5 Must-Have Trends to Improve Your Marketing Strategy

Nowadays, technology has a fundamental role in the competitiveness of tourist accommodations.

Following the different market trends allows us to be more competitive against certain market segments. Analyzing our client’s sensitivity to change and the way in which he or she values professionalization is a determining factor in implementing improvement processes that have a “more aggressive” impact on the traveler.

Possessing the ability to position ourselves with a referential product specially tailored by the perspective of the traveler and opting for the optimization of resources associated with the profitability of the hotel are some of the priorities that accompany the decisions of technological improvement. According to  the ITH HotelTech Into2015 study: Radiography of the technological investment in Spanish hotel chains, the two main reasons why most hotel chains consider implementing new technologies in their establishments are process optimization (31%) and the fact of marking the difference compared to its competitors (29%). Despite this, these technologies also contribute to an increase in profits through upselling, cross-selling and loyalty strategies (21%), as well as the role that technology can play in corporate growth and development (15%).

To give continuity to the increase in competitiveness associated with technological improvement and market trends, from BEONx we have analyzed 5 key approaches on which we must condition the value proposition of our hosting and the marketing strategy associated with it:

• Travelers are prioritizing about improving the experience and not about classic products. Platforms such as Airbnb, with their experiences, the Conrad chain, which offers unique packages through its website, or the Marriot chain, with its terraced plans, provide the traveler with new adventures and differentiated products as well as novel ones compared to the typical B&B that we are used to finding in hotels. Improving direct booking through products that break with standardization is an advantage to which we can add the improvement of the satisfaction of an increasingly demanding traveler who is committed to innovation in the hotel.

• The loyalty of the traveler who buys online is not a constant about brands.  According to a study conducted by the company Accenture 77% of respondents admit that their decisions are not conditioned by the brand as much as they were three years ago. The defragmentation of online distribution and pricing strategies facilitates the large number of intermediaries. This makes it difficult to state a brand strategy if the company or brand does not have sufficient authority in the market. Although the situation does not follow or even concur, it is important that the hotel does not cease the spoken approach to the recurrent traveler.

• Travelers have no problem resorting to direct booking if they are given reasons. According to a study conducted by the company SalesCycle 29% of travelers abandon the reservation on the hotel website due to problems with the booking process. This fact, linked to the fact that 40% of the reservations in hotels are made through OTAS shows us a complicated panorama and that should be linked to the technological improvement of the hotel. Propose a distribution strategy that competes with the intermediation through an improvement in the proposal of direct booking, actions to generate organic traffic and payment, and work the CRM of the accommodation should maximize the implementation for the hotel.

• New travelers are attracted to customization versus standardization. According to a report made in 2016 by the company Accenture, 75% of consumers are more likely to buy from retailers who recognize them by name. The collection of information in the entire relationship process between the accommodation and the traveler is a huge source of useful information that must be adapted to personalize the experience. Registering both navigation processes and habits in the accommodation will allow us to personalize the product and offer
  it in a more appropriate way.

• The need to generate value through the immediacy favoured by omnichannel strategies. According to Google data  53% of mobile phone users drop out  if the system takes more than 3 seconds to show the content. Therefore, making the flow of information dynamic and accessible to all types of devices ensures the permanence of the travelers, at least from the technical point of view. A large number of accommodations are using messaging systems such as WhatsApp, Facebook’s Messenger or even WeChat to communicate with travelers, thus improving both their browsing experience and their experience during the trip.