According to a survey from Bridgestreet Global Hospitality, 83% of respondents say they use time on business trips to explore the city they’re visiting.
NB: This is an article by Sojern
Sojern’s latest Path to Purchase report examines eight travel profiles, and provides insightful marketing takeaways. Let’s take a look at bleisure traveler “Michael” to see how travel brands can reach him in the best way.
Here’s what a Bleisure path to purchase might look like
“Michael” is frequent traveler based in Dallas, Texas, and often travels to Singapore for business. He enjoys sporting events and is an avid travel researcher. Let’s look at his path to purchase below:
Use data to target precise dates
Major regional hubs like Singapore, London, and New York provide many low-cost flight options to nearby destinations. Our Destination Report: A Focus on the United Kingdom and France shows that people who visit London are likely to tag on a trip to Paris and vice versa. So, if you’re within a couple hours flight of these cities, it’s worth advertising to people traveling there.
For example, on December 25, while “Michael” is in Singapore, he books a long weekend trip to Kuala Lumpur. With Sojern’s access to real-time search and booking data, we can help travel brands target travelers when they are in-destination, for more targeted messaging.
Incentivize business travelers to stick around
“Michael,” like many travelers, worries about missing out on the best deal—hence conducting multiple hotel searches before and even after he books. This is a great opportunity to upsell a few extra nights. Hotels that typically cater to business travelers during the week can offer a discount to promote them to stay over the weekend. Dynamic Creative is one way to promote cheaper weekend options, prompting the “Michaels” of the world to book and extend their stay in-destination.
Build brand loyalty across destinations
There’s a luxury hotel brand in particular that made a big impression on “Michael” while he searches. So much so, he returns to search it once back home. Then when he’s back in Singapore, his leisure planning returns. He looks specifically to head to Kuala Lumpur, a short journey away from Singapore. It is that luxury hotel brand that continues to be the focus of his travel planning. Ultimately, after a month of searching, he converts with them.
“Michael” is clearly interested in this particularly hotel chain. Stay top of mind by highlighting other properties that “Michael” may be interested in staying at. Video is a great way to show of a property’s particular offerings. This then, gives “Michael” an opportunity to dream of his next Bleisure adventure.
