The travel industry is greatly affected by the fast-changing customer habits caused by advancements in technology. This ongoing change leads companies in the industry to adapt to technology and follow customer trends.
With changing habits, customers’ holiday expectations and needs also change. Research shows that the understanding of a holiday is now well beyond the mere expectation of the sea, sun and beach. It is necessary to follow customer expectations and habits closely to succeed in the travel industry. As HotelRunner, we have compiled useful information about the changing travel trends for online travel agencies.
The decresing gap between business travel and holiday
With the introduction of mobile devices into our lives, the line between business life and personal life is increasingly blurring. Use of mobile devices brings a wide range of changes in the understanding of travel planning. Research shows that business travels are mostly made by white-collar employees who are generally referred to as Generation Y. Generation Y prefer making their own bookings in the shortest time through mobile devices rather than follow a conventional corporate method as they plan their business travels.
These guests, who want to plan their free time remaining after their international business travel, have different expectations from travel agencies, hotels and airlines. It might contribute a lot to customer satisfaction, sales and competition regarding your travel agency when you offer alternative options for accommodation, car rental and flight tickets for these people who want to turn the rest of their business travel into a holiday.
Images as the new marketing language of the travel industry
The interest in social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram that support visual posts is also shaping the travel industry marketing. Customers, planning every stage of their travel online, now want to see detailed images of the property they will stay at. Plus, evaluating photos and comments from customers who visited that country and hotel previously affects their booking decision considerably. Research shows that customers take the advantage of over 125 million comments on TripAdvisor when planning their travel.
Rise of metasearch sites
Studies show that metasearch sites are on the rise in 2014.
Metasearch is the general term for sites such as TripAdvisor, Kayak and Expedia that aggregate a number of search results and choose the most suitable of them for users. Aiming to offer “the best” opportunity for users, these sites become a primary source to refer to as part of travel planning efforts. The investments in metasearch sites that have a major role in the tourism industry are increasingly rapidly in 2014 too. Aiming to access more users with mobile and other new marketing tools, metasearch sites are among the channels promoting responsive adaptability to the industry.
In determining the digital marketing strategy of your online agency, it is critical to factor in both industry and customer trends. If you are using the HotelRunner platform, you can analyze your existing and potential customer group using the advanced analytic reporting service. Integrated with Google Analytics, HotelRunner provides you with a robust web infrastructure. Create your account now to carry your agency to the Internet seamlessly.
