1) Problem recognition - The buying process begins with the buyer recognizes a problem or a need. At this stage, hospitality marketers must identify such factors that trigger consumers' problem recognition and deliberately relate their products and services as the best solutions for their customers.
2) Information search - The buyer seeks information about the hospitality products and services. Hospitality marketers can take advantage of this stage by making sure that such information is readily available and accessible to customers, and most importantly, communicate about the features and benefits of their products and services to customers through these sources.
3) Evaluation of alternatives - The buyer is now ready to compare information gathered about the hospitality products and services. Knowing what these attributes are and the importance that consumers attach to these attributes should enable hospitality organizations to come up with effective marketing strategies at a later stage.
4) Purchase decision - The buyer is now ready to commit to the alternative selected in the prior stage. Hospitality marketers should note that unexpected situations may still occur at this stage that lead to changes in consumers' final purchase decisions.
5) Post-purchase behavior - Following a purchase, the buyer may (may not) repurchase from the same organization based on his/her previous experience with the company. Hospitality marketers need to identify customers' post purchase behaviors in order to take necessary actions.
Consumers may not go through every stage of the process for every purchase. For instance, routine purchases such as fast food purchases may not involve information search and evaluation of alternatives.