The New Trends in Hospitality (and the Marketing Tips Hotels Need to Keep Up)

The New Trends in Hospitality

& The Marketing Tips Hotels Need to Keep Up

The hospitality world is experiencing a shift in trends & customer behavior as a result of the new generation of travelers.

Recent Trends1. Rise of the Sharing Economy

At 2.1 million registered users, AirBnB is leading the way and sparking competition with brand name hotel companies.

$3.5 billion

Forbes estimates the revenue flowing through the share economy directly into people’s wallets will surpass

this year, with growth exceeding 25%.

Recent Trends2. Competition from Online Travel AgenciesExpedia and Priceline are at the forefront of bookings with revenues now reaching $35 billion.

With a large global population of online users, OTAs will begin looking into untouched international markets like Italy, Spain, Germany and Mexico.

Recent Trends3. Millennials

Millennials are more interested in traveling than any other demographic.

66% of Millennials consider travel a very important part of their life.

320 millioninternational trips.

The World Youth Student and Educational Travel Confederation

projects that by 2020, young travelers will take

Recent Trends 3. Rise in Business Travel

Domestic business trips are projected to reach 480.5 million in 2016.

$72 billionin spending in

2014.

The Global Business Travel Association recorded

An increase of 7.1% from the previous year.

The industry is rapidly changing. Hotel marketers must constantly be ahead of the curve to stay relevant with this large segment of consumers.

3 Critical Marketing Strategies For Hotels

1. Targeted Content2. Building Better Customer Relationships Through

Email 3. Understanding Guests by Collecting Site Data

1. Targeted ContentStudies have shown that travelers visit up

to 38 different sites before booking their stay.

Targeted Content

★ The short amount of time a visitor hits a site will make or break their decision to book.

★ Marketers need to ensure content, campaigns, and messaging is focused and personalized for each visitors needs.

2. Building Better Customer Relationships Through EmailEmail marketing has proven to be extremely effective in

returning potential guests to the site to complete their booking.

Email ★ A positive email experience can persuade guests

to return to a property, even if they booked with the competition in the past.

★ Placing a simple email capture banner or form on the site will entice visitors to sign up before leaving the site.

3. Collecting Site Data

Properties can begin to have a better understanding of the customer booking experience, simply by using their site data.

Collecting Site DataFor Example,★ 1) How are people searching for hotels? ★ 2) How are people completing the booking

process? Third party or direct? ★ 3) Importance of certain types of information to

search (pictures, reviews, amenities).

Sources:://blog.virtuoso.com/traveler_trends/5-trends-know-today-millennial-traveler/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomiogeron/2013/01/23/airbnb-and-the-unstoppable-rise-of-the-share-economy/

http://skift.com/2013/08/26/travelers-visit-38-sites-before-booking-a-vacation-study-says/

http://www.inc.com/rebecca-borison/business-travel-2015.html

http://marketrealist.com/2015/08/online-travel-agencies-future-industry-outlook/

http://www.fastcompany.com/1835654/airbnb-numbers-85-users-inactive