Travel planning. We all know from experience that a lot goes into planning the perfect vacation, and with so many devices and planning resources, the journey is complex. According to a leisure travel study conducted by Phocuswright, 60% of respondents reported that a vacation was their largest discretionary purchase. In light of this, before making this large investment, travelers are thoughtfully taking time to research all the possibilities. In fact, according to Google, in just a little over a 60-day booking window, the average person encounters over 38,983 digital micro-moments and interactions.
As travel planners encounter more digital distractions and more research happens throughout the traveler’s customer journey, being there for the most important digital micro-moments—during which preferences are shaped and decisions are made—is crucial to capturing the attention of potential guests and nurturing them through the path to a direct booking.
Take advantage of the full travel planning journey.
While reaching potential guests lower in the purchase funnel is a key strategy to winning the direct booking, not being there to influence and shape decisions made earlier in the travel planning journey is a serious missed opportunity that results in lost bookings. Travel micro-moments start when people begin daydreaming about their next vacation, and they continue all the way through the long-awaited trip itself. Google defines four major stages of the travel planning journey in which hotel brands must be present: Dreaming, Planning, Booking, and Experiencing.
With over 40% of travelers stating they bounce back and forth between dreaming about and planning their next vacation—zooming in on the details for one destination and then zooming out to reconsider all the options again—it’s becoming just as important for hotel brands to be present in the dreaming phase as it is the planning phase of the journey.
Key advantages of being present throughout the entire planning journey:
- Your hotel brand can shape and influence important vacation planning decisions early on in the process to nurture potential guests further down the booking funnel.
- Seventy-two percent of travelers agree that they look for the most relevant information regardless of the travel company providing it; therefore, if you are not present early in the planning process to offer the information customers need when they need it, a competitor or an OTA might ultimately win the booking.
- You can take advantage of the full booking window to capitalize on 100% of demand for your destination, and even increase demand by influencing travelers in the dreaming phase when they are choosing between multiple destinations.
- You can better reach your “best guest” by capturing the attention of the right audience early on in the travel planning process.
- You will be there for every step of the journey for your most loyal customers and ultimately deepen their brand connection.
