Travel trends: Urge is to spend more on travel
New SiteMinder research: The 5 key travel trends set to inform and inspire the accommodation and tourism industry despite rising inflation
A new SiteMinder report reveals rising inflation is not proving a deterrent or diminishing the urge to travel despite rising inflation, the long-awaited recovery of travel has emerged with a new type of traveller who has higher expectations, and the ‘bleisure’ travel trend shows no signs of slowing.
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The 2002 Changing Traveller Report, based on a survey of more than 8,000 travellers from 10 countries around the world, also uncovered five key travel trends set to inform and inspire the accommodation and tourism industry:
The Macro-Travel Trend: The urge to travel is stronger than rising inflation
The Digital Influence Trend: Right now, travellers are the most winnable consumers on earth
The Bleisure Trend: Working travellers want the hotel of the future, today
The Trust Trend: Every digital touchpoint matters for the new trust-critical traveller
The Human Connection Trend: Tech-enabled travellers are not willing to compromise on human connection
The report showed the majority of travellers do not expect to be held back by rising inflation, with 87 percent of travellers saying they are happier when they are anticipating travel, and 85 percent of travellers comfortable spending additional money on extras during their next stay.
The most desired extra cost add-ons are breakfast (50 percent) and a view (34 percent).
In the ‘new normal’ of travel, 80 percent of travellers say it is important to have the flexibility to easily modify or freely cancel their reservation. When making an online accommodation booking, an easy and secure booking and payment process is the top priority for travellers.
Managing Director and CEO of SiteMinder, Sankar Narayan, the long-awaited recovery of travel has emerged with a new type of traveller, who has higher expectations from hotels and their travel experiences than ever.
“The accommodation sector has remained at the heart of travel during the last two years, with the rise of regional and domestic travel,” he said.
“Now, we are seeing pent-up demand pushing the next phase of global travel recovery forward, with supply-driven hurdles such as border restrictions and flight scarcity becoming less of a roadblock for travellers in high-traffic destinations across the world.
“More than simply an awakened enthusiasm for travel, travellers globally have reported strong intent to book and spend more, despite rising inflation.
“In SiteMinder’s 2022 Changing Traveller Report, we can see that, more than ever, travellers now have ambitions to book, travel, work, connect, and experience the world with the greatest flexibility and security possible. This strong, multifaceted traveller intent is set to further evolve the role of accommodation, which hoteliers need to be ready for.”
The research also highlighted the need for hoteliers and the travel industry to balance various guest needs, including the blending of business and leisure travel and the mixed expectations around digital experiences and benefiting from human connections.
Further insights from the report include:
- 36 percent of travellers globally are planning to work on their next trip;
- For 60 percent of those not working, the ‘little things’ (e.g. a property’s scent, their artwork, the restaurant’s music) ‘always’ or ‘often’ impact whether the respondents would consider returning to a property, however this jumps to 78 percent among working travellers;
- More than 70 percent of all travellers would ‘likely’ or ‘definitely’ pre-visit their property in the metaverse before check-in if they had the opportunity to;
- And 87 percent would appreciate it if their accommodation provider enabled them to learn more about the culture and history of the location they are staying in.
Commenting on the report, Ovolo Hotels Culture and Brand Experience Manager, Amanda Cottome said her organisation was in the business of sharing happiness and intrinsically, humans want to feel a sense of belonging.
“With more of our guests spending time working remotely, the need for human connection is far greater than it ever has been.
“Our data tells us that the emotional connection that the team forms with our guests (and our brand) is a far greater driver of high guest promotion than a speedier check-in.
“It’s not to say that we don’t focus on making this process more effortless for our team and our guests, we simply believe that there is a far greater driver of satisfaction at play – human connection.”
Mike Parker-Brown is a UK-trained and qualified journalist and an award-winning travel communicator with more than 30 years experience.
Since 2002, Mike has worked as a freelance writer and PR consultant providing his services to major organisations in Australia and internationally in the tourism, aviation, hospitality, recruitment and export marketing sectors.
