Climate change isn’t coming anymore. It’s here. This year, we’ve seen record-breaking temperatures, devastating wildfires, unusually aggressive storms, and unprecedented flooding around the globe.
NB: This is an article from WebRezPro
None of this is particularly good for travel. While you can and should make your hotel as sustainable as possible, you need to find ways to weather climate change as well as prevent it. Travelers are adapting, and your business needs to adapt with them to continue to thrive. Here’s how.
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Embrace Shoulder Season
Take another look at your shoulder season offerings. Many people, particularly those who don’t have to think about school schedules, are interested in traveling during a season when it’s cool enough for their plane to take off. Tell them they can skip the line in September and plenty of them will. Seventy-four percent of US travelers plan to take a trip this autumn, over ten percent more than last year.
Make sure that you adapt your website, social media, and guest communication to the season. Change up the images to include that gorgeous fall foliage and promote seasonal packages, amenities, and activities.
As always, look at your guest data to get to know your audience. Romantic couples, solo travelers, and workcationers are all strong candidates during shoulder season. Find out which of these groups frequent your hotel and gear your offerings towards them.
There are plenty of shoulder season holidays to take advantage of as well with Halloween and Thanksgiving right around the corner. For spring, you have Valentine’s Day, Easter, and even Alfred Hitchcock Day if you want to get creative (how about a murder mystery night with dinner?).
Offer Flexible Cancellations
Covid isn’t the only thing that can necessitate travel shifts. Environmental factors such as hurricanes and wildfires may also cause a swift change of plans. For instance, British Columbia placed a restriction on non-essential travel during the fires in its interior.
People appreciate reassurance that they won’t lose a hefty deposit if their vacation itinerary goes up in smoke. According to Booking.com, properties using their flexible cancellation program see up to three percent higher conversions.
If you’re worried about flexible cancellation policies eating into your profits, you can restrict them to loyalty program members or convert cancellations into gift certificates. That way, you keep the money, and guests can stay at a later date. It’s a win-win.
Encourage Responsibility
Many guests want to leave their destination better than it was when they arrived. In 2019, even before the pandemic, 27 percent of US travelers said they meant to volunteer while on vacation that year.
