With ongoing vaccination rollouts and warmer temperatures quickly approaching, many consumers are becoming energized to travel once again. Evolving online sentiment and planning behaviors are showcasing strong evidence that these consumers are seeking an escape from pandemic exhaustion and are looking to travel as a source of rejuvenation, and even a little self-indulgence. Given this enthusiasm, hotels have a unique opportunity to tap into evolving consumer behaviors to authentically and effectively reach desired target audiences and create lasting ROI.
Since January of this year, BCV has been tracking a steady increase in search terms surrounding travel, and early hotel data is showcasing that booking volume for the spring break timeframe is the highest it has been in two years. While these findings are extremely encouraging, understanding how to communicate and market to desired audiences is key for hotels. Tapping into evolving audience behaviors and social media usage can strategically place travel brands at the forefront of consumer consideration journeys, generating last-minute bookings right now and impacting purchases in the ongoing future.
Let’s take a look at some top emerging consumer behaviors and travel trends that BCV is tracking, alongside insights on how hotels can translate this data into actionable social media strategies for Q2 and beyond.
The Spring Break 2021 Mood is Upbeat
While consumer search habits are indicating an increased desire to travel, it’s important for travel brands to remember that health and safety priorities will remain important. Rolling vaccination distributions, travel restrictions, and cancellation of some school spring breaks will continue to impact traditional travel patterns and booking decisions during Q2.
To alleviate consumer concerns and encourage booking confidence, hotels can adapt marketing efforts to align with these new patterns, and create messaging to target specific demographic behaviors:
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Families. Typically a large percentage of spring break travelers, families are eager to get out of their houses – but their travel preferences will look a bit different this year. Online data has shown that families with younger children and combined quarantine pod groups of two families or more are largely looking for shoulder dates and off-season timing, to ensure less onsite crowds and provide increased safety.
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Millennials. Another key spring break demographic, the Millennial age group is expected to be the most eager and confident to travel during Q2. A recent survey from Expedia highlighted that this group is the most prone to impulse purchases, a habit well supported by their love of social media and availability of disposable income. Past Q2, the Millennial audience will remain an important one for business travel, as they make up a large percentage of the current workforce.
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Boomers. Positive travel sentiment within the Boomer demographic has recently emerged as a result of the pandemic, as this generation is among the first to become vaccinated and have expressed interest to travel ahead of the larger crowds. This group is also using social media to search for international travel guidelines, indicating their desire to travel more than once this year.
Additionally, increased conversation volume surrounding staycations and remote destinations throughout Q1 showcases an immediate preference for domestic travel over international. At the time of publication, September has proven the most-searched month for prospective travel across audience demographics, but the increased confidence in spring bookings and ongoing vaccination availability may shift this timing back into the summer.
Engaging Travelers Beyond Impulse Bookings
During the 2020 travel hold, social media advertising and other means of digital marketing have become even more powerful allies for hotels. Consumers are immersing themselves in social media escapism, turning to inspirational lifestyle imagery and engaging video content as a means of “getting away” while planning and saving up for their future trips. This audience is perfect for intersecting and inserting specific hotel messaging to build consideration.
Social listening and keyword tracking across social platforms is key for gathering trending travel destinations and interests – and knowing how to talk to social audiences. For example, Pinterest has identified that travelers are currently dreaming of “hypothetical sabbaticals” and “nomading as the new jet-setting”. Understanding these social trends and authentically incorporating within owned social media marketing could earn travel brands increased discoverability and reach. Knowing what consumers are feeling comfortable with can help to inform a content campaign, or place specific advertising in front of these expectant travelers. While the desire to travel will largely be influenced by the vaccination rollout and changes in travel restrictions, hotels can build consideration now and continue to be a source of inspiration for those actively planning.
Preference for Outdoors and Exclusivity Holds Strong
As consumers continue to indicate a preference for domestic travel, local staycations and travel by car will prevail throughout the traditional spring break timeframe. There is also a marked preference for immersive onsite experiences that provide socially distanced safety, such as outdoor and exclusive offerings.
Outdoor and nature-centric activities have continued to gain popularity throughout the pandemic as they offer travelers an experiential escape alongside safe social distancing practices. Pinterest has reported a 165% YoY increase in the search term “couples stargazing”, a 100% increase for “forest resort”, and a 35% increase for “mountain travel”. But these insights do not limit themselves to destination properties; urban hotels should look to incorporate these trends by offering amenities and activities that are unique to them, such as localized picnic setups or private city bike tours.
The desire for high-luxury experiences that offer exclusivity and socially-distanced safety is another emerging travel trend, and not just among the wealthy travel set. Amenities such as private drivers, customized excursions, and exclusive dining experiences are coveted by those seeking indulgent travel. Safety is being viewed as the new luxury; bookings for destinations that are able to mandate proof of negative Covid-19 testing and those that offer “safe environment-certified” bubbles are increasing, as witnessed by continued travel to several of the Caribbean Islands who have set these practices into place as a way of attracting consumers.
Using Content Marketing To Attract Business
With the rapid growth of social audiences and platform offerings, hotels should evaluate their social marketing mix to understand how to cut through the volume of online content and drive consideration among new and existing audiences. Understanding how to reach travelers through dynamic social content is important: as algorithms continue to prioritize videos and new social platforms and features consistently emerge, hotels should employ a strategic approach to retain and grow their audience reach.
Rest assured, staying afloat in the continually evolving social landscape doesn’t necessarily mean reinventing a hotel’s entire social approach. Understanding who your target audience is and how to reach them is the key, and maintaining authenticity is equally as vital. Repurposing existing assets in a new way is one area that hotels can look to increase discoverability; for example, a traditional marketing piece such as an e-blast could be used to craft a series of Instagram Guides, or previously captured video can be clipped to create engaging Reels content.
Content messaging is also important for building consumer trust. A carefully thought-out content strategy should incorporate a mix of informational and inspirational content to play into the escapism sensibility while conveying the experience that guests can expect onsite. Safety messaging needs to be clear but not overt; hotels can weave messaging about their onsite mask mandates within a social post about their spa to showcase safety without compromising the overarching social aesthetic. Try capturing newer amenities via creative short-form videos, or walk consumers through in real-time via a livestream broadcast. Anything that you can immerse your social audiences in and provide a deeper connection and longing for travel can translate well via video, such as onsite open-air activities, nearby guided nature excursions, or an influencer-led tour of guest room space converted into a private workout area.
Key Messaging Takeaways for Hotels
Although the travel industry has been shaken by the impact of 2020, the love for travel remains strong among consumers – and hotels can utilize social media to provide confidence as the world begins to seek travel once again. BCV’s experience tracking online behaviors and sentiment has proven that social marketing can be a vital tool for amplifying messaging to these target consumers.
The following are suggestions that will help travel brands to navigate the rising demand and drive ROI via social media during Q2 and beyond:
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Leverage consumer insights to streamline marketing campaigns and make the brand more visible and reliable to travelers
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Continue providing direct, easy-to-find education regarding on-property safety measures, including mask mandates, reduced capacity, regular cleaning/disinfecting , and contactless/no-touch services to boost consumer confidence
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Provide consumers more flexibility, such as relaxed cancellation and rebooking options throughout 2021
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Weave messaging that speaks to last-minute decisions and shorter booking windows into upcoming content
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Consider expanding “local staycation” messaging to target the entire drive market, placing promotions and special offers as incentive for travel
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Engage influencers to produce content and test new and emerging social platforms for audience sentiment
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Tap social influencers to craft messaging that resonates to specific channel audiences
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Tap into the rising popularity of certain social content types, such as short-form videos and audio, to make platform algorithms work in your favor
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Utilize omnimedia efforts to capitalize on increased digital usage by travelers, including a strategic paid media plan
After many uncertain months of travel restrictions, lockdowns, and consumer trepidation, trending consumer behaviors are showcasing that people are craving travel in the very near future. As we begin to see increased vaccinations and more relaxed travel restrictions, travel brands have the opportunity to insert themselves into consumer consideration paths by building authentic connections and creating brand trust among key audiences.
Above all, hotels must remain true to their brand voice and understand what consumers are seeking; authenticity, honesty, transparency, and supportive messaging are vital across all marketing efforts in order to experience engagement and future ROI.
Another Summit, another virtual Platform, yet another discussion on the impact of the ongoing pandemic which has placed the world’s largest democracy in lockdown for the last four months. In the pre-COVID era, this summit would be happening in a hotel where participants, speakers, and panelists would have flown into a city and stayed at a city hotel for the 2-day long event helping the hotel with new guests to serve and provide an unparalleled experience. However, events, conferences, and corporate travel remain low on the recovery agenda, and therefore the question for every hotelier remains – How Do We Get Our Guests Back?
A fortnight back, I was honored to be part of an esteemed panel at the Hotelier India Summit comprising of hotel sales and marketing leaders to discuss the same CS Ramachandran, VP- Hotel Revenue Optimization, Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Dhananjay Saliankar, Head-sales & Marketing India, Fortune Hotels, Kush Kapoor, CEO, Roseate Hotels & Resorts, Manoj Nair, National Marketing Leader-India, FCM Travel Solutions, Prasad Iyer, VP, E-Commerce, Distribution & Rewards, Lemon Tree Hotels, and last but by no means the least Sachin Pabreja, Co-founder, Eazydiner.
What’s On the Guest’s Mind?
The famed ‘pent-up demand’ will soon come to the surface as more tourist destinations in India contain the virus and put in place procedures to mitigate the virus. As the leisure traveler would lead the recovery, the key driver for hotels would not be price but experience, health, safety, and flexibility in handling cancellations.
However, at the same time, hotels will have to walk a fine line to ensure that the experience they promise does not appear like a medical tourism ad due to prevailing social distancing and safety norms.
Instead, contact-less solutions are being adopted by more hotels to implement steps like digital check-in, use of QR codes to keep things smooth and safe as well as the ‘safe car promise’ where all vehicles will undergo deep cleaning and each car will have a PPE kit for the guests.
The challenge for hotel commercial and marketing teams would be to manage these expectations in an already complex decision-making process and use social media to communicate the right price, the right experience, and the right safety standards.
This is where social media marketing plays a critical role.
How is Social Media playing a vital role?
In the Pre-COVID times, Facebook and Instagram played a key role in driving travel inspiration; however a significant role was also played by family and friends who would recommend travel destinations. With no one traveling at the moment, and very few people aware of which destinations are safe, which hotels are taking care of safety, the role of social media would now further increase as that would be the first source for getting up to date information.
Therefore, more than ever before, hotels have to look at social media as the channel to bring back guests and invest time, effort, and resources in continually communicating with potential travelers to win their trust and engage them.
While hotels attempt to re-establish a connect, they need to keep two age-old ideas at the core of their strategy
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One Size Does Not Fit All. Each hotel property is designed for a specific set of travelers, keeping in mind the taste, lifestyle of the guests that would stay there. The same strategy needs to be applied to your social media strategy and continuously seek the right kind of guest with the right messaging.
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Don’t Prioritize Reach Over Reputation. Most marketing leaders worry about reach, but in the post-COVID world when the number of travelers would substantially shrink for the next 18-24 months, reach, engagement might not be the right metric to target, instead of hotels should invest in managing their reputation and ensuring all guest queries, feedback, needs are answered instantly so that they can trust the property more efficiently. 24/7 Personalized and Real-time Monitoring is critical for hotels in the post-COVID world where trust is at an all-time low. The best example that I like to quote is when a guest at The Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay reported a faulty door lock on social media, tagging the hotel and using the hashtag #fail which is the 3rd highest used Hashtag and can instantly be picked up by prospecting guests and even reach media sites to show the fault on the part of a prestigious brand like Ritz Carlton. Due to real-time monitoring, not only did the hotel get alerted immediately and due to the ability to personalize the guest experience, they not only replaced the chain in an hour but also as an apology placed a bottle of his favorite single malt whisky to both mitigate the negative experience. The guest of course, captured this experience on social media tagging the hotel and using the hashtag #unrealcustomerservice and therefore not only become a loyal guest, but also helping prospective guests choose the hotel on their future trips.
Independent/mid-scale hotels can’t compromise on social media. In a poll conducted by BCV a travel technology company suggested that over 25% of them would invest close to 50% of their marketing budgets in social media this year. This number becomes more relevant for independent/ mid-sized hotel chains as their marketing budgets do not allow them to spend heavily on ATL advertising.
Due to lower brand salience, independent hotels will have to put in extra to win the guests’ trust. Social media is a level playing field, and with the right content done creatively and innovatively, hotels of any size can outdo the biggest chains.
Most hotels today rely on in-house teams to deliver this; however, in-house teams can drive social media engagement, but can’t bring varied experience from working with other hotel brands, cutting-edge technology as well as focus on driving RoI.
How do you convince guests to come back with Social Media?
We are witnessing that Middle East and South East Asia are now seeing a pick-up in economic as well as travel activity and therefore is seeing a substantial pick-up in bookings. While India recovers and the high-demand season approaches in the next three months, it’s a golden time for all the hoteliers to revise, refresh, and restart things that haven’t been done for a long. This is the time when hotels should re-look into their strategy, try to explore all channels of digital marketing, make the best use of social media.
BCV, one of the most awarded social media agency focused on hospitality solHutions that works with over 400+ luxury hotels across the world, has been working with luxury hotels across Asia helping them not only to increase engagement but also drive RoI during the pandemic through a tailored social media engagement strategy using its proprietary technology that also delivers 24/7 real-time monitoring.
One such example is our work with Cinnamon Hotels in Maldives one of the first destinations to welcome back tourists. Our approach for them was to keep engagement on through-out the pandemic and deploy a four-step campaign across 45 days using different platforms and content formats created by BCV’s in-house creative team. The campaign helped them generated 204 Room nights and while delivering an ROI 274 on spends, clearly showing that social media continues to drive results even in the crisis and is the right channel for hotels to use to drive demand back. So what should hotels keep in mind when looking to get guests back:
DON’T TAKE THE PEDAL OFF SOCIAL. Irrespective of your size and ability to spend on social, hotels should not stop spends on social media, as in the absence of actual visits, the only way to build brand salience and mind-share is through targeted content continuously served to prospective guests.
DON’T MAKE HEALTH AND SAFETY BORING. As we look to welcome guests back by assuring them of safety, hotels should make sure they do not make hospitality boring and actually look at making health attractive and engaging both through social media content as well as on property. This could be easily achieved by replacing videos and photos of masks and sanitizers with shots of health-juices and immunity boosters that are served as a welcome drink.
MAKE ROI YOUR KEY METRIC. Every Digital Platform has its own metrics and today, Digital Marketers can track close to 50 metrics to show success such as followers, traffic, share of voice and many more however as hospitality marketers emerge from this pandemic, the only thing their social media strategy should work towards is actual revenue contribution and ROI from paid media efforts.
Let’s face it—we live in a digital world. And in the hospitality industry, the best way to target, engage, and communicate with new and existing customers is to use social media metrics to a competitive advantage. But where do you begin?
Read below to learn how our experts at BCV review and utilize social statistics to effectively increase clients’ consumer base, encourage engagement, and turn clicks into bookings.
The Big Three: Growth, Engagement, and Traffic
First things first, let’s talk about growth—also known as the number of followers you gain on Facebook and Instagram over time. This used to be a key indicator in how businesses measured success, but as Facebook increased to over 2 billion users, its organic reach of content fell to 3%, making it more difficult for content to reach followers. This means that even if a page has a large following, it doesn’t guarantee a high number of impressions on their content, but it can still establish a page as credible and help to increase post engagement.
When the content you post generates likes, comments, shares, and clicks, we call that engagement. Engagement is important across all social channels because it shows you how content is resonating with your audience and how you’re performing against competitors. If destination content generates the most comments and shares, you should post more of that. If potential guests respond well to posts that pose a question or highlight on-property amenities, we recommend working those details into the copy. Generating engagement is hardly the same across each of the big three social channels, but we suggest using past data to your advantage and creating content and advertisements that are specific to the audience you are trying to reach.
So, how does traffic come into play? As you spend time growing your social channels and increasing post engagement, it’s important to remember that the ultimate goal is to encourage the consumer to tap the link, view an offer, and make a purchase. To do this, we recommend you strategize target advertising to make sure you’re hitting the right audience at the right time, because any traffic you drive to the website has the potential to become future guests, and the goal is to ensure that every advertisement you serve has the potential to turn into a room booking.
The Importance of Setting Benchmarks
The best part about goals? You can set new ones. In 2020, start the year off strong by reviewing the previous year’s data available on Facebook and Instagram, making note of what strategies succeeded, which posts did well in the eyes of consumers, which advertisements resulted in more conversions, and who your most active demographic was. At BCV, our dedicated marketers recommend using these insights to build future strategies, and from there, proposing improvements to ensure you meet and exceed your goals in the new year.
Because social media needs to be constantly optimized, it’s also important to monitor metrics on a monthly basis to ensure you’re tracking toward goals and making adjustments where you fall short. If you’re targeting a specific audience but notice a decrease in clicks, take a look at what age groups, demographics, and feeder markets are generating the most engagement and shift advertisements to them. If destination content or User Generated Content (UGC) produces more engagement, shift content strategy to focus on what’s delivering results. Because social media ebbs and flows, we recommend you closely monitor Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and make tweaks in real time to ensure each social channel evolves and reaches its fullest potential.
In short, the best way to grow your business, especially in the hospitality industry, is to take advantage of every social resource available, pay attention to your audience, and adjust content as needed. And with our tips and tricks, you have everything you need to grow your media presence when you hit the ground running in the new year.