Every fortnight, we give you a run down of the latest hostel industry news and offer our insight.
WHY GOOGLE’S LATEST MOVE COULD BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR HOSTELS
In a move which is set to shake up the booking industry in a big way, Google has added a destination site for hotels to it’s repertoire. The tech giant has been making moves into this space for months, but have now given users the option to compare properties and book directly on Google in a way that Skift describe as ‘effortless, intuitive, and fast”.
A new ‘Deals’ filter feature has been added to highlight hotels where Google’s partners offer significantly lower rates than usual for that hotel or similar hotels in the area. Users can also view a hotel’s highlights – for example, whether the property has a pool or is particularly popular with couples – with expanded pages for photos and reviews. Richard Holden, Google’s VP of product management (travel), revealed the latest changes in a blog post about the new features in Google Flights and Hotels.
The move is a huge threat to OTAs and AirBnb, but what does it mean for hostels? Well, while accommodation providers certainly have reason to be wary of yet another place for travellers to book online, you can also see it as an opportunity. Here’s why – on the destination site, Google places a prominent ‘Visit Our Website’ button on your hostels profile which will take users to your website. This is an important feature as it gives travellers the opportunity to go straight to your website and bypass the OTAs listed below.
It’s never been more important for your website to be up-to-date, easy to navigate and mobile friendly. Great design and high quality images and video are also a must. Once travellers are on your site, it’s your job to keep them there and encourage them to book direct. You can do this with special direct booking promotions, quality on-site content (like a blog) and, of course, a quick and secure booking function.
Need a website upgrade? We’ve recently added web design to our services so we’d be happy to help.
ITB BERLIN SHEDS LIGHT ON SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL
Since our last Hostel Industry Insights, another successful ITB Berlin conference has taken place.
This year, there was big focus on sustainable travel, with leading climatologist Hans Joachim Schellnhuber delivering a keynote speech which focused on climate change. While there is an ongoing question as to who is responsible for implementing sustainable tourism, it’s safe to say that accommodation providers including hostels have a key role to play.
Travellers are becoming increasingly conscious of their carbon footprint and we’ve seen more and more hostels doing great work to reduce their impact on the environment, including Atlantic Point Backpackers in Cape Town, Mellow Eco Hostel in Barcelona and Lost & Found Hostel in Panama.
IT’S OFFICIAL – USER GENERATED CONTENT IS DRIVING TRAVEL BOOKINGS
A new report by visual content platform Stackla has proven something we’ve been saying for a while – that when it comes to your marketing, travellers are hugely influenced by user-generated content. The report surveyed 1590 people with a huge 79% saying that user-generated content highly impacts their purchasing decisions.
User-generated content is more effective than your brand’s own content because it is seen by travellers as more authentic and trustworthy. There is nothing more valuable than past guests advocating for your brand and sharing their positive experiences online – you can think of it as digital word of mouth.
And it isn’t just theoretically influencing people’s travel decisions – UGC is directly driving bookings, with over half of consumers saying they have made plans to visit a destination based on a user-generated image or video they saw posted on social media.
The survey also found that Gen-Z and millennial travellers in particular are heavily influenced by quality advertising – up to 71% have become interested in travelling to a specific location after seeing an ad. Are you using paid social ads to market your hostel online? If you’re not but you’d like to start, get in touch to find out how we can work together and the results we’ve achieved using for other clients.
COMMUNITY AND CONVENIENCE A KEY FOCUS FOR HOTELS
Hotels are getting more community-focused in a bid to cater to millennial travellers, according to the latest survey from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA).
The survey – which is conducted every two years and assesses advancements in amenities, guest services, sustainability and technology – found that hotels are diversifying their offering by creating functional shared spaces similar to those traditionally found in hostels. This isn’t surprising given the new wave of hostel-hotel hybrids and rising guest demand for social, shared experiences. In addition to this, hotels are aiming to attract budget-conscious travellers who are looking to retain their healthy lifestyles while on the move with affordable, grab-n-go dining options as an alternative to expensive restaurants dishes.
When it comes to technology, the survey found that more than 80% of all mid to high range properties now offer easy mobile check-in with an increasing number of guests using apps to access hotel services. For hostels, it’s certainly worth thinking how you can best use technology to improve your guest experience, especially as travellers now expect more personalised experiences from brands.
It’s certainly worth keeping an eye on the various approaches of hotels who are working hard to stay relevant with younger travellers (and taking inspiration from hostels).
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