Our story
We’re here to help you design stays that stay with your guests.
StayStory was created from a simple belief: when you design the right experience on purpose, guests don’t just have a good stay — they remember it.
“This host had thought of everything.”
The origin of StayStory
Built from real stays.Designed for better ones.
StayStory began inside Laurel & Lore, our own boutique hospitality brand. While hosting guests, we noticed something.
It wasn’t the biggest homes or the nicest amenities that guests remembered. It was the thoughtful details. The feeling of being cared for. The moments that made the stay meaningful.
We realised hosts needed a better way to design those moments on purpose — not guess, not copy, and not leave it to chance.
So we built the system we wished we had.
Where the thinking was tested
Laurel & Lore is whereeverything started.
Laurel & Lore is our hospitality brand and our real-world laboratory. Every idea, framework and tool inside StayStory was shaped by real guest stays, real feedback and the conversations that followed.
Today it sits at 4.99★ across 136 guest reviews.
Explore Laurel & Lore
What we started noticing
Guests remember how you made them feel.
They talk aboutthe little things.
The thoughtful details made the biggest impression.
They value howyou made it easy.
Clarity, guidance and anticipation created confidence.
They crave connectionto the place.
Local recommendations and meaningful experiences matter.
They rememberthe emotional peaks.
The moments of joy, surprise and delight are what last.
They feel itwhen you care.
Hospitality is more about intention than perfection.
Our philosophy
Hospitality is a story.The guest is the hero.
We believe every stay has the potential to be transformational when it’s designed with intention.
You are the guide. We help you create the journey. Your guest gets to live the story.
Intentional over accidental
Great experiences are designed, not left to chance.
Guide, don’t be the hero
Your role is to create the conditions for their best story.
Meaningful over more
It’s not about adding more. It’s about what matters.
Better for everyone
Great experiences are good for guests, hosts and communities.
The people and ideas that shaped our thinking
We’re inspired by hospitality leaders and storytellers who remind us that details matter, and that meaningful experiences are built from empathy, creativity and intention.
Will Guidara
Restaurateur and author of Unreasonable Hospitality, on the difference between service and genuine care.
Jay Acunzo
Writer and speaker on original thinking, and on why a clear point of view beats more content.
Isaac French
Creator of Live Oak Lake, on designing places where every detail is deliberate.
These are influences on our thinking — not partners, advisors or endorsers of StayStory.
Why guest experience design matters for today’s hosts
Today’s guests have more choices than ever. What earns their loyalty is how you make them feel.
More amenities won’t create a more memorable stay. A thoughtfully designed guest experience will.
StayStory gives independent hosts the clarity, tools and confidence to design guest journeys that stand out — and to succeed on their own terms.
Built on experience. Backed by guests.
Built by hosts with a career in hospitality, running a real property.
Shaped continuously by guest feedback and on-the-ground learning.
Tools tested by what actually works in the real world — not theory.
Made to help hosts create impact, loyalty and lasting memories.
The one number we can show you is our own: 4.99★ across 136 guest reviews at Laurel & Lore, the property where this system was built.
Ready to design stays that stay with your guests?
Bring your guest experience into one connected system, and start designing the moments, details and stories that make a stay unforgettable.
- Free to start
- No credit card required
- Begin with your Experience Audit