According to new research, it’s more important than ever for hotel businesses to invest in technology, social media and an effective marketing strategy in order to appeal to one of the most competitive demographics – Millennials.
The survey by Knightsbridge furniture revealed that UK millennials could be one of the most effective ways to market your hotel and get new customers – a huge 83% of millennials said they would be more likely to book a hotel after seeing images from someone they follow on social media. This highlights the power of these platforms and by working with social media influencers you can potentially target millennials and see a return on your investment.
Alan Towns, CEO of Knightsbridge furniture explains more “Another key finding was that 76% of those surveyed admitted to sharing an image of themselves in a hotel on social media, which illustrates the important of interior design and key furniture pieces, and truly enlightened hoteliers can create environments that fit into the perfect Instagram shot.”
A lack of a social media presence could have a negative impact on bookings, with 1 in 3 admitting they would be put off booking altogether if a hotel had no social media presence and 73% said they check the social media feed of hotel before booking. 1 in 4 millennials even admitting to using social media sites to find their holiday accommodation.
Website performance is another key area of investment for hotels with more than half of millennials admitting they wouldn’t book a hotel if the website was difficult to use and 49% would be put off if they couldn’t book instantly online.
Another way of attracting millennials is with technology. The young demographic want to see up to date technology with 70% saying they would be more likely to book if a hotel had keyless entry, mobile payments, Smart TVs or smartphone charging points. 40% of men even admitted that they want a video games console in a hotel – compared to just 22% of women.
“This study proves that technology and social media plays a huge role in how millennials find and book hotels. It shows a shift in the priorities of travellers as a generation used to sharing and documenting its experiences becomes the dominant demographic – it’s telling that 57% of millennials would return to a hotel for a powerful wireless internet connection alone.” Alan Towns, CEO of Knightsbridge furniture.
This research has taught us a lot about how millennials find and choose hotels. To summarise, you can attract more millennials by investing in your social media strategy, your website, Wi-Fi connection and technology offering. But ultimately, if you want social media to be as effective as it can be, you need to offer a good service and a hotel that people will want to take a photo of and share.
