Brand loyalty is an everyday challenge for companies in the hospitality industry, from hotels to travel agents.
This article is very interesting as it analyses the habits of online bookers, how they proceed when booking their holidays. It is based on a survey made on 2000 UK consumers.
Online searching for holidays has become more and more famous towards people. Indeed, the survey shows that 37% of British adults look up on the internet the holiday destinations and offers, and 26% finally book online. But most of the online seekers do not book right away.
They search on different travel websites, take notes, and look up those offers again later, probably to check out if any new offers have been posted online. As the article says, it can be a long process for up to 4 months in advance before booking their holidays.
The main interest for all online consumers is to make the better deal according to their needs and expectations. Therefore, they do not really value the travel website on which they make the reservation. It is not their top priority on their check list.
Not only do consumers want the best deal, they need to feel comfortable and secure with the travel websites. The travel websites should be able to answer any customer questions. The article suggest that the websites need to be safe and attractive, in which the consumer feels secure enough to proceed with the payment. This brings us back to the importance of having an easy, and safe booking engine.
For sure brand loyalty is a crucial issure for hotels. It enables them to have regular customers who stands for a stable basis.
RépondreSupprimerAnd yet today customers are becoming more and more fickle especially internet bookers.Internet is a wonderful marketing tools, but it can also turn also hotel groups : through websites such as expedia, momondo, booking, which gives the guests all the data in real time for all the offers available so that they can choose the best deal. Because this is what these guests are looking for. They are not going to a place they affectionate, but a good price / quality ratio. These guests may be loyal to a group or a brand, but that's it.
And i totally agree that it is so important to have an easy booking engine ! It is a key tool to have additional guests !
Thank you for thoughtful comments + cross comments. The real issue = what is the replacement for loyalty in the digital marketplace?
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