At this point, COVID-19 is old news, but its effects have lingered and continue to linger even now, three years post-outbreak. Nearly every industry has and is experiencing an onslaught of new, unpredicted changes as a result of this equally unexpected pandemic — and hospitality is one of many taking an extra hit.
Hotels, restaurants, and event spaces have made major shifts in their marketing focus, messaging, and service offerings to meet consumers where they’re at both mentally and physically. After all, in this industry, human contact is everything. So what do you do to continue running your human-centered business when being too close to each other isn’t really an option?
Let’s take a look at what hoteliers are gravitating towards to stay active, visible, and above all, open.
Although the idea of a staycation is nothing new, the pandemic has forever changed its definition. Thanks to flight apprehension brought on by COVID-19 and rising gas prices causing people to question whether or not they want to leave town, the hospitality industry has seen a surge in local and in-state travel and hotel stays. Although it started out as a way to avoid contact with others or travel too far from home, people began to actually enjoy the concept. A getaway without the hassle of travel or hectic long-term packing? Sign me up.
According to PR Newswire, panelists from the Traveler Trends and Drivers of Behavior post-COVID-19 webinar agreed that “for the near future travelers are going to be cautious and stay closer to home, preferably in less dense, more rural, outdoor orientated destinations.”
So how are hotels responding? Many are tapping into that stir-crazy energy and encouraging people to venture out into their own city or state and treat themselves to a long weekend at a hotel.
Credit: https://www.fourseasons.com/denver/offers/road-trip-staycation-package/
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Roaaadddd tripppp! And yes, we mean stale snacks, frequent pit stops, cheesy car games, long hours staring at street signs kind of road trips. Expect that a large number of guests coming to stay at your hotel have been in the car for a longggg time.
When COVID hit in 2020, we saw a major dip in travel. Of course, no one wanted to leave their home and we were advised not to. Since then, travel has ramped up again, however, it’s taken flights, rail, and city transit much longer to catch up. From late 2020 to early 2023, the majority of Americans were still opting to drive their car over any other form of transportation. In fact, rail, plane and city transit are still not back at the numbers they were pre-pandemic. All that to say, you can expect that the majority of people walking through your doors have road tripped to their destination, so what does that mean for you?
Make sure you’re familiar with your property’s Google Analytics profile and top-viewed pages. This information can help guide digital and social ad content and targeting by showing you where people looking to stay at the hotel are coming from and what they’re most interested in. (Example, hotel accommodations vs. surrounding area activities.)
The number of daily passenger vehicle trips has hit a major milestone, reaching pre-pandemic levels for the first time in a year, according to data provided to The Associated Press by the transportation analytics firm Inrix, with Americans driving more often and farther than at any time since pandemic lockdowns were invoked.” — Associated Press
When the pandemic first hit, we were in shock. Quickly, the world adapted and in our desperation for human connection, we evolved. And so the rise of online events began. You could experience everything from a game night with friends to a full on concert in the comfort of your own bed. Despite being sometimes thousands of miles away from each other, we felt, almost, closer than ever. We talk more about this in our insight, Three ways to Connect with Customers at Home. Now that restrictions have lifted and we are seeing each other in person more, it’s also worth considering hybrid events, or safely held in-person events, as ways to reconnect with people. At first thought, this all might seem a bit irrelevant to the hospitality industry but don’t scroll by so fast! Here are four ways to get your potential guest’s attention with online or hybrid events.
With any of these options, consider opening it up to those who might want to attend in person (with safety precautions in order of course). But don’t remove the option for people to attend virtually, the pandemic is still very much in effect, and making these events more accessible to those who aren’t comfortable being in public yet will add to the value of your hotel experience.
This may be old news to you. The pandemic has been around for over three years now, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere anytime soon. Yes, with increases in vaccine doses and having time on our side, the pandemic is much more docile than it was in March of 2020, but that’s no reason to back down on safety precautions. We do if for our neighbors and family, our grandparents and immunocompromised friends. The pandemic is still very real, and the efforts the hotel industry has put forth over the last three years is helping curb the spread and keeping people safe.
Despite the fact that COVID-19 has wreaked havoc for the hospitality industry over the last several years and implementing these solutions won’t completely fix the losses caused, staying on top of trends as best as possible is key to staying relevant and accessible. Yes, we’ve heard several of these solutions before, but they are still as relevant as ever. If you’re looking for creative ways to put these trends (and more) to work for your hospitality brand, contact us today.