One of the most effective ways to generate revenue for your hotel is by targeting your hotel’s market.
NB: This is an article from Catala Consulting
When developing your hotel’s strategy, you need to think about what type of guest you want to reach and why. Defining the right market will help you adapt your offer and increase your revenue. But before deciding on your market, you need to think about your hotel’s characteristics first.
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The market you choose to target has to match those; you can’t target beach lovers if your hotel is in the centre of a city with no ocean or sea nearby. Once your hotel’s characteristics are identified, you can start working on your target. Different ways to identify and define it are possible, but the most important point is that you need to understand your target’s needs and demands to fulfil their expectations. One happy guest brings more guests.
You are most likely already aware of the importance of targeting and probably already have a targeted market for your hotel. Business travelers, families, or couples are some of the biggest targets for hotels. These groups are so big that some hotels decide to only focus on them. For example, there are hotel conferences located near airports for business travelers, or adults-only hotels where couples are the preferred type of guests.
These are only a handful of potential targets for hotels. Needs and demands tend to change with time and with new trends emerging. That is why it is important to stay informed on who is the new market to target and why.
What Influences Trends
Over the years, trends have constantly changed, and new groups were created. But trends don’t just appear, they are often influenced by external factors such as the economy, the environment, politics, and other factors that need further analysis when identifying your target.
For example, last year due to the pandemic, hotels had no choice but to focus on a more local market. Since guests from abroad were not guaranteed, most hotels decided to target their own country inhabitants. And it worked! The demand came primarily from domestic travelers looking to discover more about their country. And even though, for hotels, it meant adjusting some aspects such as the price, it kept them working. Plus, a local market is a step towards sustainability and a more authentic experience for guests, which is also a trend for 2022. If you’re interested in ways to make your hotel more sustainable, it was discussed furtherly in this article.
One trend leads to another, and in the end, it all seems to connect. So, what is this year’s trend, and what influenced it?
A New Target: Solo Travelers
The pandemic almost completely stopped everyone from travelling for two years. Therefore, there is no more time to waste! People are eager to travel and check some boxes of their bucket lists. They don’t want to postpone holidays or wait on friends or family to travel; they are travelling alone and on their own terms.
According to the Solo Traveler World survey lead in 2021 about solo travelers, 70% of 2,359 respondents are ready to travel internationally in 2022. That same survey shows that 66% of respondents don’t want to wait for others to travel and therefore prefer to travel alone. As for their motivation: 42% of the participants want to meet new people, while 41% want to be on their own for personal growth.
You can clearly see that these two types of motivations come with different objectives. One objective for those solo travelers is to be alone and to reconnect with themselves, while the other is to connect with new people.
Although this target is not completely new and has been growing for a few years, you might not know how to attract it to your hotel.
