We all have been hearing about the change in guest behaviour and booking journey. Truth be told, the world has changed. Social distancing has become the norm. Everyone is extra cautious, and it looks like this is the ‘new normal’.
The new buzzword for the hospitality industry is ‘hygiene and sanitization’. ‘Safety’ has become the foremost consideration for travellers and they are ready to pay a price for it. While online still remains the most preferred way of booking, guests are giving far more weightage to remote check-in, digital key and remote services replacing the earlier expected face-to-face interaction.
While breakfast buffet was the earlier norm, no-contact in-room dining is the preference now. Weekend DJ evening is a thing of the past, instead you need to highlight safety measures and seclusion that you offer.
As for booking window, predictable seasonality is over for the time-being. With Europe and USA facing the second wave, there is apprehension and fear which is reflected in the irregular booking behaviour. Sadly this is expected to stay so and hoteliers need to adjust to shorter lead times. Non-refundable early booker rate is a thing of past. Guests now expect extra flexibility and support.
Brands across the globe are now coming to terms with the volatile business environment. What does this mean for hotels and their online digital marketing?
In today’s session at Travel Tech EMEA, Cofounder Vinicius Geraldo joins Alejandro Gomez and Rita Jusztina Varga along with the expert panel of speakers – Rodrigo Teixeira from Asksuite Hotel Chatbot, Nicola Seghi from SimpleBooking, Alberto Recanatesi from Bookassist, Theodoros Katsimpras from Bookonlinenow and Pavlina Zychova from MyStay to discuss Digital Marketing – news ways and changes in the guest booking journey. Register to exchange ideas and insights with the stalwarts – https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6930318956520107533