Revenge Travel: How You Can Take Advantage Of The New Tourism Trend

Revenge travel could be the driving force behind the eagerly anticipated upswing in the travel industry in 2022. Is your hotel ready?

As vaccination rates rise, so is the hope that the end of the pandemic could be near. Many are looking forward to resuming their travels – and they are keen on making up for lost time. In the hotel and travel industries, hopes and expectations are rising for the long-awaited recovery phase and the trend of revenge travel. Is your hotel ready? Find out how to make the most of this time and trend.

Revenge travel: the post-lockdown travel trend

The phrase ‘revenge travel’ first made the rounds after the first lockdown in the spring of 2020. Today, it is gaining traction once again.

What is revenge travel?

The trend concerns the desire to make up for lost time that many people feel after several lockdowns and limitations. They want to treat themselves to something that was taken away from them for a long time. For many, holidays and short trips with their friends and family are top of the post-lockdown to-do list. The hotel industry may truly benefit from the fact that so many people were forced to sit at home and save money that then went towards their holiday budget. According to a German study, 70 % of Germans plan to spend just as much money on their holidays as they used to, and 10 % intend on spending significantly more.

This presents an excellent opportunity for hotel owners. People seeking to treat themselves are more likely to be interested in the additional services available at your hotel. This could include offers from your restaurant, spa treatments or any other services that allow holidaymakers to personalize their stay exactly how they like it.

Take advantage of this trend and point out your services to your guests before and during their stay. This way, you can offer your customers an even better experience while simultaneously boosting your own sales.

What really matters to revenge travelers

In times like these, many guests have slightly different priorities. We’ve put together some tips on topics that are particularly popular with revenge travelers.

Focus on hygiene and health

Show what measures are in place at your hotel to protect your guests and employees. This gives your customers a feeling of safety and confidence. Also consider offering services that make them feel even more at ease, such as the option of ordering a package of hand sanitizer and masks. You can also offer a swap: if your guests opt out of the room cleaning service during their stay, you treat them to a pizza or a bottle of wine. Other health-related services are currently very popular, too: how about offering your guests a special wellness menu or the option of renting exercise gear from your gym during their stay?

Special offers for an unforgettable stay

Guests looking for a treat will appreciate special deals in any part of your hotel. Here are a few ideas to spark your imagination:

• Prepaid vouchers with added value (e.g. pay 45 euros for a 50 euro voucher) to use in your restaurant or spa
• Special menu in the room or at the restaurant
• Souvenirs for friends and family back home
• Discounts on your next stay or a spontaneous extra day
• Trips and activities with local partner organizations

What works best for your hotel depends on your target group. Experiment with different offers and you will soon find out what is well received and generates sales.

Do your guests know what you have to offer?

If you want your guests to book more additional services, you need to tell them what your hotel has in store for them. There used to be a simple solution for this: the guest directory and leaflets in the rooms would advertize your spa, restaurant and other services and offers.

But was it a good solution? Do guests really look at those materials? And if they do, is the information on it always up to date? We are sure you can remember at least one room check during which you noticed outdated advertizing material in the room.

Nonetheless, a traditional guest directory can offer useful content. Yet, several key disadvantages remain:

• Keeping a directory up to date is time-consuming and expensive.
• You have no way to find out what your guests find most interesting.
• In the current circumstances, the folder can be a hygiene risk. Most cleaners do not have the time to disinfect every single page after every guest.

A convenient solution for you and your guests: The digital guest directory

A digital guest directory like a guest room tablet could solve multiple problems at once.

1. Improve your guest communication
Share your latest offers with your guests and send them personalized messages that show up directly on the in-room tablet. This also gives you the opportunity to tell your guests about local updates regarding travel restrictions and Covid regulations.

2. Save time and money
There’s no need to print new materials and distribute it across all rooms every time a regulation changes. Instead, you can update the content of your digital guest directory on the computer and update all devices automatically.

3. Boost your sales
By presenting your offers in an attractive, user-friendly way, you can draw more attention to your services. You can even generate spontaneous bookings for your spa or restaurant using push notifications.
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4. Gain insights into your customers’ habits
A digital guest information folder allows you to get to know your guests even better. Find out more about their preferences and make their stays even more delightful through greater personalization. An intuitive backend will help you see heat maps, most clicked content, and much more.

5. Test your new services
The digital guest directory enables you to put your ideas to the test right away. If a new service is well received by guests, you can showcase it to generate even greater demand. If your customers aren’t interested in something, you can easily remove it from the directory.

Be ready for revenge travelers

Once people can travel more freely again, it will be all the more important to offer a personalized, unforgettable experience to each and every guest. At the same time, you’ll obviously want to maximize your sales. The better you inform your guests about your offers, the more will book additional services. This gives you more ways to make your customers happy and gather good reviews. Ultimately, it will help your business recover from these challenging times and look positively towards the future.