The reveal of the filming location for the fourth season of the hit TV show White Lotus has once again flooded our feeds and captivated the news cycle. The White Lotus TV series has cinematically captured idyllic settings as the background of a dramatic storyline. However, The White Lotus expands far beyond a TV show; it has infiltrated social media, major corporations, and most notably the travel industry. With the airing of the first three seasons, tourists have flocked to the featured destinations of Hawaii, Sicily, and Thailand, often taking pictures and videos at hotels, restaurants, and sites featured in the show.

For travel entrepreneurs, The White Lotus is more than just a show; it can offer a lesson in how to make their destinations appealing to travelers. The TV show framed the setting as more than just a location but rather a character in the series. Travel entrepreneurs can similarly adopt this and create a storytelling method that captures their amenities and services.

I asked our PR & growth experts: How can small travel businesses replicate this kind of storytelling to highlight their services? Due to the popularity of The White Lotus, how can travel entrepreneurs capitalize on this while maintaining their authenticity and promoting their brand?

Here are the experts' insights.

• Show real people enjoying the locations
• The elevation of place into persona
• Create your own dramatic narrative hooks
• Document your guests' real moments of change
• Personify locations as important characters
• Small businesses can embrace the real and personal
• People connect when there’s a story
• Destination scenes as a bookable micro-experience

Show real people enjoying the locations

Emily Reynolds-Bergh, Owner at R Public Relations

"Rather than showcasing beautiful images and b-roll without a subject, travel entrepreneurs should utilize assets that show real people enjoying the locations and amenities. This helps potential travelers envision themselves on vacation in that place and open their minds to ways to have fun. A fun and engaging way to capitalize on the popularity of White Lotus is to jump on some of the memes and trends that resulted from the show. Use trending sounds and fonts with your own footage as a cheeky nod to the series’ popularity."

The elevation of place into persona

Leah Miller, Marketing Strategist at Versys Media

"The beauty of what The White Lotus did lies in the elevation of place into persona. That shift from a destination being a backdrop to being actively part of the story is exactly what travel brands can lean into. It’s not just about scenic shots or luxe experiences. It’s about the mood, quirks, and emotional pull of a location.

For small travel businesses, the key is to focus on narrative elements that feel specific and lived-in. Tell stories that could only happen in your setting. Maybe it's the innkeeper who’s been there 20 years and still saves pebbles from each guest’s hike. Or the exact way the light hits the terrace at 7:15 pm. These details anchor your setting in emotion and memory, instead of just imagery.

A hotel client we worked with in the Cyclades leaned into a summer love story format to showcase their amenities. Instead of listing features, we crafted visuals and content around a fictional couple's week here, mapping their small day-to-day moments across the island. Bookings rose that season despite tough regional competition, purely because the property became part of a story guests wanted to insert themselves into.

Regarding The White Lotus specifically, I’d avoid trying to mimic scenes. Instead, embrace the vibe the show highlighted: escapist, emotionally charged, slightly mysterious. Use formats like short cinematic reels with subtle storytelling, journal-style blog posts from "fictional" travelers, or immersive email drips that unfold like chapters.

Authenticity sticks when you’re showcasing honest character. Highlight contrasting sides of your destination, not just the glossy parts. Travelers don’t want perfection. They want character and emotional curiosity. If you can make your location feel like it has a soul, you've already tapped into something more powerful than aesthetic."

Create your own dramatic narrative hooks

Jennifer Bagley, CEO at CI Web Group

"The White Lotus works because it makes the location feel like a living, breathing character with secrets to find—not just a pretty backdrop.

Small travel businesses need to stop selling rooms and start selling changes. Instead of "luxury beachfront resort," position yourself as "where burned-out executives refind what actually matters." One of my HVAC clients increased leads 40% when we shifted from "24/7 emergency service" to "the team that saves your family's comfort when everything goes wrong at midnight."

For travel entrepreneurs, capitalize on White Lotus buzz by creating your own dramatic narrative hooks. Don't copy their aesthetic—own your change story. Maybe you're "the hidden retreat where tech founders go to disconnect" or "the family farm where city kids learn where food actually comes from." The specificity creates intrigue.

The authenticity piece is crucial because fake storytelling gets exposed fast on social media. I've seen contractors try to manufacture drama around routine maintenance calls and it backfires. Your story has to be rooted in real client changes and genuine moments that happen at your location—then amplify those through consistent content that makes people feel like they're missing out on something meaningful."

Document your guests' real moments of change

Sonny Da Badger, Co-Founder at Support Bikers

"Running Support Bikers and working with motorcycle businesses across 50+ states, I've learned that authentic storytelling comes from the community you build, not manufactured drama. When I started "The Badger" persona at Six Bends Harley Davidson, sales jumped because customers connected with a real story—not because we copied someone else's playbook.

The motorcycle tourism businesses that thrive in our directory don't just showcase scenic routes. They spotlight the change riders experience—the stress melting away on Highway 1, the brotherhood formed at roadside diners, the confidence rebuilt after overcoming mountain passes. One lodge in Colorado saw bookings increase 35% after featuring stories of riders who found healing on their trails instead of just posting pretty mountain photos.

Small travel businesses should document their guests' real moments of change and share those stories consistently. Skip the polished resort vibes and capture the authentic interactions that happen naturally. The rawness sells itself when people see genuine change happening at your location.

Most importantly, don't chase every trend that floods social media feeds. Build your own loyal community first—like we did with our mega biker community—then let them become your storytellers. Authentic word-of-mouth from people who genuinely experienced change at your destination beats any manufactured viral moment."

Personify locations as important characters

Gene Genin, CEO & Founding Partner at OEM Source

"The creators of The White Lotus personify their postcard worthy locations as important characters. For any business, regardless of the sector, these locations, whether they are service delivery mechanisms, sites of your culture, or facilities, can be introduced as an integral part of the story that connects with the customer.

For travel entrepreneurs, mimicking this storyline and personifying their location means connecting the essence of what this destination is to the grand overall story, rather than simply being a stop along the way. As simple as that seems, there is a delicate balance to this connection and adherence to the character. The White Lotus may use the setting to create interest in the show, but sticking with the character’s storyline, their essence, experience and perhaps connection to their expectations creates an authentic and meaningful ties to the customer.

It is not about merely gaining viewership, attention, or even awareness, at the end of the day, it is about creating a memorable story that they want to be part of. When your brand becomes the captivating story that they would like to experience, they are not buying a service, they are buying a piece of a journey."

Small businesses can embrace the real and personal

Riley Westbrook, Co-Founder at Valor Coffee

"The most important thing I see for travel entrepreneurs relative to the White Lotus effect, is that the setting in the show is treated as more than a setting - it has its own character! However, small businesses do not need exotic, sweeping camera work to accomplish this distinction. What people remember are the details. Do they hear music playing in the background when they get up, or are they feeling the light hitting the terrace at 3 pm or a barista remembering their name on the second visit? Each of these moments is powerful, they are easily captured with a phone, shared through stories or short clips, and they hold the kind of honesty that does not require an elaborate budget.

Where large productions edit an idealized vision, small businesses can embrace the real and personal. A bakery offering insight into their process for baking 12 loaves of bread in the early morning offers a more powerful narrative than a polished photo shoot of the bakery's buffet. A café showing an employee setting out fresh flowers every morning feels, well, warmer than footage of a drone of the café. It is the details like these that give a place its voice. People connect with that honesty because it feels like living life. That's why honesty becomes the appeal, the same way White Lotus has audiences fall in love with a specific destination, except the connection and relationship is not limited to a single season."

People connect when there’s a story

Deepak Shukla, CEO at Pearl Lemon PR

"The White Lotus proves something simple: a place can steal the show just as much as the actors. For smaller travel businesses, that’s the real lesson. It’s not enough to say “we have nice rooms” or “here’s a tour.” People connect when there’s a story. Maybe it’s the old tale behind the building. Or maybe it’s the local cook who always slips guests a secret recipe.

Now that the show has everyone talking about its filming spots, travel entrepreneurs can lean into that buzz without turning into copycats. The trick is to share what’s true to them. Show the culture, the faces behind the service, even the everyday moments that give their place its personality. That’s how they keep it honest and still catch some of the spotlight the series shines on travel."

Destination scenes as a bookable micro-experience

Arsen Misakyan, Founder at LAXcar

"Small travel companies can mimic the White Lotus guide to storytelling and treat a destination like a character with scenes and stakes plus recurring motifs. Generate 30- to 60-second “episode” reels: early morning market, sound of knives on boards; midday hike, crunch of gravel; golden-hour harbor stand, salt spray and string lights; finale at a table near home. Recruit real employees and makers, not actors (pin every scene to a bookable micro-experience).

Anchor these nods in your company’s values, like local sourcing, small groups, and low-impact transportation. Another company launched a pilot “not-the-White-Lotus” coastal day tour in LA (featuring picturesque chauffeured transfers, a family-run gallery visit, and dock-to-dish supper), tracked all partners that came with each booking, capped group sizes at eight; inquiries jumped by 22 percent month on month. Use co-created itineraries, transparent pricing, and a “give-back” line-item to make sure any resulting buzz is on-brand."

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