Seasoned travellers will often traverse continents and countries, stopping off at various hotels, hostels, and B&Bs along the way. If you’re a large hotel group with properties across multiple cities, this is certainly something you can leverage.
Chain- and group-wide memberships and loyalty programs can have major sway on guest decision-making. Provided their experience is positive, they’re likely to choose to your brand again and again. When travellers are away from home, many seek out new experiences, immersing themselves in the culture, language, customs, environment, and food scene. With so much stimulation and newness, there’s a tendency to look for comfort and familiarity wherever they lay their heads after a day of exploring.
Repeated custom is especially likely when member discounts and exclusive perks are up for grabs. Gift cards are even better still! If your group offers cash vouchers, eligible for use at some, or indeed, all of your locations, you can bet travellers will be eager to redeem them across your sister properties.
It’s worth noting, over the last year or so, a different kind of hotel hopping has emerged. Not just across countries and continents, but often within a singular city. This trendy travel hack is done with a view to experience different neighbourhoods, nightlife, and environs. While large hotel groups might still benefit from having multiple properties per city, how can smaller groups with a handful of locations compete? What about boutique hotels with just one flagship property?
Of course, some travellers aren’t interested in single-city hotel hopping. It can be a lot of work to do additional research, repack bags, transport them to a new location, adjust to a second or third hotel room, unpack again, get to know the property’s amenities and local haunts, and so on. Especially if they’re looking to relax and unwind. For others who crave novelty, there are a few strategies to keep them on site for multiple nights in a row:
1. Ensure each subsequent night is more affordable than the last.
2. Schedule a variety of onsite activities to keep guests engaged. From early morning yoga sessions to afternoon hikes to cocktail making classes to live music to movies under the stars. The possibilities are endless.
3. Reach out in the lead up to their arrival. Is there anything you can do to make their trip all the more enjoyable? What would make your hotel their home away from home? This might even result in upselling, whether it’s adding a bottle of Prosecco to their room at check-in or encouraging them to purchase a slot for a fast-selling spa treatment.
4. Create a guest loyalty program so they earn points that reflect the length of their stay.
5. Clean rooms daily and replace water bottles.
6. Include breakfast as part of your standard overnight package.
7. Offer room upgrades where possible.
8. Place table-toppers in every room with QR codes linking to exclusive gift card offers, encouraging them to purchase and partake while on site.
9. Partner with neighbouring attractions to create gift cards that include B&B and reduced entry cost to must-see sights.
10. Widely advertise gift card sales and special offers to entice room bookings for multiple nights at a lower rate. Most guests spend well over and above the value of the voucher, as a result of already having made a saving.
We can’t say for certain just how popular this kind of hotel hopping will be in the long run. It looks to ebb and flow. Regardless, we always aim to keep our clients up to date on industry trends. So, be sure and check back for more!
If you’re not already an In1 Solutions client and are curious about our state-of-the-art, plug-and-play, SaaS gifting platform, please drop us a line. We’d love to hear from you. Our technology is the perfect match for accommodation providers, hotel groups, restaurants, retailers, shopping malls, furniture stores, adventure experience outlets, wellness centres, and more.
Chat directly with one of our Sales Representatives on sales@in1solutions.com or call (+353) 1 870 6350.