The Digital Journey Of The Affluent Luxury Traveller

There are four essential travel phases that matter in the customer journey:

1. Dreaming phase: I-want-to-get-away moments
2. Planning phase: Time-to-make-a-plan moments
3. Booking phase: Let’s-book-it moments
4. Experiencing and sharing phase: Can’t-wait-to-explore moments

We will explore in greater detail each of these four critical phases to discover how luxury travel and hospitality brands can influence their customers’ decisions. We will then take a closer look at the growing importance of mobile experiences throughout the travel experience journey before concluding this report with specific recommendations for luxury brands.

1. Dreaming phase: Digital inspires affluent travelers to explore new destinations and discover new travel experiences

If you’ve ever spent hours scrolling through the feeds of your favorite travel influencers on Instagram or other online platforms, you’re not alone. There are over 287 million posts on Instagram alone using the hashtag #travel, which underlines the popularity of the topic on social media.

The Internet, online visual content, and social media, in particular, provide a seemingly infinite source of picture-perfect snaps of the world’s most desirable travel hotspots and are influencing how people dream about their next holiday destination.

The experience that a travel brand can provide online, before travelers even decide where they will be going, is thus crucial.

Social media has become an essential resource for travel seekers. As a result, high-end travel brands and luxury hotels have increased their social media budgets, both in the form of content marketing and paid advertising.

The sheer amount of travel-related content that is now available to holiday seekers online is staggering. The challenge for marketers is, therefore, to break through the clutter and engage with their most relevant target audience.

Social content influences consumers’ travel decisions more than traditional advertising. During the initial dreaming phase of the journey, holiday seekers turn to social media to find inspiration for their next travel destinations and compare options from a variety of online sources.

Over 40% of travellers say they bounce back and forth between dreaming about and planning their next trip—zooming in on the details for one destination and then zooming out to reconsider all the options again.

Think with Google

On average, 43 days will pass between the decision to travel and the decision on where to go, according to the head of travel at Facebook, Christine Warner. These 43 days will be spent scrolling through social media feeds and reading recommendations from friends and trusted influencers. Travel website Expedia found indeed that over half of travelers are open to help and ideas on destinations. This is particularly true for Chinese travelers, of which 82% will seek recommendations from other people online. They are followed closely behind by American travelers (72%).

Furthermore, a study by ComScore found that 73% of first travel searches worldwide had no mention of a brand or destination.^[2] Travelers are thus actively looking online for ideas and suggestions on where to go for their vacations.

That indecision presents a significant opportunity for luxury travel and hospitality brands to inspire affluent travelers with quality destination content. At this early stage in the travel journey, travel seekers want brands to provide content to help narrow down their choices.

Instagram is one of the most popular places to fuel your wanderlust, especially since “Instagrammability” is now an important factor in choosing a holiday destination. A study from Hotels.com revealed a new trend of ‘travel bragging’ on social media among Millennials.^[3] One in eight Millennials admits to picking their next destination and hotel based on how Instagrammable it is.

2. Planning phase: Digital eases travel planning, and mobile boosts planning activities on the go

Beyond providing travel inspiration, online resources play a strategic role in trip planning, most notably with younger affluent generations. This trend hints at the increased role social media will play as a travel planning tool for wealthy Generation Z travelers.

During the planning phase, travel planners compare pricing and read reviews and recommendations to decide where to stay and which activities to do. They will often seek validation of their choices across various social media platforms and online communities.

Research conducted by Nielsen for Google found that travelers spent an average of 53 days visiting 28 different websites to plan their vacations.^[4] More than 50% of them will heavily use social media during that travel planning phase.

Interestingly, digital has also led to travelers increasingly making last-minute plans from their mobile phones. Travel-related searches for “tonight” and “today” among hotel and air queries have grown drastically on mobile between 2014 and 2017.^[5]

In the planning phase, OTAs and search engines are the most used resources, with 51% of all global travelers using them regularly to find travel information and compare prices. Hotels and airlines websites, on the other hand, are only used by 30% of travelers planning their trips, according to Expedia Media Solutions.

Travel review sites are also key resources used for planning trips. According to Huffington Post, over 95% of leisure travelers read at least seven reviews before booking their holidays.^[6]

It is important to note that many travel review sites contain user-generated content (UGC), often seen as more authentic by readers. It is thus essential for high-end travel companies and luxury brands to promote positive UGC and proactively manage negative reviews.

The temporary, pop-up travel agency displayed floor-to-ceiling digital screens showcasing real travelers’ Instagram photos from across Scotland to inspire potential travelers. A travel agent then uses the selected images to curate the perfect Scottish holiday itinerary.

3. Booking phase: Travellers expect a seamless and frictionless booking process across devices

Affluent travelers expect to be able to instantly book their flights and hotels on the device that they want at the very moment they need it. As a result, a consistent user experience across all devices is essential for luxury travel booking.

A Google study found that price, but also the search functionality and easiness of the booking process are key features that will impact the booking of a travel experience. When it comes to mobile bookings in particular, travelers expect simple checkouts with a single-screen experience, large text entry boxes, and a secure online payment gateway.

While desktop remains the primary booking platform for most travelers, 80% of the last-minute hotel bookings are now made on mobile devices.^[7]

Younger generations are also driving mobile bookings. Google found that two-thirds of Millennial travelers are comfortable booking an entire trip on a smartphone, compared to only one-third of the older generation travelers.
Social media is also starting to play a critical role in the booking process. In May 2018, Instagram announced new action buttons on business profiles that allow users to “book,” “get tickets,” “reserve,” or “start order”—all within the app.^[8]

4. Experiencing and sharing phase: Seamless and shareable experiences are must-have amenities for affluent travelers

Mobile and social media enable luxury travel and hospitality marketers to engage with their guests in real-time and on-property in new innovative ways.

Once guests check in their flights or arrive at their destination, they would often post photos online and share travel experiences with family, friends, and followers on social media. Expedia found indeed that the average vacationer spends nine hours of a one-week-long trip browsing social media.

This is another critical opportunity for luxury brands to reach and interact with their affluent customers. Big data, in particular, can provide the necessary tools for marketers to engage in a meaningful and personalized way with their most valuable guests.

We need to be operating at the level of Google.

Joe Leader, chief executive of the Airline Passenger Experience Association

“For every passenger, we know every detail that serves as a marketing treasure trove of personalization,” explained Joe Leader, chief executive of the Airline Passenger Experience Association, in a report ahead of this year’s Aviation Festival. “We have full names, addresses, exact birthdays, seat assignments, credit cards, and everything that should make personalization easy.^[9]”

Delta Airlines, for example, is asking its flight attendants to engage in every flight with at least five passengers who are members of their SkyMiles loyalty program.

“You want to feel valued,” said Allison Ausband, Senior Vice-President of in-flight service to the Financial Times.^[9] “We are getting thank-you notes from customers for acknowledging them on the airplane. Whether apologizing for delays or acknowledging their [loyalty program] status, we make them feel that they are that valued customer.”

A great example of the extra mile the Delta flight attendants are ready to go to delight their passengers took place last year when a passenger who was flying to an interview spilled a drink on himself. The airline informed their ground staff before landing and had a new clean shirt waiting for the passenger after he landed.

Mobile is the essential travel partner before and during a luxury travel experience

More than ever before, travelers increasingly rely on their smartphones for travel-related activities throughout the entire travel journey – younger generations even more so. In fact, Generation Z tourists are four times more likely to use a smartphone for inspiration, research, or booking travel than baby boomers, according to Expedia.

With mobile devices poised to account for 79% of all internet users in 2018 globally,^[10] a mobile-first strategy is becoming a requirement for all luxury travel brands.

There is a significant opportunity for travel and hospitality marketers to influence travel-related decisions on mobile — by focusing their attention on mobile-friendly services, ranking in search results to answer travel queries, and being present during all the key travel micro-moments.

Before the trip: Mobile as an insightful travel guide

There are already more searches on mobile than desktop for travel categories such as family vacations and luxury travel.

Recent Google data have shown that in certain countries, half of all consumers are comfortable researching, booking, and planning an entire travel experience on a mobile device.^[11]

During the trip: Mobile as an instantly responsive 24/7 travel concierge

Mobile devices give travelers increased flexibility to plan vacation activities on the go, while in destination. Mobile devices have become indispensable travel companions for modern affluent travelers, from managing itineraries to checking in and looking for what to do and where to eat.

Travelers expect seamless and instantaneous mobile experiences before, during, and after their travel. Indeed, when it comes to mobile experiences, speed matters. In fact, over 90% of travelers using mobile devices will switch to another site or app if their needs are not being met fast enough.

The travel sector has room for improvement in that regard. The average time it takes to fully load a mobile landing page for a hotel or airline is 6.7 seconds in the UK, 6 seconds in the USA, 5.6 seconds in Japan, and 4.8 seconds in Germany. With 53% of mobile users leaving a page that takes longer than three seconds to load, improving the mobile experience should be a priority for the industry.

Smartphones already allow hotel guests to unlock their rooms, share real-time vacation photos on social media or pay on the go with a mobile wallet. The ubiquity of smartphones, combined with the potential of new technology trends and innovations such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud-based data, voice recognition, and more, is set to revolutionize the luxury travel industry in unprecedented ways.

This convergence into a singular mobile experience will allow luxury travel brands to move beyond reactive customer service to actually predict travelers’ needs and solve problems in real time, sometimes even before travelers know that they have an issue.

In conclusion: luxury travel brands need to go beyond the classic route

The digital journey of the affluent traveler promises many more adventures.

Predictive mobile services will gain momentum as affluent travelers increasingly expect luxury travel brands to understand their individual preferences to anticipate their travel needs and solve their problems in real-time or in advance.

For 72% of travelers with smartphones researching on mobile, their individual needs are more important than their loyalty to a specific brand. To win the hearts and minds of affluent travelers, it is thus critical for luxury travel brands to provide the most relevant information across all touchpoints at all the moments that matter:

1. Identify the micro-moments for travelers that fit your business and be there to help.
2. Be useful and valuable by solving each person’s needs across all travel moments.

With a majority of travelers, especially Millennials and Generation Z consumers, preferring travel experiences over material goods, the luxury travel and hospitality industry is poised to grow.

But as more travelers favor integrated travel resources and booking platforms, luxury travel brands will have to find new ways to be relevant and engage with their consumers.

Winning luxury travel brands will be the ones embracing mobile, big data, and innovative technologies to accompany affluent travelers through their entire customer journey. Off the beaten path.

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