Make your rooms more appealing to key travellers

In recent years, our research has shown that many travellers want similar things: flexibility, personalisation, comfort and security. Understanding search patterns can help you tailor your offering and meet demand.

We've identified three rapidly growing traveller audiences. This toolkit will help you tap into these travellers’ needs and increase your bookings – without compromising on price.

 

Tap into traveller preferences

Three traveller segments are rapidly growing on our platform – families with children, long-stay guests and solo and group travellers. They represent high demand – and catering to their needs can help you increase bookings and revenue at your property, especially with families and groups, who also spend more than couples.

 

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Families with children

31% of summer searches on our platform are by families. They value security and comfort above all else.

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Long-stay guests

In 2021, 25% of all room nights booked on our platform were part of stays of seven nights or more. These guests want to feel at home.

Group and solo travellers

Solo and group travellers

From a recent survey, 22% of travellers are searching with a group of friends and 17% intend to go solo this year. Offering more targeted prices will maximise your relevance in search results.

Our toolkit

You can improve your property’s performance on our platform – and attract the three trending traveller types – by optimising your prices, availability and content. Here are some goals you may want to consider:

  • Increase your visibility during searches with optimised content and policies
  • Make strategic pricing choices to appeal to travellers at the time of booking

This toolkit – with three tips you can follow – will help you differentiate and price your offering to effectively target growing groups. 

 

1. Enable policies and set up tailored rates

Attract the right guests by enabling your policies and making sure your max room occupancy is always up to date to show up in searches. Then, set up a tailored rate to encourage guests to book at your property.

Families with children

Set up competitive children rates to increase family bookings by an average of up to 15%.

Charge per room or set custom prices for children within a particular age group using percentage-based pricing.

Long-stay guests

Make the most of demand for longer stays by setting up Weekly or Monthly Rate Plans. These help you attract guests looking to stay for seven days or more.

Groups and solo travellers

Pricing per guest allows you to potentially increase your bookings by up to 4% a year.

Adjust your room or unit rate based on the number of guests in it to help increase your overall occupancy.

Families with children

Set up competitive children rates to increase family bookings by an average of up to 15%.

Charge per room or set custom prices for children within a particular age group using percentage-based pricing.

Long-stay guests

Make the most of demand for longer stays by setting up Weekly or Monthly Rate Plans. These help you attract guests looking to stay for seven days or more.

Groups and solo travellers

Pricing per guest allows you to potentially increase your bookings by up to 4% a year.

Adjust your room or unit rate based on the number of guests in it to help increase your overall occupancy.

Families with children

Set up competitive children rates to increase family bookings by an average of up to 15%.

Charge per room or set custom prices for children within a particular age group using percentage-based pricing.

Long-stay guests

Make the most of demand for longer stays by setting up Weekly or Monthly Rate Plans. These help you attract guests looking to stay for seven days or more.

Groups and solo travellers

Pricing per guest allows you to potentially increase your bookings by up to 4% a year.

Adjust your room or unit rate based on the number of guests in it to help increase your overall occupancy.

2. Continuously optimise your property page to meet diverse traveller needs

An impactful property page is a perfect blend of inspiration and information, capturing the attention of different types of travellers while answering their questions. Here are some insights on what key travellers using our platform want to see on your property page.

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Families with children

Essentials – safety, cleanliness, location and parking

Optional – privacy, entertainment and other family-friendly amenities

Deal-breakers – high prices and not being able to stay together

Our research shows that facilities information and photos are the most important content for families.

 

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Long-stay guests

Essentials – WiFi, natural light and air-conditioning

Optional – workspaces and a washing machine

Deal-breakers – noise and other disturbances

According to our research, pricing and location – as well as access to practical information about a property – are the most important factors among long-stay guests.

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Group and solo travellers

Essentials – location and privacy within the room or unit

Optional – en-suites, common areas and surroundings

Deal-breakers – poor room or unit configuration and high prices

We see that group and solo travellers use photos to judge the size, cleanliness and configuration of a space.

Use these four criteria to assess your content:

  • Accuracy – are your property's facilities indicated accurately? This ensures that potential guests know what you offer.
  • Relevance – do your photos represent your property’s features? Relevant photos show guests what to expect and what they’re paying for.
  • Completeness – missing content creates doubt, which may cause potential guests to click away. You might also miss the chance to show off an amenity that guests are looking for.
  • High-quality images – well-shot photos make sure your room looks just as good on a desktop or mobile as it does in real life.

The Property Page Score is useful for evaluating your content. Find your score in the extranet, along with suggestions for improvement. Properties with a 100% Property Page Score get up to 18% more bookings than properties with incomplete content.

 

Check my score

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3. Use the room differentiation tool to encourage paid upgrades

Our research shows that 37% of guests considering a room or unit upgrade don't end up going for it as they can’t justify the extra cost.

 

Room differentiation is a great way to upsell and maximise the revenue you can earn from each room or unit – while also curating unique experiences for different traveller segments. For example, communicating that a particular room has a washing machine appeals to long-stay guests, while families with children will appreciate having a fully equipped kitchen.

 

To help you attract the ideal guests for each of your rooms or units, we've developed the room differentiation tool in the extranet. It recommends quick actions you can take to highlight a room or unit’s most attractive features.

 

Use room differentiation

How the room differentiation tool works

Use the room differentiation tool to highlight each room’s distinctive features, so potential guests will be able to see the following on your property page:

  • Before booking at your property, potential guests can see the facilities each room or unit offers and compare the differences
  • After booking, but before checking in, we suggest in the confirmation page and email to 'get a better room', highlighting the difference between what guests have booked and the upgrades on offer

If a guest accepts the upgrade offer, we'll send them a modified booking. The room or unit they originally booked goes back into your inventory, so someone else can book it.

 

Read more

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