improvements that keep travelers coming back.

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Final Thought

The travel industry isn’t just about getting people from point A to point B anymore,it’s about doing it with trust, ease, and empathy. Travel & hospitality brands that succeed in 2025 will be the ones that test, iterate, and evolve with their travelers’ expectations.

From price modeling to loyalty programs to digital UX, Suzy offers travel & hospitality brands a faster, deeper way to stay connected to consumer needs. And with conversational methodologies like Suzy Speaks, you’ll hear exactly what your travelers are thinking,straight from the source.

Ready to explore how Suzy can help you build smarter, traveler-first strategies? Book a demo today.