{"id":1612,"date":"2020-09-03T21:20:15","date_gmt":"2020-09-03T21:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web_staging_fern.staging.cartstack.com\/blog\/?p=1612"},"modified":"2020-10-09T04:37:15","modified_gmt":"2020-10-09T04:37:15","slug":"updating-booking-abandonment-strategy-staycation-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cartstack.com\/blog\/updating-booking-abandonment-strategy-staycation-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Updating Your Booking Abandonment Strategy for the Staycation Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

2020 has been a challenging year for the hotel industry, and it\u2019s about to get a little more interesting – especially for your booking recovery strategy. <\/span><\/p>\n

After months of empty rooms, abandoned pools, silent lobbies, and The Shining vibes, the travel industry is picking up with a bounce in domestic travel. In fact, <\/span>hotels across the States are selling out<\/span><\/a>, alongside a rise in vacation rentals and a surge in boutique stays. <\/span><\/p>\n

And, it\u2019s not just a boom in staycations that\u2019s rocking the industry; we\u2019re seeing a new traveler emerge too – the COVID traveler. <\/span><\/p>\n

The COVID traveler is one who is cautious about safety, early in their planning, eager in their comparisons, and last-minute in their booking – making them more likely to abandon their booking, yet easier to recover when you know how. <\/span><\/p>\n

To understand and stay one step ahead of your new audience, we\u2019re examining the unique challenges and opportunities your hotel now faces and sharing the <\/span>hotel reservation recovery<\/span><\/a> strategies your business now needs. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Challenges and Opportunities Post-COVID<\/span><\/h2>\n

Experts<\/span><\/a> predict international tourism will plunge between 60% to 80% in 2020, with tourism spend not returning to pre-crisis levels until at least 2024. While we wait to see if these worrying statistics are correct, some more immediate effects are already taking place – not all of which are bad. <\/span><\/p>\n

Domestic travel <\/span><\/h3>\n

International tourism might be down, but domestic travel is on the rise. Some <\/span>insurance providers<\/span><\/a> are experiencing a 19% increase in staycation queries, meaning that the rest of the year could be busy for your rental. <\/span><\/p>\n

Cautious travelers<\/span><\/h3>\n

A recent <\/span>study<\/span><\/a> found 82% of people don\u2019t currently feel confident traveling, with concerns surrounding hygiene, social distancing, and infection. However, of those people, 63% are still willing to travel, albeit with caution. <\/span><\/p>\n

This caution is causing a <\/span>surge in last-minute bookings<\/span><\/a>, as travelers take time to research options and understand the current situation. It might sound terrible, but actually, it gives you a lot more time to nurture leads before they book elsewhere. <\/span><\/p>\n

Comparison shopping<\/span><\/h3>\n

People have become more internet savvy during the lockdown, after being forced to shop and communicate online during the pandemic\u2019s depths. In ecommerce, this has caused an increase in comparison shopping, which will likely be replicated in the travel industry. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, this isn\u2019t necessarily a bad thing. Being more internet savvy means many travelers are more confident looking beyond OTAs, exploring direct vacation stays, and even making direct bookings. <\/span><\/p>\n

Tighter budgets<\/span><\/h3>\n

Business and personal budgets have been hit hard this year, with many losing business and facing redundancy. And, we all know, tighter budgets = more shopping around for cheaper stays. <\/span><\/p>\n

But, tighter budgets give you more emotions for your recovery tactics to target – using persuasion methods to demonstrate value and risk aversion tactics to <\/span>drive more direct hotel bookings<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Risk<\/span><\/h3>\n

Finally, both international and domestic travel risks have ballooned, with more chance of plans changing and vacations canceling due to a second-wave. <\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, the statistics show people are eager to get away and get back to normal – and a vacation is a perfect answer. <\/span><\/p>\n

Together, these industry challenges mean booking abandonment is skyrocketing, similarly to ecommerce. But, just like ecommerce, this presents you with a unique opportunity to recover more customers than ever before – making your booking recovery strategy crucial for your post-COVID recovery. <\/span><\/p>\n

How to Change Your Booking Abandonment Strategy for the New Traveler<\/span><\/h2>\n

In 2019, your booking abandonment strategy probably focused on recovering visitors after they abandoned their reservation on the booking confirmation page, using <\/span>booking abandonment email tactics<\/span><\/a> that increased perceived value, heightened feelings of scarcity, and brought them back to your website to complete their booking. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s clear the booking journey and guest motivators have changed.<\/span><\/p>\n

The cautious traveler is now spending more time in the following three phases of the booking journey:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Awareness phase<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Consideration phase<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Booking phase.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"HOTEL<\/p>\n

    Whereas your 2019 booking abandonment strategy focused on recovering visitors lost during the third phase (those who entered their details on the booking confirmation page), your 2020 booking abandonment strategy must support and coaching customers through all three steps. Only when you do this, can you recover the most amount of bookings possible. <\/span><\/p>\n

    How? Let\u2019s take a look.  <\/span><\/p>\n

    The awareness phase<\/span><\/h3>\n

    \"HOTEL<\/p>\n

    The awareness phase is when a visitor clicks onto your website and starts exploring your pages and rooms. Before, this stage was all about selling them the vacation dream; today, this stage is plagued with thoughts of COVID fear, caution, and comparisons leading to abandonment. <\/span><\/p>\n

    You can use the awareness stage to prevent booking abandonment happening at all, using on-site retention tools to combat those feelings of fear, remove those thoughts of comparison, and resell that dream of getting away. <\/span><\/p>\n

    For example, you could use:<\/span><\/p>\n