Marketing

🏨 Wowcher partners with SiteMinder to offer more deals to travellers, targeting Wowcher's 20-million-plus subscribers. UK and Irish hotels using SiteMinder can now market a wider range of rooms, tapping into Wowcher's base where up to 80% are first-time guests at featured hotels. SiteMinder's Changing Traveller Report 2023 found nearly 50% of UK travellers opt for package deals or shorter stays due to increasing prices. This integration seeks to provide exceptional value and drive incremental bookings amidst rising living costs.

📌 A majority of travelers, 57%, use social media for trip planning and sharing, with 75% under 35 and 35% aged 55+ engaging in this behavior. Travelers aged 35-54 show a significant usage rate at 63%. Content sharing is popular, with 62% of social users posting about their trips. Travel content on social media influences 62% of users in their trip decisions. Cruise travelers exhibit the highest social media usage for planning, while lodging content is less viewed despite two-thirds of users researching it.

🍸 Restaurant experts Pat Cobe and Bret Thorn recognize national food holidays as potent marketing tools amid rising costs and lowering guest counts. La Palapa, a decades-old Mexican restaurant in New York City’s East Village, received praise from Pat for its Margaritas and churros. Bret explores Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, highlighting Wheeler’s for its longstanding service and good food. New York Restaurant Week extends to a month this year, with advice to restaurants to showcase their best. Trevin Hutchins, beverage director at Aphotic in San Francisco, distinguishes the seafood restaurant with a unique beverage program featuring house-distilled gin with seaweed and in-house non-alcoholic pairings for tasting menus.

✈ Travel aficionado Chip shares his top destinations by month: South Africa in January for wildlife and Kaapse Klopse; India in February for the Jaisalmer Desert Festival; Japan in March for Hanami and onsens; New Orleans in April for Jazz Fest; Morocco in May for the Festival of World Sacred Music; Iceland in June for Summer Solstice; Italy in July for Il Palio de Siena and Alpine villages; Bali in August for Tirta Gangga festival; Peru in September for highland trekking; New Mexico in October for Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico in November for Dia de los Muertos; New Zealand in December for Aotearoa Stonehenge and green landscapes.

🌍 "Scroll, Heart, Fly: Social Media’s Impact on Travel 2024" by Phocuswright addresses key aspects of social media's effectiveness in travel marketing and user-generated content (UGC) roles. It examines platform usage for different trip components, engagement preferences, transparency expectations, and demographic-specific interactions, including with influencers. The study reveals difficulties in measuring the impact of social strategies and capturing consumer interactions with content. Marketers harness social commerce, which continues to grow nearly 17 years after Facebook introduced advertising.

📲 Autocamp in the Catskills transformed hotel key cards with branding and a QR code linking to local attractions and offers. Getaway, a hospitality startup with tiny houses across the US, smartly upsells an extra night during booking. At the Skift Short Term Rental Summit, Expedia's Tim Rosolio revealed that 42% of guests prioritize outdoor amenities. Kids' preferences increasingly influence family vacation bookings, suggesting a potential strategy involving kid influencers.

Selon une enquête de Booking.com, 39% des voyageurs mondiaux s'inspirent des réseaux sociaux pour planifier leurs vacances, tandis que 45% préfèrent les conseils de leurs amis et famille. Cette infographie indique que, pour les voyages de 2024, les médias sociaux sont l'une des principales sources d'inspiration. [[[POST_SCORE: +5.5]]]