Expected tourism rebound in Q1 and Q2, 2021
Starting from November 2020, a number of countries decided to reopen their borders for international travel. This is certainly good news – even despite the travel demand is at an all-time low. Most industry experts estimate that a stronger bounce-back in demand can be expected in late Q1 and during Q2 of 2021 as the vaccination will be at an advanced stage by that time.
Different travel expectations
2020 made travelers more careful, more environmentally conscious and – most importantly – more budget conscious. This trend is definitely expected to be present in 2021, travelers will are likely to be less interested in mass-tourism experiences. This means that both destinations, travel companies and of course hotels need to adjust their offerings and experience to fell less mass-market.
Differentiation and product presentation will be key to win guests – ensuring them that they do not only get a nice room and entertainment but also experiences that worth travelling for. Travel expectations in 2021 will be diverse, but the following values will be a priority in most cases:
- ability to social distance
- increased hygiene standards
- cultural experiences
- gastronomical experiences on site
Hotels with spot-on marketing communications will win
In today’s online environment, clear and quality marketing communication is not an advantage but an expectation. Like in any other industry, guests and travellers will develop their initial feelings of a hotel brand based on their first impression, or first experience of interacting with a brand online.
The essentials to succeed making a great first impression are:
- Great corporate identity
- Communication of associated benefits
- Spotless product presentation
- Clear communication of brand and product values
- Excellent quality visual and written content
Use industry-standard brand and marketing audit tools
Today, it is easy to get very detailed feedback about clicks, ad performance, guest acquisition costs and return on investment. These metrics are provided – however, there are no easily available tools to measure how people feel about your branding and marketing communications.
In most independent hotel companies, branding and general marketing language is decided based on opinionated gut feeling, without taking reliable data and feedback into consideration.
Leading international hotels corporations, such as Hilton and IHG have sophisticated brand and marketing evaluation frameworks in place – and are conducting customer feedback research on an ongoing basis.
Brand Auditor does the same industry-standard brand and marketing evaluation for smaller companies. Brand Auditor conducts its own surveys and works with multiple market research companies to collect verified industry-standard data. Their auditing frameworks are based on similar frameworks that are in place in globally successful companies.