Hotel Technology Touchpoints that Win Millennial Travelers
Capturing the elusive demographic
When it comes to the millennial traveler, it seems that technology is everything. But if you look further, technology is simply a facilitator for content. Likewise, content is a facilitator for the millennial Holy Grail: local, authentic experiences.
Wary of being branded “tourists,” millennials and gen x travelers seek out experiences that let them live like locals and learn something new. This generation of travelers aims to make their travel experiences part of their overall personal story. So, in order to win over the millennial traveler, your hotel technology needs to facilitate more than just checking in and out.
Organizations like Airbnb and Expedia are shifting resources to provide authentic experiences. Providing experiences has two primary benefits. First, experiences serve as a lead generation tool to move travelers from the inspiration stage to planning and booking. Second, it’s an opportunity to increase revenue from travelers who have already booked.
Using hotel technology to take advantage of critical moments along the traveler’s journey can lead to substantial increases in revenue. Google names activity booking as the largest untapped opportunity in the travel vertical. Searches for “things to do/activities” + “near me” have increased 6X in the past two years. In-destination activity booking shouldn’t be overlooked. This article will focus on the second opportunity: revenue from activities booked in-destination.
The Hotel Advantage
When it comes to facilitating in-destination bookings, hotels are ill-equipped to compete with OTAs. The “what’s nearby” section is often the least useful and engaging page on a hotel’s website. Not surprisingly, guests are turning to other travel apps or Google. However, hotels might be the best equipped to capture in-destination revenue opportunities, given that they have the most touchpoints already built into a traveler’s day. Guests need to interact with a ‘hotel’s website or mobile app throughout their stay, so it’s a great place to offer them local experiences as well.
Touchpoint #1 — Taking advantage of website engagement
One of the first things many of your millennial guests will do upon arrival is accessing hotel Wi-Fi. At this point in the trip, many guests will not have everything planned and they will be searching for activities to fill their time. The first step is to capture your guest’s interest with high-quality local content and then make sure that it’s easy for them to book activities through your site. Give guests access to hyper-local content, not just the top 10 things to do. Take this further by partnering with local providers to offer discounts or rewards through your hotel rewards program. For example, a hotel can offer 10% off on a local public art tour or restaurant bill when the reservations are made through the hotel’s site.
Touchpoint #2 — Mobile web and app experience
When choosing the right hotel technology for you, it’s best to keep in mind that a phone isn’t just a device for millennials; it’s almost like a physical extension of their body. So, when they are in-destination, your mobile experience will be the primary deciding factor of your digital experience. 86% of millennials are disappointed by poor mobile responsive websites. It’s not a perk anymore; it’s an expectation. Maintaining a delightful mobile web experience is just the basics now. Mobile apps take it to another level. Nine out of ten travelers are using apps while in-destination to assist with travel.
Once again, hotels have a serious advantage here. It’s not easy to get people to download mobile apps, but hotel apps provide a great deal of utility for guests. Similar to the Wifi check-in, once a hotel has captured a new mobile app user, this is a prime place to provide them with engaging content that showcases local experiences they can book.
Touchpoint #3 — Your physical space
It can be challenging to capture a guest’s attention online, even if she is staying in your hotel. It’s a different story when it comes to inserting digital assets into a physical space. Compared to OTAs, hotels have the advantage that comes with guests being physically present. One way to enhance the guest experience is through physical self-service screens in the lobby. If you’ve read about the failed attempts of the self check-in lobby, you might be ready to skip this section. But the difference between success and failure of digital signage in the hotel is the content. Many of the kiosks that simply allow guests to check in and out do not work, that’s true. However, Hotel Indigo discovered that when they used screens as “local guides” saw significant engagement from guests, over 250,000 interactions in the pilot.
The most valuable information at this point is destination wayfinding and digital concierge services. Given that only 38% of travelers interact with the concierge, it’s essential to add other tools to provide guests the same information. In Hotel Indigo’s case, this meant foregoing the top things to do in New York City and sharing local joints such as the Blue Smoke Jazz Standard where guests can experience authentic flavors and live music.
Winning the millennial experience = winning millennial loyalty
Taking action on these three touchpoints will help hotels create a memorable experience with millennial travelers. However, the bigger picture and the more significant opportunity here is capturing millennial loyalty.
Millennials are not often known for their loyalty or commitment. They move and change jobs more frequently and are less likely to settle down or buy homes. However, this trend flips when it comes to brand loyalty. A whopping 75% of millennials would stay loyal to a rewards program even if they lost all of their points. They value higher priority service, recognition as a valued customer, and especially personalization. Given that millennials are traveling more than any previous generation, winning their loyalty can be a game-changing strategy. In addition to ease of use and number of rewards, the best way to create a memorable experience for millennials is helping them experience local culture and providing engaging and valuable content.
VAMONDE is a digital content platform for cultural travel. View the experiences at www.vamonde.com or learn more about becoming a creator at www.solutions.vamonde.com.
