To Örebro University

This report explores the application of Experience Accounting (EA) to enhance strategic decision making in a rural resort, focusing on improving profitability through customer-centric financial management. This study addresses the challenges faced by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the hospitality industry, particularly the lack of tailored information systems for effective decision-making. By integrating the Resource-Based View (RBV) and the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) paradigm, EA aligns cost accounting with customer-perceived value, optimizing resource allocation to enhance customer experience and willingness to pay. The case study of a rural upmarket resort demonstrates the practical implementation of EA, revealing insights into resource consumption and customer value across various service components. The findings highlight the inefficiencies in the current service provision and suggest strategic reallocations to improve customer satisfaction and profitability. The results indicate that reallocating resources to enhance service quality rather than infrastructure can lead to greater customer satisfaction and profitability. The adaptability of the EA framework across different hospitality segments underscores its potential for widespread application, offering a valuable tool for the continuous optimization of expenditures and prices based on real-time customer feedback.