Ever since states have opened the doors for travellers, people are being supremely quick on the trigger to tick their bucket list destinations.

Social media is also flooded with #RevengeTravel.

Seems the desire to travel is still alive and kicking!! Only a zombie apocalypse can stop us from travelling.

Bad Joke!! I know!!

With the massive number of people taking trips, it does look like chaos. However, if done right — with the seriousness of these hard times and all the safety measures, it is nothing less than a blessing for the travel and tourism sector.

But, are hotels ready for this? Are they ready for the gazillion bookings coming their way? 

Well, this is exactly what I am addressing in this blog. I will put down all the right arguments and strategies for hotels to make the most out of this new hot ticket.

What is Revenge Travel?

The sinister-sounding buzzword, revenge travel (or tourism) was coined last year when people started travelling after the lockdown ease. Today, it is not just a phrase, revenge travel is actually being put into practice and we can already witness the same.

Simply put, it is all about post-pandemic travel; people travelling after getting fed up with the lockdown.

If you’re wondering why ‘revenge’, it is against the pandemic.

Why Should Hotels Focus on Revenge Tourism?

For months, hotels have faced severe crises. While many faced heavy employee turnovers due to salary crunch, many went into debt and are permanently shut. The bottom line is the industry is badly battered by the pandemic.

Last year, the industry saw a ray of hope when the COVID-19 graph was flattening and lockdowns were easing. Many hotels even managed to gain a good amount of business in that duration. However, the good times didn’t last long.

With 2021, came the second wave of COVID-19. Again, people have been advised to not step out of their houses, let alone take a vacation.

As a result, it has forced a tsunami of permanent closure of several hospitality establishments. They again sank under the burden of mortgage payments, dwindling footfalls, and whatnot.

The silver lining

But this year, things are starting to get back on track.

How?

Vaccination drive is ramping up in almost every nation and it is making states to be more receptive to welcoming tourists.

There’s now a soaring hope for travel and tourism to return to normalcy.

Over and above, post-pandemic travel is going to be the recovery capsule for hotels. Revenge tourism is not just about people going to a destination and staying. Tired of being home-bound for months, people are now beginning to plan longer, further, and more expensive vacations.

They are looking for experiences more than just the comfort of an air-conditioned room. It’s time for hotels to buckle up and prepare for the rebound.

How Will Travellers Decide Their Destination?

I know I have mentioned the terms ‘post-pandemic and revenge travel’, but we can’t really call it post-COVID travel yet. The virus is still out there and vaccination has also not reached 100% yet. 

So, despite being armed with vaccine certificates and antsy to travel, people will stick to the safety protocols.

They will be concerned and conscious about the health and hygiene standards of the city, region, or property they are travelling to. Moreover, this will impact the way they decide the destination.

Let’s look at some factors that will impact travellers’ decisions:

In terms of destination:

• Travel restrictions in the region they want to go
• Number of COVID cases
• Whether the vaccination drive is going successfully in that region
• Availability of medical facilities

In terms of the hotel:

• Hotel’s safety measures
• What kind of experiences they will get in that hotel
• Cancellation policy
• Available offers

These points are just to help you understand how travellers’ preferences are at this point in time. The actual factors may vary.

Fun Fact: Food is also likely to be a major factor. People will seek places that provide tasty, organic, hygienic, and healthy food.

How Can Hotels Prepare for the Uptick in Demand?

After witnessing so much haywire, travellers now have much higher expectations from hospitality service providers with safety as a key choice parameter.

So, below are some points on how hotels can keep up with all the revenge travellers’ needs and wants.

1. Understand how travellers preferences are changing

The first and foremost thing you must do is understand travellers. Do some in-depth analysis and determine what factors are impacting a traveller’s decision.

The reason? Because when it comes to serving guests in these critical times, personalisation is what plays a vital role. And you can personalise better only when you know your guests.

2. Determine the guest segments that are going to travel more

Understanding traveller preferences is one thing, you also have to learn which group is more elated to satisfy his/her wanderlust. Is it the baby boomers, millennials, or Gen Z?

Now, this point is correlated to the previous one because once you narrow down and identify the guest segment, it’s easier to find out their preferences.

3. Figure out what’s more likely to trend post-pandemic

People were housebound for pretty much the whole of 2020 and now even in 2021, it is too much to handle. Also, it has left many travellers thirsting for wide-open spaces. 

Hence, the chances are that people taking revenge travel in 2021 will heed the call of the wild and look for adventure. However, that’s not the only trend; different groups will have different travel choices and that’s exactly what hotels must figure out.

Once you do that, try to incorporate all the offerings that align with the revenge travel trends. 

4. Prepare your staff for the post-pandemic rush

When I say prepare your staff, it is not just training, you must ensure that your hotel staff is FULLY VACCINATED.

Only when your staff is safe, they’ll be able to serve the guests and provide a top-notch experience.

Furthermore, apart from the fixed training, hotels must ensure that they are conveying certain things to the staff.

• Let your staff know about your analysis and findings of guest preference
• Train your staff to handle medical emergencies
•  Keep your staff updated with all the latest news around travel
• Empower them with all the latest tech (contactless tech, to be precise)

Word to the wise: Do not take the vaccination as a business necessity. Rather, take it as your moral responsibility to ensure that your staff and guests are shielded against the virus.

5. List out the bucket-list hotspots in your area/locality

Running a successful hotel isn’t just about rooms and amenities, there are other things too that go behind the scene. One of them is the experience guests get outside the hotel.

So, hotels can list all the bucket-list hotspots in the locality and see which fits in. These hotspots can be a great element to the hotel’s marketing campaigns.

6. Start offering outdoor activities

Now, let me connect this point with the previous one. If you have hotspots in your locality that are suitable for outdoor activities, do not shy away from utilising them.

For example: If you have a hill with a picturesque drop back near your hotel, you can offer trekking or camping as part of a package.

If you’re wondering about permission, then you can partner with the authorities and curate a business plan around it.

At the end of the day, it all boils down to your capabilities of building partnerships.

7. Adopt every possible safety measure for guests’ safety

People are of course going to travel, but safety is their top concern. I cannot emphasise enough how important it is for hotels to adjust their daily operations to fit within the new normal.

So, make sure your hotels abide by all the protocols. Here are some of the things you can do:

• Place sanitisers in every corner of the hotel
•  Place masks, shields and other safety essentials in rooms
• If possible, hold a room for at least 24 hours after a guest checks out
• Sanitise the entire room after check out
• Adopt ‘cleaning with colours’ method for housekeeping tasks
• Minimise the use of the elevator or limit the number of guests in an elevator
• Place self-service kiosk to reduce frontdesk crowd
• Incorporate contactless hospitality solutions

Step in your guests’ shoes and determine the aspects that would put them at risk and do the needful accordingly.

8. Create attractive bundles or packages

During these times, hotels need to provide a valuable service to their guests. One way they can do it is by taking the guesswork out and creating specially-priced unique packages.

For example: People are hesitant to leave their pets home. So, you can create a package that includes offerings for your guests’ pets. Your offerings can be as fascinating as taking your guests’ pets on walks or treks.

Hotel packages have always been a great way to boost profits and increase occupancy. And during these COVID times, it will work like sorcery.

9. Turn to revenue management experts to price your rooms

Now that you have almost every strategy in place, have you thought about room pricing?

If no, then you’re lagging.

Revenge travel is going to bring a lot of people out of their homes. Hotels are going to witness a massive number of bookings. If room prices aren’t set properly, hotels might not reap many benefits of this lucrative opportunity.

While many properties opt to strategize everything by their staff, I would suggest you turn to dedicated revenue management experts.

Why?

• First, they have immense knowledge about the industry. They are well aware of every single aspect of revenue management.
• Second, you’ll have enough time to focus on other important aspects of the hotel. 

If you haven’t thought about it yet, please do.

10. Give extra attention to your cancellation policy

No-show and last-minute cancellations are already a nightmare for hotels. Such issues during these crucial times can take a severe toll on hotels.

How to cope? By creating a robust cancellation policy and adopting necessary actions.

We have a detailed blog on this same topic. It practically covers all the voids and pain points. Do read it to learn more.

How to Reduce Last-Minute Booking Cancellations and No-Shows

11. Shout it out louder on social media

In this venture of making the most out of revenge travelling after COVID-19, social media is going to be your sidekick.

DO NOT overlook its power.

Make sure you’re extensively promoting your hotel’s revenge travel offering on social media. Not just that, do consider investing in channels like Facebook ads. They might be on the expensive side, but worth every penny.

We have some fantastic social media post templates that you can use. It will make your job much easier.

12. Incorporate a robust and comprehensive property management system

Let’s address the sixty-four-thousand-dollar point.

All your efforts and strategies will go in vain if you don’t know how to manage all your hotel operations.

Guests want hotel processes to be quick and as seamless as possible. If you fail to offer that, be sure to face repercussions.

Therefore, the best thing to do is incorporate a system that streamlines and automates every hotel operation. Meaning, your hotel staff can focus more on guests and their experience.

This is where cloud-based hotel property management systems (PMS) come into the picture. A hotel PMS makes hoteliering simple. Be it acquiring bookings or managing housekeeping or F&B, everything can be done with utmost simplicity.

So, ensure that you have such a system in place. If you don’t know how to pick the right one for your hotel, don’t fret, we have a guide for that as well.

The post 12 Ways You Can Make the Most Out of Revenge Tourism appeared first on eZee Absolute.