At my recent attendance at ITB Berlin, I had the opportunity to speak with several owners of hospitality, travel and travel technology companies. There were quite a few common themes. No matter the company focus- travel technology, travelers or travel providers-I noticed quite a few similarities. In the next series of blog post, I plan to share the top takeaways for the future of the travel industry and marketing to the travel industry.
The Personalized Booking Experience
Today, let’s talk personalization. It goes beyond “personalizing” a message. It extends to the newest types of technologies and how people are booking their trips. One such company I met, HospitalityPulse is taking advantage of meeting expectations when booking with attribute-driven bookings.
Ever booked a room, looked at the photos and been vastly disappointed when you arrived? The double was actually two singles pushed together, with a large gap in between. Your shared bathroom was only the toilet. The shower was in your room, which seems like an advantage until you realize how tall the shower is and the fear you’ll soak the carpet every time you rinse off.
With attribute driven booking-you know what you’ll get right off the bat. Want a balcony? Choose it at booking. Want no carpet? Choose it when you book. Want to have a full breakfast-not just pastries-each morning? See the option at booking. Price too high? Choose what you’d like to do without.
This is only one option when it comes to creating a personalized booking experience. Other platforms and technology solutions, such as DayUse, FlexBook and HotelsbyDay, offer alternative booking options personalized to your needs.
Only need a room for a few hours during a layover? Book at a lower rate while the hotel gets the best use of the room. Have a later flight but don’t want to sleep in the hotel? Choose a later checkout time and don’t worry about dropping your luggage in some random locker that’s hard to get to and won’t let you take a fast shower before your travels.
The entire booking experience online is becoming personalized too. One company, bd4travel, is personalizing your experience on large travel booking platforms as you look. Within a few clicks, you’ll start to receive more relevant listings related to what you actually want-like an affordable price or close proximity to the beach-instead of what the average wants-like an “alternative” cheap trip to Vegas.
If you’re a traveler, you can expect to see a more personalized booking experience in the near future. For the travel providers and their technology partners, how can they bring personalization into their marketing?
The top piece of advice I can give is segmentation-and asking.
Savvy Digital Travelers
Traveler and technology buyers know they receive marketing materials. In the digital age, it’s inevitable. While no one likes being sold to, they realize if they sign up for something with an email address they know they’re going to get a lot of communications.
This is why you want to show that signing up is worth it for them. This is where asking and segmentation come into play.
First, you need to give a little to get a little as the saying goes. If you’re a company in the travel industry-whether you sell software or suitcases-you need to give people a reason to sign up. No one needs another newsletter. Our inboxes are overloaded already with too many messages we never read. This is important, so I’ll repeat it: No one needs another newsletter.
What Do Your Readers Need?
Instead, offer something they do need. Are they looking for an answer to a specific question?
Create a checklist that tells them everything they need to do to solve their problem. Are visitors to your site looking for more information on a specific topic? Then create a guide they can use to get their information in one place.
Create a checklist to solve a problem
Offer up what they do need in exchange for an email address. But don’t send this immediately. You want to prepare your audience to a) receive information from you and b) to trust you. You can do this by asking them a question before you ask for their email address. What question do you ask? A segmentation question!
Once you’ve decided on your top buyers or most valuable customers, ask new people wanting to join your list which category they fall into. Don’t use jargon or your internal titles for these. Instead, ask in language they use.
In the next post, I’ll dive deep into more segmentation options and how you can start building it into your marketing…without creating entirely new content.
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