Black Friday has evolved into one of the most valuable weekends in hospitality. What once fueled retail excitement now drives a surge in bookings, guest interactions, and data that reveal how people plan their getaways.
Each November, travellers trade shopping lists for travel lists, browsing quick city escapes and experience-driven stays that combine comfort with convenience.
The way they search, book, and spend during this period offers a preview of what hotel guests will expect in 2026.
Recent booking trends show that guests want something more. Their patterns changed, and they expect hospitality to keep up. How? Black Friday is a gold mine for customer booking behaviour.
Hotels that read these patterns with data and use them to shape year-round strategies gain a lasting edge.
Tourism During Black Friday: A Look at 2020’s
Black Friday travel behaviour has been on its own journey over the past five years.
In the pandemic-affected seasons of 2020 and 2021, guests approached deals with caution, using the moment not to chase adventures but to secure flexible, close-to-home options that felt safe. Only a few hotels were operating this time, and very few travellers saw this as an opportunity for a quiet, quick getaway.
Confidence slowly returned in 2022, and Black Friday became a strategic checkpoint where travellers locked in plans with clearer expectations and a stronger sense of value.
By 2023, the mood had shifted again as people leaned into experiences, comparing more, researching harder, and choosing stays that promised something memorable rather than simply affordable.
Digital habits matured further in 2024, and guests behaved like seasoned online shoppers who knew how to evaluate offers, compare channels, and treat Black Friday as the prime annual moment to capture aspirational trips.
In 2025, the pattern became almost ritualistic: travellers spent November exploring destinations, waiting for the right deal to drop, and confidently booking stays for the year ahead, especially premium, wellness-driven holidays. W
What started as a period of cautious, practical decision-making grew into a peak-intent moment where guests buy not just a discount, but a future experience they already picture themselves enjoying.
2026 Hotel Guests Have Mastered the Art of the Deal!
Hotel guests move through Black Friday with a level of precision that would have felt unusual a few years ago.
Their booking journey begins long before they choose a room.
They open an OTA to scan prices
Jump to a direct hotel site to check perks
Scroll through loyalty apps for member-only previews
Finish the search when they validate that the offer is truly the best available
Industry reports show this behaviour accelerating in 2026, with mobile accounting for more than 60% of accommodation searches and often becoming the single source of truth for finalising decisions.
The path feels fast on the surface, yet every tap reflects careful comparison and a desire for immediate clarity.
Their navigation doesn’t stop once the reservation is made. Guests return to the hotel’s website or app to confirm check-in options, explore room features, and understand on-property dining before they arrive.
This is where a hotel’s digital presence wins or loses trust: slow pages, confusing layouts, or unclear inclusions push guests back toward third-party channels, while streamlined design keeps them engaged and more open to upgrades.
Purchase behaviour inside the hotel has shifted as well.
They check restaurant availability, compare menu pricing, view allergen information, and place orders without pressure or delays. Experts note that this self-guided behaviour leads to higher ancillary spending, since guests feel confident exploring options at their own pace.
This overall pattern creates a clear picture: modern hotel guests value speed, transparency, and easy navigation at every stage of their journey.
They compare faster, decide faster, and adjust their plans faster, and hotels that keep up with this rhythm create smoother paths from interest to conversion.
How to Win Black Friday Hotel Race in 2026: 3 Tips
Rising costs and uncertain economic cycles are reshaping how guests think about their holidays.
More travellers choose mini vacations over complex, high-expense trips, and many prefer hotels because they remove the mental load of hosting, cooking, cleaning, or accommodating relatives during peak seasons.
A short escape feels more efficient, more affordable, and far more peaceful than staying home in the middle of Black Friday crowds. Guests want quiet, quality time with loved ones, and they still want to catch the best deals while doing it.
This shift has turned Black Friday into one of the most decisive moments in the hotel calendar. Success now depends on how well hotels understand what guests value and how quickly they meet those expectations.
Let’s look at three things guests value, and three things businesses should implement to stay on top!
1. Experience-First Deals Outperform Deep Discounts
Guests approach Black Friday hotel deals with a sharper sense of value than ever, and the numbers consistently point to one conclusion: experiences sell better than simple markdowns.
Bundled offers that include breakfast, spa credits, late checkout, or on-property dining routinely outperform rate-only discounts in every major Black Friday hotel trends report.
Studies show that value-driven packages generate stronger engagement, longer session times, and higher conversion because guests want a stay that feels complete, not just cheap.
This shift reflects a deeper change in loyalty behaviour. Travellers are less motivated by one-off savings and more motivated by what the stay enables
Rest, connection, convenience, and a sense of being looked after.
When hotels shape their Black Friday strategies around these expectations, they appeal to what guests prioritise today: comfort without compromise, meaningful perks, and the feeling that the hotel understands the purpose of their trip.
That emotional alignment drives repeat stays far more effectively than a temporary discount ever could.
2. Mobile Bookings Dominate the Black Friday Rush
Travellers now expect one-tap checkouts, saved payment methods, and in-app perks that make fast decisions feel effortless.
Every second counts during Black Friday, and hotels that fail to deliver an intuitive mobile experience risk losing bookings to competitors who do. In comparison, hotels that optimise their mobile journey see measurable gains.
Digital systems that update availability in real time, highlight curated offers, and provide interactive previews of amenities or bundled experiences capture attention before it disappears.
In-app notifications
Personalised suggestions
Streamlined checkouts
Convert impulse browsing into confirmed stays.
Mobile-first guests extend their expectations well beyond the initial booking. They want the freedom to adjust reservations, add experiences, or access services instantly, without waiting on calls or front-desk assistance.
Booking decisions are increasingly impulsive compared to previous years, and travellers expect full control to change plans whenever and however they like.
They also become informal ambassadors for your property. Guests share their plans, invite friends, and naturally showcase what your hotel offers, turning everyday conversations into authentic, word-of-mouth promotion. Every interaction becomes an opportunity to demonstrate value, influence perception, and expand reach without extra effort.
But if businesses fail to put out information, make that information easy to access, fast to find, and visually support it, that conversation about your services becomes flat.
3. Data Becomes the Competitive Edge for 2026 Black Friday Hotel Deals
Black Friday is a window into the behaviours and preferences of a hotel’s most valuable audiences. During this high-intensity period, travellers from different regions explore your property and your competitors, comparing rates, packages, and experiences.
Many choose your hotel, but the journey does not end at checkout.
The information captured during these interactions becomes a goldmine for understanding what guests value and how to influence future stays.
Top-performing hotels treat Black Friday as a strategic insight engine. Every booking, every click, and every engagement can reveal patterns that shape pricing, marketing, and personalised experiences year-round.
By analysing a combination of first-party, second-party, third-party, and zero-party data, hotels can discover,
Which amenities do guests pair with their stay?
What types of packages do they prefer?
How do they respond to promotions?
These insights allow hotels to design targeted campaigns, re-engage past guests, inspire referrals, and attract new audiences that resemble their best customers.
Hotels that leverage these data types gain a clear view of guest motivations, booking patterns, and preferred experiences during Black Friday, enabling management to convert these insights into lasting loyalty and repeat visits.
By understanding what drives their audience, properties can reel guests in for repeat visits, encourage referrals, and create personalised journeys that appeal to similar prospective customers.
Black Friday becomes a proving ground for discovering and delighting your unique audience!
Turning Black Friday Insights Into Year-Round Strategy
Black Friday is a concentrated window into guest behaviour, preferences, and decision-making patterns. Hotels that analyse and act on these insights transform what could be a short-term booking spike into a year-round advantage.
FineDine helps hotels capture, organise, and interpret this wealth of data, turning every interaction (from browsing to booking, and from pre-arrival planning to in-stay purchases) into actionable intelligence.
With its all-in-one hotel management platform, FineDine lets guests explore digital menus in multiple languages that are fast and easy to access. They can browse the experiences hotels offer, see which sections are operating, and enjoy beautifully designed visuals that make discovering services intuitive and engaging.
Leverage Black Friday as your data goldmine. Turn one weekend into a blueprint for repeat business, optimised offers, and experiences that keep guests coming back.
Discover how FineDine empowers hospitality during Black Friday hotel deals.
