This study aims to explore how storytelling can be used as a marketing strategy in the hospitality industry by developing and illustrating a time-based storytelling model. The study investigates how a hospitality business connects the past (heritage), the present (product) and the real-time customer experience to create meaningful, capturing value offerings.
This study adopts an exploratory qualitative case study approach centered on Silks Palace, a restaurant located beside the National Palace Museum in Taipei. The authors collect data through semistructured interviews, document analysis and participant observation. The data is analyzed using thematic analysis and triangulated to ensure validity and richness of interpretation.
This study develops a storytelling marketing model based on two temporal logics: (1) a past–present–real-time structure (triangular and circular), and (2) a present–future–expected experience structure. The model illustrates how storytelling, when grounded in cultural heritage, enables capturing customer experiences and strengthening brand identity. The authors find that authentic storytelling based on historical artifacts fosters credibility, emotional engagement and differentiated value in hospitality.
This study contributes to storytelling literature by framing storytelling as a time-based experiential strategy and by distinguishing between authentic and fictitious narratives. The authors’ dual-model approach opens new avenues for research into the temporality of storytelling, authenticity and narrative design across sectors. The authors also highlight the role of sensory and spatial storytelling in shaping experiential consumption.
This study offers a practical framework for integrating storytelling into hospitality operations. Managers can use authentic historical and cultural references to design capturing customer journeys that enhance emotional connection and competitive positioning. The authors also warn against overreliance on fictional storytelling that may fail to deliver the promised experience.
This study introduces a novel time-based model of storytelling marketing grounded in cultural heritage and hospitality. By linking past, present and real-time experience, the model offers a new way to conceptualize storytelling as a dynamic and strategic tool for experience design. It is one of the first studies to compare authentic and fictitious storytelling logics in a hospitality context.
