The new year is fully underway and Hostel Industry Insights is back! Every fortnight, we give you a run down of the latest hostel industry news and offer our insight (we can also provide a variety of GIFs for your entertainment, too!).
MILLENNIALS SPEND LESS BUT WANT LUXURY
“Millennials taking part spend almost three times less on accommodation than baby boomers but are just as willing to pay a little more for luxury.” – Source.
Last week, TripAdvisor released the results of their annual TripBarometer study revealing a significant gap in spending habits and the likelihood to book attractions between younger and older generations.
Results found that millennials – who have the smallest accommodation budget out of all age groups surveyed – spent an average of just £390 on accommodation on their most recent trip. To compare, participating baby boomers spent almost three times as much with an average budget of £890.
While younger travellers may have a smaller budget, 54% of millennials are willing to pay a little more for luxury – ideal for hostels who are the ultimate accommodation provider offering their guests luxury on a budget.
Interestingly, millennials have been found more likely to book attractions than older travellers with almost half (49%) pre-booking things to do before embarking on their trip. This is a great indicator in how influential promoting the tours and activities you offer at your hostel on social media and via email can be in boosting pre-bookings and additional revenue from your upcoming guests.
MODERN TRAVELLERS PUT OFF BY NO ONLINE PRESENCE
“One out of four millennials use social media sites to find their holiday accommodation, and 83% said they would be more likely to book a hotel after seeing images from someone they follow on social media.” – Source.
Hostels without a strong online presence are losing out on bookings, according to a new study (and, well, all of our research and experience too…!)
The report – conducted with global data collection agency Viga – found that more than half of surveyed 18 – 34 years old wouldn’t book a property if its website was difficult to use and 49% put off making a booking if they couldn’t do it instantly online.
As we’ve mentioned a number of times, a prospective hostel’s social media presence is hugely important to millennials with 73% saying they check the company’s social media feed before booking. It also found that 33% would be totally put off booking altogether if a hotel had no social media presence.
For hostels, maintaining a strong online presence is no longer optional – it is absolutely vital in order to attract modern travellers and keep up with their demands. Need support with this? Get in touch and let’s chat about how we can help your hostel.
PERSONALISATION KEY TO SUCCESS WITH YOUNG TRAVELLERS
“In 2019, the report predicts hotels and online travel companies will shift their offerings to include more discounts, rewards and reviews to make travel more affordable and locally driven for millennial and Gen Z travelers.” – Source.
Younger travellers are becoming increasingly more open to using chatbots and are much more likely to be swayed by personalised offers in 2019, a new report co-authored by WEX Inc. and Mastercard has found.
The study found that 36% of Gen-Z and 32% of millennial travellers in the US believe chatbots or digital assistants would make the booking experience easier and frictionless.
Interestingly, it also found that 33% of millennial and 32% of Gen-Z travellers say they’re comfortable allowing a computer to plan a trip based on data from their travel history – almost three times more than baby boomers at 13%.
In terms of marketing, millennial and Gen-Z travellers – at 45% and 37% respectively – say they’re likely to book a flight after receiving a personalised email.
This illustrates the power that digital marketing can have on influencing potential guests’ purchasing decisions. It also shows the extent to which hostels are missing out on both filled beds and revenue by not investing in areas such as email marketing.
As hostels start to plan for the year ahead, these three reports are helpful in showing you how modern travellers are finding places to visit and stay and how you can reach them online.
This insight into what your potential guests want and expect from your hostel prior to booking is really valuable in terms of planning where to focus your attention this year too.
One thing is for certain, digital marketing has become a necessity for hostels of all sizes in 2019.
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