By Clare Riley, Content & Editorial Manager, SiteMinder
Where did travellers from Asia visit during the first three months of 2015? Why did they travel? When did they book? Who did they go with? And what was the length of their stay? Recently, we looked at the ‘who, what, when, where and why’ of travel across the Americas. This week we look at Asia, referencing again Sojern’s ‘Q1 2015 Global Travel Trends’ report, which assesses search and booking behaviour provided by online travel agents, metasearch sites, major airlines and other travel service providers.
SiteMinder says: Looking at the data, it’s clear that overwhelmingly travellers from within the Asian market either travel on their own or in pairs. Does your hotel appeal to single travellers? Take advantage of the data available to you from your channel manager and property management system, and use those metrics to build up a picture of your guests.
SiteMinder says: As always, guests travelling for Lunar New Year and Sakura wanted to make the most of the widely-celebrated holidays and they stayed in their chosen destinations for a considerable amount of time. Global air passenger demand was robust in March for these reasons. Don’t underestimate the impact of seasonality and global celebrations, and make sure your hotel can be easily found during these periods.
SiteMinder says: Making your inventory available as early as possible is key for success in the Asian market. Travellers like to book with around two months’ notice – they plan ahead! But don’t forget to market those last minute rooms too by using your channel manager to advertise your full inventory and boost your online reach and conversions.
SiteMinder says: In addition to these lists, Thailand emerged as the only Asian country to be featured in the top 10 global destinations in the world. The data shows how diverse the Asian travel market is with far-reaching destinations such as Australia and the Americas. But there’s also a clear desire for guests to travel domestically and explore the local regions. Ensure you’re using your channel manager to connect to the different regional OTAs such as Ctrip and RTS. They’ll give you a much wider reach enabling you to attract both local and global guests to your hotel.
SiteMinder says: How does your hotel market to potential guests for key seasonal events? Do you have special promotions in the run up to these events on your website? Can guests come to your website to take advantage of these offers? Think about implementing your own booking engine such as TheBookingButton or Globekey to maximise direct bookings.
*Source: These stats cover the first three months of 2015 (Jan – Mar) and were sourced from Sojern’s ‘Q1 2015 Global Travel Trends’.
