The times of generic, one-size-fits-all journey advertising and marketing are over. At the moment, catering to particular tourism niches is the proper strategy to appeal to the precise company and acquire these all-important direct bookings. In right this moment’s evolving journey panorama, understanding the various wants and preferences of travellers is essential for motels to draw and retain loyal company.
1. The Journey Seeker
A rising phase of travellers aren’t happening vacation for leisure – they’re on the lookout for an action-packed itinerary and full journey experiences, usually the extra thrilling the higher. These adventure-seekers are drawn to locations that supply out of doors actions like mountaineering, biking, climbing, and water sports activities, and are sometimes additionally looking out for off-the-beaten-track cultural experiences, immersive excursions and going the place no traveller has gone earlier than.
A fast and simple strategy to cater to this 406.12 billion dollar market is by partnering with native journey exercise suppliers. When you’ve obtained the sources, it’s not too troublesome to dip your toe within the journey pool by offering gear leases or providing guided excursions to native websites.
To earn extra bookings from these adrenaline-hungry adventurers, you’ll want to make an intentional effort to speak the actions obtainable round your lodge, and, ideally, that your group can deal with all of their tour bookings and organize their itineraries.
You don’t essentially must have all of the actions on-site, however just a few complimentary facilities (like safe storage for company’ personal gear, or pre-packed breakfasts for ultra-early risers) and clear messaging that emphasises your facilities, proximity to pure websites and related add-ons are what’s going to make your lodge a fascinating choice for these adventure-loving company.
Take a look at 5 hotels that take guest experiences to the extreme
2. The Wellness Traveller
The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) defines wellness tourism as “journey related to the pursuit of sustaining or enhancing one’s private wellbeing”. These wellness seekers want to enhance their well being and wellbeing throughout their subsequent trip. An article by researchers at Łódź College discovered that the post-COVID wellness tourism sector represents one of many fastest-growing tourism market segments globally. Along with this sector’s fast progress, wellness travellers are inclined to spend rather more per journey than travellers from different tourism sectors, despite the fact that they have an inclination to journey solo or in pairs.
Protecting such a broad spectrum of actions and facilities, it may be troublesome to pinpoint precisely what attracts wellness travellers. Some search motels with spa amenities, health centres, wholesome eating choices, and alternatives for meditation or yoga. However the market is increasing quickly and altering as company experiment with what it means to be “properly” – a number of the newer wellness choices embrace sleep tourism, vegan retreats and in-room health choices.
Gearing up for wellness company doesn’t have to incorporate a whole overhaul of your property – typically simply including wholesome or vegan choices to your menu or offering company with distinctive facilities that improve the inherent wellness of a calming vacation can appeal to this phase with out costing your property a big outlay. This article explores a number of the methods you would possibly already be positioned to faucet into the wellness journey market.
If you wish to make this phase a core goal market, you’ll be able to supply wellness retreats in-house or collaborate with native wellness consultants to supply specialised therapies, workshops, or retreats out of your property.
No matter wellness avenue you select to pursue, guarantee that the holistic, enjoyable and uplifting advantages are clearly communicated by your property’s advertising and marketing efforts and take centre stage in your web site.
3. The Sluggish Traveller
Journey can so usually contain hectic schedules the place company rush from place to position to go to as many sights as humanly doable, queueing up with a herd of different vacationers to take some photographs, and, with simply that glimpse of the native surroundings, packing up and heading off to the subsequent vacation spot on their listing.
Sluggish journey challenges this concept of tourism, permitting company to spend extra time immersing themselves within the vacation spot they go to for extra fulfilling journey experiences inside the group. Slow travel doesn’t essentially imply longer holidays (though some folks do select this selection) however is relatively in regards to the intentional, acutely aware and conscientious expertise of a spot and its tradition.
These company wish to absolutely immerse themselves in the area people, its customs, historical past, meals and music. One of the best ways to draw these travellers is by providing a lot of info in your native space, issues to do and see, off-the-beaten-track experiences and even providing dishes from domestically sourced produce. You possibly can go additional by providing cultural excursions, partnering with native museums and galleries, and offering details about native occasions and festivals.
As a hotelier, it’s necessary to attach with your individual local people to completely perceive and have the ability to recount all the hidden gems and one-of-a-kind tales out of your space to your company. Collaborating with the community means you’ll be able to supply a greater variety of facilities and experiences, catering to a greater variety of tastes.
Catering to gradual journey is commonly very rewarding for hoteliers, as these company are as a rule delighted by their expertise and it’s these company who’ve change into a part of the group, who will advocate their journey and the distinctive locations and other people they met to their family and friends.
4. The Wandering Employee
From digital nomads who work remotely and journey alone for prolonged durations, to company travellers who convey a associate or youngsters alongside on a enterprise journey for a ‘workation’, many travellers don’t steadiness work and life, however mix it. Plus it’s extra frequent than you could assume, 41% of workers surveyed had been fascinated by combining enterprise with leisure in keeping with Statistia.
Usually, they don’t have many out-of-the-ordinary wants apart from the plain good high quality wifi and an area to work, however providing comfy co-working areas, versatile check-in/check-out choices and long-stay reductions may also help appeal to this phase. Having a desk or area to work of their room, entry to plug factors and varied adapters for his or her a number of digital units, and repair choices akin to in-room eating, assembly room or convention venue bookings and versatile housekeeping also can all make these company happier.
A key differentiating issue between these bleisure travellers and purely company company, nevertheless, is that it’s not all about work for them. Delight them by making it simple to include enjoyable excursions, sightseeing or cultural actions, and facilitating enjoyable for non-working members of the celebration by providing spa therapies for adults and supervised actions for youngsters.
5. The Travelling Household
Household-friendly, kiddie-inclusive choices are a staple of the journey marketplace for a cause – households take pleasure in spending time collectively on vacation, many households, the truth is 46% p.c of American households had been ‘very seemingly’ to take a household journey quickly. They’re additionally a bunch that’s spoilt for alternative, although, and getting forward of the pack means being intelligent about the way you cater to the wants of the person members of the family and the group as an entire.
At a naked minimal, you must supply child-friendly areas like youngsters’s swimming pools, sport rooms, and playgrounds to maintain youngsters entertained. When you’ve got sufficient demand, you can delight the grownup company by providing supervised youngsters’s actions in order that they’ll have just a few hours off responsibility.
Alternatively, you can make sure that your amenities cater to each the desires of fogeys and the whims of youngsters concurrently. Eating places usually do that by offering a kiddies’ menu and colouring-in kits to maintain youngsters entertained and fed whereas mother and father take pleasure in a meal, however this precept might be prolonged to most features of hospitality.
For instance, I just lately visited a spa lodge with my youngsters. Together with them within the expertise by giving them their very own complimentary towelling robes and allocating a time when the indoor pool and sauna space was open to youngsters meant that the lodge efficiently delighted all of the company in room 229.
To additional enchantment to this large market, curate packages that embrace household actions, reductions, or complimentary providers. You can even collaborate with native sights like zoos, aquariums, or amusement parks to supply discounted tickets or particular packages.
6. The Eco-Aware Traveller
Eco-conscious travellers prioritise sustainable practices and help native communities. They need to have the ability to proceed their ‘inexperienced’ lifestyle whereas travelling and to make sure that they don’t hurt the atmosphere or the area people by vacationing in a selected place. The sort of traveller shouldn’t be one to be ignored. Whereas not everybody feels the necessity to utterly change their future journey plans in deference to the pure world round them, it’s a fast-growing space of concern for almost all of travellers. The truth is, in keeping with the Booking.com Sustainable Travel Report “75% of worldwide travellers say that they wish to journey extra sustainably over the subsequent 12 months, and (43%) would really feel responsible once they make much less sustainable journey selections”.
Lodges can appeal to the eco-conscious traveller by turning into an eco-conscious lodge and, a vital step that many hoteliers neglect, speaking this in advertising and marketing supplies. On a theoretical stage, being eco-conscious means understanding the impression that every side of the property has on the native atmosphere, the broader atmosphere and your local people as an entire.
On a extra sensible stage, this might embrace methods akin to implementing sustainability practices, akin to utilizing energy-efficient home equipment, low-flow showers, educating company on reusing linen and towels or decreasing waste by partaking in rigorous recycling practices or making use of reusable toiletries. Facilities can have an effect on each your visitor expertise and the atmosphere, and plenty of motels are actually choosing biodegradable, non-toxic toiletries, bamboo linens, tooth brushes or locally-crafted soaps, toiletries and different facilities.
Get started with the basics of going green
Whereas all features of the lodge might be influenced by the inexperienced motion, one division stands out above the group: the meals and beverage division. Meals miles have change into a standard time period when speaking in regards to the distance that meals has to journey earlier than it’s consumed. Many inexperienced motels have adopted the technique of buying meals from native suppliers, decreasing the carbon footprint of acquiring the meals however greater than that it helps the area people and sometimes permits for extra scrutiny with what’s being bought, akin to discovering free-range or natural produce which additional enhances the inexperienced standing of the property.
7. The Lone Rangers
Solo travellers are an more and more important demographic within the hospitality trade, not becoming the outdated stereotype of those that journey alone out of necessity. As an alternative, many are selecting solo adventures for the liberty to discover at their very own tempo, give attention to private well-being, or lengthen enterprise journeys into leisure experiences. With an increase in solo journey bookings and rising demand for lodging that cater to unbiased travellers, it’s clear that this pattern is right here to remain.
In a single American Express report, solo journey is proven to be a significant pattern amongst younger travellers, with 76% of Millennials and Gen-Z planning solo journeys this 12 months. Nonetheless, their journeys could also be shorter than the typical household keep or multigenerational vacation, with the identical survey revealing that “57% of respondents agreed that they had been extra prone to journey solo for a fast weekend getaway than for an extended or costlier journey.”
The Hilton 2025 Trends Report, which surveyed 13,000 travellers, has since coined the time period, MeMooners, those that are taking themselves on a visit of self-reflection, well-being or new and thrilling adventures. The outcomes had been fairly astounding: “Almost 50% of worldwide respondents usually journey by themselves (47%). Gen Z (55%) and Millennials (51%) usually tend to usually journey on their very own.”
To draw solo travellers, motels want to supply experiences that align with their distinctive wants. Eliminating single dietary supplements in favour of solo-friendly packages, which cater particularly to these travelling on their very own. Folks travelling alone additionally want an additional stage of safety, offering safe lodging with well-lit entrances and 24/7 reception or providing a safe bag drop level may also help single folks really feel that each themselves and their belongings are secure.
Tim Hentschel, CEO of HotelPlanner, agrees: “The urge for food for solo journey isn’t slowing down.” He talked about that this new contemptment with being alone has stemmed from the pandemic however there are different explanation why solo journey has elevated in recent times “The solo journey increase can be being pushed by digital nomads—one other type of journey bolstered by the pandemic which provided newfound freedom from the workplace with hybrid working.”
Incorporating social areas could make all of the distinction, creating frequent areas the place solo travellers can loosen up, or socialise with different company may also help them meet different company. Hoteliers can take this idea additional by organsing social occasions, concepts akin to sport nights, film nights or group excursions can all present pockets of interplay and enjoyable for single company.
These parts had been highlighted within the Hilton report, the place it was famous that “44% of MeMooners respect steered actions or occasions the place they’ll meet different solo travellers. Additionally they prioritise pleasant group members (43%) and safety-focused facilities (41%).”
Whether or not they’re looking for solitude or social connections, solo travellers respect motels that present versatile, comfy, and interesting environments. Easy adjustments, akin to highlighting solo-friendly experiences on a lodge’s web site or providing tailor-made packages, can go a good distance in making solo company really feel welcomed and valued.
8. The Luxurious Traveller
As soon as outlined by opulent motels, connoisseur delicacies, and premium journey experiences, luxurious journey has developed considerably in recent times. Rich travellers are actually looking for extra distinctive, once-in-a-lifetime and adventurous journeys, akin to area exploration and deep-sea expeditions, high-end experiences that transcend simply five-star lodging.
McKinsey defines the posh traveller as somebody who spends a minimum of $500 per night time on lodging, and in keeping with their report, “Demand for luxurious tourism and hospitality is anticipated to develop sooner than for every other trade phase.”
That is partly as a result of rise in aspiring luxurious travellers: a subset of barely youthful well-to-do travellers who, though they don’t essentially have the identical funds because the mega-wealthy, are nonetheless prepared to spend their hard-earned cash on luxurious experiences.
Luxurious travellers prioritise personalised service, privateness, and distinctive, once-in-a-lifetime alternatives. This demographic is usually older, and sometimes contains high-net-worth people, enterprise executives, and prosperous leisure travellers who count on impeccable attention to detail, seamless comfort, and curated experiences tailor-made to their tastes.
To appeal to luxury travellers, apart from the plain high-quality lodging, premium bedding, and upscale facilities like swimming swimming pools, spas, and health centres. Lodges must also supply bespoke providers akin to non-public butlers, VIP transfers, and personalised itineraries. Unique experiences, akin to non-public eating with famend cooks, wellness retreats, and tailor-made cultural excursions, add important worth. Excessive-end expertise, sustainability initiatives, and loyalty perks additionally improve their expertise. In the end, delivering flawless service, exclusivity, and a way of status will guarantee repeat visits and powerful model loyalty.
9. The Traveller on a Finances
Finances-conscious travellers prioritise affordability when looking for their subsequent getaway. Typically, these travellers select to journey domestically, however not all the time. Worth-conscious travellers can nonetheless benefit from the expertise of halidaying overseas, however select to remain in additional budget-friendly lodging or search for trip packages which supply all-inclusive offers. Lodges can appeal to them by providing aggressive charges, budget-friendly packages, and even providing ‘unbundled’ offers.
Lodges and expertise suppliers have learnt a factor or two from the airline trade by providing extra personalised and versatile pricing choices. By ‘unbundling’ their current presents, they’ll enable company to decide on what they need, and are glad to pay extra for, and decide out of the issues they don’t want.
In accordance with a survey carried out by Oracle and Skift, almost 90 per cent of customers are both smitten by or open to the idea of unbundling, with 43.3 per cent of customers saying they might be very prone to guide a lodge that allowed them to pay for under the facilities they use. Whereas that is helpful in attracting company seeking to save a couple of bucks, it will also be profitable for the hotelier.
Traits of their guest feedback will enable managers to know what their core group of company are on the lookout for, and the add-ons company worth most. Hoteliers also can make use of pre-stay surveys to higher perceive what their company count on, and use all this info to upsell to ‘unbundled’ company.
Another choice is for motels to supply varied reductions or seasonal packages. For instance, particular charges within the off season, or for giant teams and prolonged stays. Though it’s the precise reverse of unbundling, all-inclusive is again in vogue. For travellers on a decent funds, understanding precisely what the vacation will value is a big perk. You don’t must have all of the amenities on web site your self both – work with close by eating places to bulk-buy meal vouchers up-front at a reduction, and embrace these in your packages, or work with native exercise suppliers to offer your company an unforgettable itinerary they’ll afford. Cleverly curated packages in partnership with other local businesses have the identical good thing about permitting the traveller to funds successfully, and the extra perk of giving them the various, genuine expertise that conventional all-inclusive resorts lack.
10. The Foodie Traveller
Foodies are enthusiastic about delicacies in all its kinds, from road meals to fantastic eating, and are eager to discover the culinary identification of the native areas they go to. For them, meals is an exercise, a cultural expertise, and sometimes the spotlight of their journey.
Food photos are (still) in – make your hotel’s dishes picture perfect
Past having fun with scrumptious meals, foodie travellers are curious in regards to the tales behind the dishes. They wish to find out about native substances, conventional cooking strategies, and the individuals who develop, forage, or put together the meals. Many hunt down cooking lessons, farm visits, and meals festivals that supply a deeper understanding of the area’s culinary roots. Sustainability is commonly necessary to them too; they’re drawn to motels that prioritise native sourcing and eco-friendly practices.
Lodges can enchantment to this high-value demographic in some ways, most of which can improve the experiences of much less food-centric guests as properly. Partnering with native cooks or culinary faculties to supply cooking workshops or chef’s desk experiences could be a large draw. Curated meals and wine excursions, visits to native markets, and farm-to-table eating choices are additionally nice methods to attach with these company. Even easy touches, like welcome treats made with native produce or in-room guides to the very best native eateries, can go a good distance in direction of making a memorable keep.
Understanding your traveller
By figuring out your most respected visitor segments, you’ll be able to tailor your providers, communications, and experiences to higher meet their expectations.
Visitor suggestions may also help take the guesswork out of this by exhibiting you who you’re already doing properly with, and the place there’s room to develop. It’s all about being extra intentional with the way you join along with your company and ensuring your lodge stands out for the precise causes.
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This submit initially appeared on the GuestRevu weblog here and is reproduced with their permission.
