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Three things guests are looking for from their hotel accommodation in 2022
Since the start of the pandemic, hotel stays have been few and far between for millions of people around the world who have endured lockdowns and travel restrictions. Now, with the world opening its doors to travelers once again, what are guests demanding from hotels as we collectively contend with the lasting impacts of the pandemic?
Not only do hotels need to consider how COVID-19 has changed the way we travel, but they also need to take into account other modern issues, as well as the latest trends in the way people travel.
Here are three things that guests will be looking for from their hotel stays in 2022.
1. Smart In-Room Devices
Smart technology is being used more commonly in homes across the world, as people seek modern solutions to minimize the stress of home life. With guests looking for home comforts from their hotel stays, incorporating smart devices into the rooms can go a long way to helping enhance guest comfortability. Examples include smart thermostats or lighting, which can be controlled via a mobile app for added convenience, or even voice assistants that could act as a telephone and much more.
Not only do smart devices have the power to improve guests’ comfort and all-round experience, but they can also be used to help make more eco-friendly choices. Sustainable travel is a hot topic just now, and hotels have a responsibility to offer more eco-friendly stays for their guests. Using smart devices makes it easier to track energy usage, and limit wastage, both for guests and the hotel.
2. Refundable Rates
The demand for refundable rates is nothing new, but with the unpredictability of Covid-19 still very much at the forefront of people’s thinking, there are more calls for it than ever before. Though the world is starting to slowly find its feet again after the pandemic years, there is still some uncertainty around travel plans, and guests will be seeking comfort in flexible booking policies.
Of course, cancellations, particularly at short notice, can present a challenge to hotel owners who are looking to fill their booking sheets and maximize profits. To mitigate the potential impacts of last-minute cancellations, you might want to consider different strategies to retain the booking in a different guise. For instance, you could offer gift vouchers on future bookings, perhaps with an added incentive to ensure you retain their custom.
3. An ‘Airbnb’ Experience
Short-term holiday rental bookings have skyrocketed in recent years, with companies like Airbnb and Vrbo reaping the benefits of this trend. In response, hotels are adopting the processes that make this style of accommodation popular, to attract more guests in the post-pandemic era.
Research reveals that the biggest reason for customers choosing to stay in short-term rental properties instead of hotels is the added privacy they can provide. Part of the appeal of these properties is the lack of contact that’s required with the owners, which has been particularly important during the pandemic. Contactless check-in and other automated services are catering to this demand, which is likely to remain a feature of the industry going forward.
To Sum Up
The hospitality industry is always evolving, and has to constantly be looking for ways to accommodate guests’ latest wants and needs if it wants to remain competitive. As we’ve discussed, it’s likely that hotels will need to combine innovative uses of modern technology with changes to booking policies to help meet consumer demands in 2022. Both from a personal comfort perspective and in response to the climate crisis, incorporating the latest technologies throughout the accommodation will go a long way to satisfying the modern hotel guest.
“Geoff is a freelance content producer and researcher from Plymouth, MA. Apart from his projects, he also attends different conferences and events on business marketing, sustainability, travel, and safety.”
About Author | Geoffrey Aldis
Top 5 trends in online travel booking in Middle East in 2022
Middle East is one of the first regions to recover from the pandemic. The region has been witnessing an outstanding growth in tourism. While the pandemic had hit a hard blow to this flourishing economy and there was a drastic drop in bookings, thanks to corporate demand, including meetings, incentives, conferences and events, Middle East hotels have recovered very well compared to other global destinations. Mega events like Dubai Expo 2020 and the football championship are expected to drive a major influx in demand as well as deliver a beneficial ‘halo effect’ for the surrounding markets.
The pandemic influenced everything: not just the travel business or a country’s economy but also traveller’s demand pattern. This has brought a change in people’s choice of venue, hotel bookings and travel behavior. Irrespective of experiencing a 64% decline in travel demand in 2020, Middle East is expected to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels or better by 2023.
Before seeing the trends in online travel booking in Middle East in 2022, let us have a quick glance at the top destinations in the region.
Top Tourist Places to Visit in the Middle East
Middle East has always been a tourist hub especially Dubai. We have shortlisted the best places to include in your itinerary:
• Dubai
• Abu Dhabi
• Amman
• Petra
• Istanbul
• Doha
• Riyadh
• Jeddah
• Mecca
• Medina
The Influx of Tourist to the Middle East: Back to Tourism & Business
With international borders opening and ATM Dubai taking place in the second week of May, the Middle East tourism industry is pacing up. The percentage of travellers planning their visit to Dubai and Saudi Arabia has already taken flight.
As per the World Travel and Tourism Council’s report, before the pandemic, Middle East’s travel and tourism industry’s contribution to the economy was $270 billion, i.e. 8.9% of the total economy output.
With travel restrictions slowly being removed and the world getting ready to explore the rich heritage, Middle East is all set to welcome tourists and business travellers. Saudi Arabia, the hub of oil is expected to attract business travellers from all over the world once again. The WTTC predicts a year-on-year increase of 28% in 2022 in the Middle East travel sector.
But this time the travel trends have changed and so has the online booking trends.
Top 5 Trends in Online Travel Bookings in Middle East
Escapism Travel
With “work from home” becoming the new normal and majority of the companies working on this model, the concept of “escapism travel” is flourishing. This allows people to work from anywhere they want. People are looking towards getting out of their cities and travelling to different destinations to explore new places, experience rich heritage and embrace nature while working remotely.
Combining weekend getaways with short trips to nearby destinations has increased the number of domestic travellers. Considering the uncertainties of the market and the increasing desire to travel, last minute hotel bookings are pacing up. Speaking of last minute travel plans, Google is the first stop a traveller visits. Having your hotel listed on Google increases your chance to pull-in a booking. Running an ad with special offers for last minute bookings on GHA is like icing on the top for your property.
Calling the Corporate Travellers
Middle East: the hub of business travel has started welcoming corporate travellers from all around the world. Global Business Traveller Association (GBTA) anticipates a 32% rise in corporate travel spending in 2022. Business travel is once again going to be in the spotlight this year after having outstripped leisure travel in late 2021.
While business owners are all set to explore travel opportunities at Arabian Travel Market (ATM), India remains the key-source market for GCC’s travel and tourism economy with Russia ranking to be the second-largest source market.
Corporate travellers demand for elite bookings and services. Hence, they often prefer booking directly via the hotel’s website. This is your chance to attract this high-spending audience by showcasing high-quality videos and images of your property, rooms, amenities etc. Highlighting your property in its true form with genuine details increases your chance to bring direct bookings to your table.
Accelerated Demand for Flexibility
Since pandemic nothing is sure shot. We don’t know what will happen next and how our coming days will turn out to be. In such a scenario, travellers look for flexible booking options. Travellers might extend their stay into a staycation or there can be chances to reschedule the booking or worse cancel the room bookings.
In such a scenario, both the domestic and international travellers prefer booking their stay at those hotels or properties that offer flexible booking options. Trend shows that hotels offering free cancellations and date change options in Middle East are witnessing the maximum bookings since the third quarter of 2021 and so on.
For hotels to easily manage guest bookings, modifications and cancellations from different sales channels including the brand website and integrate it directly into their PMS, they should connect to a good hotel channel manager.
Boost Your Presence with Digital Marketing
Pacing up with the demand for luxury hotels, a total of 32,621 hotel rooms are under construction in Saudi Arabia. With new hotels coming up and cut-throat competition in the market, digital marketing is one of the best ways to reach your visitors.
The trend for digitalization has made it essential for hotels to have an online presence on social channels like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and so on. Facebook groups and Instagram influencers trigger the traveller’s decision these days.
Data-driven decision making is flourishing! People tend to check hotel ratings and rankings before making any reservation. With a mobile app, you can give the customers the advantage of contactless services from bookings to payments to room service and much more. Collect post-stay reviews to build your reputation and attract new bookings.
It’s time to maximize the use of digital technology to cater to guests at your property and create a valuable reposition.
Longer Stays & Sustainability
With minimum travel instances for the past 2 years, guests are seen extending their travel plans. Being the home to the oil reserves of the world and major companies, every year Middle East welcomes a high percentage of business travellers. The desire towards exploring more and embracing the heritage of Middle East is the reason for longer stays. After all who doesn’t love beauty? Coming to prolonged stays, travellers prefer extending their stay by directly getting in touch with the hotel or from the hotel’s website.
This trend of longer sustainable stays is expected to continue flourishing in 2022 and beyond!
With the travel restrictions lifting up, the region is all set to welcome travellers from all corners of the world. This roadmap of recovery calls for digitalization and trends to deliver safe, satisfactory, and contactless service. 2022 is growing to be a promising year for the Middle East travel and tourism sector.
RateTiger recognised as a Premier Connectivity Partner by Booking.com
Amsterdam / London, 10 May 2022
Status a testimony to RateTiger’s robust connectivity and advanced technology
Leading hotel technology provider RateTiger has been recognised as a Premier Connectivity Partner by Booking.com. The status, as part of Booking.com’s Connectivity Partner Programme, is given for the outstanding performance in providing high-quality connection that empowers RateTiger users to grow their business on the digital travel marketplace.
The Booking.com Connectivity Partner Programme is designed to support connectivity providers in delivering developments, including new APIs like Promotions, Product (Room-Rate Management), Photo, among others, that benefit the property partners they work with. Premier partners are Booking.com’s recommended connectivity providers.
Premier Partner status recognizes Connectivity partners for their excellent performance and quality of service delivered to drive their properties’ success. Eddy Veldhuizen, Senior Director Connectivity Partnerships at Booking.com commented: “RateTiger’s commitment to deliver a first-class experience through cutting-edge technology year after year has enhanced the customer and mutual accommodation partner experience, and we’re thrilled to acknowledge that once again.”
“We are excited to have achieved Premier Partner status with Booking.com. This recognition showcases our commitment to deliver best of technology and stay on top of the distribution connectivity space to make online revenue management easier and profitable for hotel partners,” said Kausik Sarkar, SVP – Technology, eRevMax – RateTiger.
For over 20 years, RateTiger distribution solutions have facilitated the growth of hotel online bookings by assisting in rate, inventory and reservation management across OTAs including Booking.com. With RateTiger, hotels save time and improve efficiencies, while maximizing revenue opportunities.
For more details, contact us on marketing@erevmax.com
How to improve your property’s listing on Airbnb
As the hospitality industry continues to recover, hotels are seeing new travel trends and behaviour. It’s time to improve your visibility on your sales channels as that can make a direct impact on your bookings.
Here is a step-by-step guide to take you through the process of crafting and perfecting your Airbnb listing from start to finish.
Tip #1
Make your photos shine
Guests spend more time exploring photos than on any other part of the listing page. They don’t always read description, but they’ll almost certainly flip through (and study!) your pictures. Quality images help Hosts showcase their personality and style. Along with the listing title, the cover image is the first thing guests will notice in search results.
Prioritise your cover photo. Your cover photo is what appears first in search results, so make sure it’s one that catches travellers’ attention. Also adding brief captions will help guests learn important info about your space and listings with 20 or more high quality photos in general have higher conversion and occupancy on the platform.
Tip #2
Add new amenities
Remember that things you’re factoring into your pricing may not be obvious to guests. For instance, the safety and beauty of your neighbourhood may mean nothing to someone who doesn’t know your town, so be sure to mention them in your listing. Among 2021’s most searched amenities include a pet-friendly space, wi-fi, air-conditioning, washer, and TV, so make sure to list any that you offer. Many guests are looking for listings that enable them to live and work anywhere. Listening to the travelers’ needs may help increase your bookings. Give guests helpful tips to get the most from your amenities. It’s important to make sure your property is a good value for the location and amenities you offer.
Tip #3
Listing Title, Description & Property type
Try to create engaging content that helps travelers to get to know your area better. The first step to marketing your home may seem small, but it’s an important one – and that’s to name your space. You want to find a name that’s distinct, memorable, and clever. Airbnb Guidebooks let hosts put together a comprehensive list of destination recommendations and tips. Try to keep your listing details as accurate and up to date as possible. A great listing description is one of your best tools for securing bookings and setting guests’ expectations. Make sure your properties are accurately categorized. Is it a hotel room, apartment, bed and breakfast or a house?
Tip #4
Competitive nightly price
Price is one of the main factor’s guests consider when choosing where to stay. It is always up to the Hosts to decide the nightly price they charge. It’s important to make sure your space is a good value for the location and amenities you offer. When setting your nightly rate, it’s helpful to consider additional fees—like cleaning fees, extra guest fees, service fees, and local taxes—and how they’ll impact the total price your guests will pay. Market Research is must, learn how hosts near you adjust pricing seasonally, at weekends, and for special events or public holidays. Guests are hesitant to book listings with no reviews, so for new hosts, setting your price a little lower than your ideal number is a great way to attract guests.
While Airbnb marketing is an essential part of business growth, you can only go so far without the right tools on your side for property management. RateTiger offers stable and secure solutions for channel management, price intelligence, connectivity and centralised reservation management to hotels, apartments, chains as well as boutique properties globally.
Contact us today to connect to Airbnb or manage your existing connection via RateTiger – marketing@erevmax.com
7 Things to Consider While Selecting a Hotel Booking Engine
As the travel industry is pacing up with a renewed interest after the decline in the pandemic, travelers across the globe are gearing up for vacation planning and hotel bookings. This is a positive sign for the hoteliers to grab the opportunity and improve their revenue. Hotels generating direct bookings during these times will tend to recover from the sluggish business affected by the pandemic. Additionally, most hoteliers operating in the competitive hospitality industry would agree that a hotel’s website should be the most profitable channel and bring in the most of the bookings.
Direct channel is not only the most profitable distribution channel for hotels compared to other channels such as OTA booking sites. Reservations via your direct website give hotels access to all guest details and profiles from the beginning and own this relationship through their entire booking journey. . The simple way to do that is to incorporate a hotel booking engine software on your website.
An online booking engine platform offers people the freedom to self-serve, meaning they can easily check rooms, availability and rates in real-time. Thus, it enables hoteliers to have complete control over the guest booking journey and information respectively.
“What is a Hotel Booking Engine Software?
“In simpler terms, an online booking engine is a software that is integrated into the hotel’s website and social media pages so that the accommodation providers can drive-in direct, commission-free traffic. A direct booking engine in other words could be considered a low-cost revenue channel.”
However, to optimize revenue with the available resources, it is also important to choose the right booking engine platform. Identifying your top requirements and selecting a system that fulfills those requirements with efficiency can be a start. With so many options available in the market it is often hard to choose one direct booking system.
So, how to consider the right online hotel booking engine software to elevate your guest experience and boost direct revenue? Let’s explore some of the major factors you should re-think before integrating booking engine solution.
1. Customization Option, Responsive, and User-friendly Design
Having a booking engine customized according to your hotel promotes brand awareness leading to more conversion. When the hotel logo is visible on a booking engine, it ensures the guest is booking the hotel he wants as well as helps him remember the hotel. This maintains a consistent online reputation of the hotel.
In the last few years, desktop has been replaced by mobile phones as the preferred mode of search and browse by majority of people. Globally, mobile has become the dominant mode for hotel searches. According to a recent report, 77% of all traffic to website comes from mobile and it contributes 60% of all revenue.
Having a responsive design makes it easier for guests to view hotels and make bookings from their smartphones without having any viewing problems due to the design.
Having a customized and responsive design gives a smooth and happy booking experience. The guests booking rooms will already have an idea of what to expect when they arrive and during their stay in the hotel.
2. Hotel Metasearch Site Integration
With Google going big on hotel booking, growth is metasearch space has accelerated significantly in the last couple of years. Metasearch sites are platforms that allow guests to compare hotel rates from different booking sites. For example, if one hotel has 6 different prices on 6 different websites, all those prices will be displayed along with the site names on a metasearch site. For travelers, Google’s continuous scrolling option makes it easier to find and book great hotel deals.
With Google being the first place of search, hotels now have an opportunity to showcase their properties with rich media content and attract offers. Having your direct booking engine integrated with metasearch sites will allow your guests to have a better booking experience. Guests will easily be able to check prices and make direct bookings from the metasearch site in the presence of a direct booking engine.
Having your booking engine integrated with a metasearch site will help your hotel have an upper hand among the competitors as it is a reliable way to advertise your hotel rates and availability. Hoteliers could drive in direct traffic from metasearch sites without having to advertise rates or pay commission separately.
3. Guest Review & Rating Integration
It’s all about the guest experience!
Before booking or finalizing any particular hotel, the guests tend to search one of the most important aspects of that property is the past guest experiences in terms of customer reviews and ratings. The more people talk about your hotel online, the better the visibility in different search engines. According to a 2021 TripAdvisor stucly called “Power of Review”, 3 out of 4 travelers thinks online reviews are extremely important when it comes to making travel decisions.
Having the option to integrate customer reviews and ratings through the booking engine platform seals the deal for any potential users. It boosts the online visibility of the hotel giving you the chance to get enough traction and drives the guest’s intent to book more often.
4. Booking Option via Social Media Platforms
The majority of the potential guests spend the maximum of their time on social media like Facebook. Having a booking engine integrated with such platforms can help drive maximum conversions. An advertisement on Facebook of the hotel with a “Book Now” CTA button makes it easier for guests to locate and make their direct bookings.
A booking engine integrated with social media platforms increases the presence of a hotel online. Without having to advertise and pay separately for advertising, a hotelier can easily drive in direct traffic.
Social Media is an integral platform through which hotels can increase their brand awareness and reputation. Even if a potential guest sees a hotel on Facebook but doesn’t book it immediately, he will remember which hotel to look for when making a booking.
5. Integrated with In-house Channel Manager & PMS
A channel manager in simple words is a hotel management software with allows a hotel to manage and monitor its rates and availability on a single dashboard.
A PMS or Property Management System is a software that enables a hotel or group of hotels to manage all aspects of hotel operation.
When a booking engine is integrated with a channel manager and PMS, it automatically updates rates and availability. This prevents overbooking problems. Additionally, it saves hoteliers from manually updating rates and availability which could otherwise lead to human error and increased workload. Analytics and report available with channel manager and PMS together can give an overall report that can help hotels to make wiser decisions. Keeping a check on things that help gain revenue is always a positive addition.
6. Payment Gateway Integration
Payment after a booking is a crucial step in the whole booking journey. Incomplete payment due to technical problems can cause a bad reputation for a hotel. Hence, integrating a safe and secure payment gateway is very important.
According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the hospitality industry contributes around 55% of the total Credit Card fraud complaints. Many hotels and resorts follow a legacy system due to the outdated software and Information technology infrastructure they installed and followed over years. Data breach has become one of the biggest concerns for hoteliers.
While it’s important for hotels to offer a seamless experience during payment process, they need to implement measures to minimize cyber-threat. A PCI-DSS certified payment gateway integration is essential to protect not only the consumer but also the business from losing large sums of profit.
. Directing guests to a direct payment gateway after booking a room from a booking engine will ensure guests gain trust and make payments effortlessly.
Allowing guests to make payments with all available options like – debit cards, credit cards, and online wallets, boosts a positive guest booking experience. Providing support in case of a failed transaction and alerting guests of fraud can be other ways of gaining trust and enhancing the booking experience.
7. Multi-currency & Multi-language Support
International travelers always look for a user-friendly online booking engine to make hassle-free reservations. Most travelers may not be comfortable with English and hence, look for local languages to understand the details of their bookings. In case, some international traveler is facing problems in making a reservation, he or she might be looking for support that could help them in their local language.
The conversion of currency can be difficult at times and could create confusion in travelers. Hence, they look for booking engines that would show price rates in their currency. When making payments, they want to make sure they are paying the right amount. So, it is important to show prices in their currency.
Hence, having multi-currency and multi-language support helps build brand recognition and online reputation. It enhances guests’ booking experience. It allows hotels to drive-in untapped international traffic.
The Way Forward
Presenting easy access to make reservations, right on your website will increase the chances of confirmed booking from potential guests when they arrive at your website. OTAs are a great way of competing in the market, however, the commission that they charge can be excruciating on the commission part of the hoteliers. Having the right booking engine integrated into the website is as important as presenting your hotel on any OTA. Hence, get the right booking engine on your website and help guests make their booking journey a positive one.
Still looking for the perfect booking engine solution? Visit RateTiger Booking Engine solution or to know more connect with our industry experts at marketing@erevmax.com