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From Booming to Privilege: The New Realities for a Hotel Industry in Need of a Reset.

I had a report come across my desk the other day by Siteminder the Reservations System people and there were some great insights I thought I should share with my friends in Regional Tourism.

It can be downloaded here and shares some insights on a post covid tourism world.

How the power has shifted to great accommodation and experiences in what are deemed “safe locations”, especially into rural areas of locations like Australia.

How there are 5 Stages in Hotel Booking Reset.

  1. Domestic Acceleration
  2. Plateau
  3. Flux
  4. Embracing
  5. International Acceleration

With different parts of Australia in different stages, creating haphazard recovery.

The new, global state of play – new Trends post covid.

  1. The trend of last-minute bookings is truer now than ever before.
  2. There is a growing divide between urban areas and regional towns.
  3. Every traveller today is a transient traveller.
  4. Travellers are demanding more flexibility
  5. Travellers still yearn to spend time away during established holidays.

The report goes on to share some insights from fellow Tourism Operators around the World. Some that I and others have shared on this blog.

  • Reflect and reset, as they are essential practices for any business

Critical for any business to take time to reflect on the future.

  • Reposition to reach new guest personas without lowering rates

The driver for visitation should not be price. Cutting price to create cash flow is a short term quick fix, but a medium term destruction.

  • Be more flexible as it pays off

Time away is more precious, if you can be flexible to ensure the visitor has a terrific time, they will tell their friends and increase visitation. Its a hassle for some, but the return is magic.

  • Take no chances when it comes to health and safety

Post Covid this is a critical driver on where people will stay and experience. A high level is expected, try for a WOW.

  • Over-communicate as it can be the only way to provide certainty

Visitors are hesitant to emerge from their homes, scared of covid and so many other bugs and a loss of trust, that needs to be re-established.

  • Use social media

Build TRUST and UNDERSTANDING that you have a solution for the potential purchaser.

  • Upgrade your technology

Now is a time to research and act to make changes to your systems to take advantage in the changes in marketing and relationships.

  • Keep a long-term view to ensure that the right decisions are being made

It is natural to try to fix things for today and that is important, however you must make sure that you are also thinking long term for business sustainability.

Moving forward

Quoting from the report.;

“COVID-19 has democratised the travel industry like never before, and it is important to reflect on it as such.

Will the travel industry ever return to the way it was? Perhaps, but in the meantime, it is critical to acknowledge that the hopes and expectations of travellers have evolved, and so too must our thinking around what travel is and what it means in today’s world. COVID-19 may have spurred constraints, but, as the ultimate equaliser, it’s also created new opportunities and given us the chance to re-evaluate how we manage and experience the world around us. It’s forced us to live in the moment and recognise that travel is no longer a basic human right or desire; it’s a privilege, which stands as a reminder that we need to remain forever
conscious and curious, and to seek moments in time that serve a deeper purpose than work, bucket lists or social media feeds.

They’re moments that should always be extraordinary, purposeful
and perhaps more intimate, should we have the wealth of Covid free status to experience them freely.”

So some great insights to help regional tourism businesses and organisations to become relevant tot he new world we find ourselves. Some of those challenges will be short term, some medium term and others will present many barriers in regional tourism into the future.

Its up to businesses and organisations to plan – your future is in your hands.

Tony Park

Tony is a Best Selling Author, Entrepreneur and Academic.

Developing over a quarter of a Billion of businesses and organisations for himself and others, all over the world. Using his concepts with Business Tribes. Info here

He shares his resource page with many free and relevant resources to help you develop your business or organisation.