The face of the travel industry is changing in line with the needs of today’s modern travellers.
Once upon a time, phone calls, Lonely Planet guidebooks, written itineraries, and maps were the norm. But these days, smartphones pick up much of the slack and offer intrepid travellers an easy, all-in-one solution that helps them both plan and execute trips.
As core parts in the modern travel landscape, Airbnb hosts and short-term holiday rental owners need to stay abreast of these changes. Embracing the way people travel nowadays and offering procedures that align with the new order is the only way to stay relevant.
With that in mind, here is KeyNinja’s round-up of everything you need to know about today’s travellers.
Everything is happening online, on mobile
Unless you’ve been hiding under a very large rock for the past 10 years, this will come as no surprise to you.
But it’s still useful to bear in mind that unless you’ve upgraded your systems to be mobile-friendly, you’re probably missing out.
In many ways, it’s fair to say that desktop is dead. It’s a bold statement, but 2018 and 2019 saw an incredible switch in online activity with more and more people migrating from desktop to mobile solutions.
In fact, 2018 saw the number of individuals connected to mobile services surpass 8 billion. Key players are responding to the shift. For example, Google, the world’s most popular search engine, now ranks and indexes sites according to mobile compatibility first.
Smartphones make the very best travel companions
One recent survey showed that a full 76 per cent of today’s travellers considered their smartphones as essential travel companions.
Guests are more tech-savvy than ever before and expect that accommodation providers are just as switched on with modern communication and check-in methods.
If you’re unable to offer a streamlined, mobile-based solution, you could end up about as relevant as a tinnie of VB at a craft beer festival.
By choosing a mobile solution that encompasses communication, check-in, guest support, and key delivery services, you’re giving the people what they want on a platform specifically designed for their needs.
No surprises here: the knock-on effect is happier guests, better reviews, more bookings, and more money.
Last-minute reservations are on the rise
Did you know that around 29 per cent of guests decide to book their short-term holiday accommodation on the very same day they arrive?
Last-minute reservations are becoming more common as people increasingly expect owners to have fully updated calendars at all times. Even on the Airbnb platform users prefer properties with “instant book” enabled.
If your holiday rental’s calendar is not integrated into a mobile-friendly reservation system, you’re probably throwing cash out the window. Additionally, you’re expected to have the property ready at a moment’s notice.
You can save yourself the hassle of liaising with cleaners, key delivery people, the guests checking out and the guests checking in by consolidating your procedures into one slick, mobile-optimised platform.
An added bonus is that your guests will be happy while you’ll be stress-free and merrily catching the cash other owners have let fly out their windows.
Review ramifications
We’ll keep this one simple: if you can’t offer your guests the kind of service they expect, or if that service is not in-line with how people travel these days, you risk bad reviews.
We won’t bang on about the ramification of shoddy reviews but suffice to say, with 81 per cent of people using peer-to-peer review sites before making a booking, bad feedback could kill your business.
Luckily, our Ninjas are here to help.
Ready to join 2020’s travel revolution?
Get in touch with us at KeyNinja to find out how our mobile solutions can fast-track your rental into the new decade.
We offer an intelligent, integrated, user-friendly platform that encompasses guest check-ins, check-outs, key delivery, housekeeping services, and guest verification and communication.
Drop us a line and let’s get started.
