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Google have released results of their latest research into traveller loyalty this week – and their findings are relevant to all accommodation providers, including hostels.
The search engine giant partnered with research consultancy Greenberg to understand how loyal today’s frequent travellers are to brands. The answer – not very.
In fact, loyalty programs and reward schemes didn’t even make the top 3 when it comes to influencing traveller’s decisions to book.
Let’s look at the top 3 considerations and how you can integrate them into your hostel’s digital marketing to help boost bookings:
1. CUSTOMER SERVICE
60% of respondents chose customer service as a reason they choose to book with a travel brand. While this is no big surprise, it’s also important in today’s digital world to consider how you can offer good customer service at every stage of a traveller’s journey – before, during and after their trip.
Your digital marketing can help you exceed expectations before guests even arrive at your reception. To boost your online customer service, you can:
- Respond to all messages & comments that come through via your social media pages – this is often the first place your target market go and plays a big part in the overall guest experience, so it’s just as important as face-to-face contact and phone calls.
- Ensure a speedy and personal response to email queries.
- Assist travellers in the planning stages of their journey by sharing useful information about your destination online and on social media – blog posts are a great way to do this.
2. EASY TO USE WEBSITE
An easy-to-use website was valued by 55% of respondents. As we mentioned in our past blog post on increasing direct bookings, 94% of people have abandoned a booking online because of the website they’re using.
When faced with an abundance of accommodation choices and access to more online information than ever, a good website is simply a must if you want to secure bookings.
Check that your website is:
- User friendly and easy to navigate
- Mobile friendly
- Well written with up-to-date information
- Populated with high-quality photos and videos
- Easy to book through with a secure payment systems
3. ONLINE REVIEWS
50% of respondents cited online reviews as a key consideration when making a travel booking.
While you only have so much control over your online reviews, you have complete control about how you respond to them. This is especially important if you receive negative reviews online – a well thought out response will go much further than burying your head in the sand and ignoring the issue.
Think of it as an opportunity to demonstrate how you are addressing the problems your past guest has presented. This will take some of the sting from a bad review by showing others who may be reading that you value customer feedback and are constantly improving your service.
To read Google’s report, click here.
