How to accommodate millennials in 2018

Millennials are becoming an increasingly important target audience for hotels. This young group of tech savvy individuals already make up one third of the worlds hotel guests. It is predicted that this will reach a whopping 50% in the next 2 years. This generation is the most connected, and digitally demanding one we have seen. A significant aspect of their social engagement is their tendency to write about and rate hotels on popular review sites such as Trivago.  According to Revinate, 93% of travellers worldwide say online reviews have an impact on their booking decisions. This means that now, more than ever, you have to make the guests experience one to remember.  We, at Hotel TV Company, are here to help you with this. Here is how to accommodate a millennial guest…

The perfect guest experience starts well before they have even booked a room in your hotel.  Millennials, unlike their predecessors, value their experience more than any tangible products acquired during their travels, and they like communication that experience to others. Furthermore, social media dominates the lives of many millennials. Sprout Social show that 81% of millennials check twitter on a daily basis and users on average check social media 20 times a day. This gives you a great platform to advertise your service and get their attention.

In addition, integrating technology with your services is a must for hotels. It can provide a great competitive advantage and can make millennials truly feel at home.

How to engage millennials?

As a guest enters your hotel, their first impression is vital. One thing that is sure to give off the right impression is digital signage. Much like advertising outside the hotel, you should always provide some special offers via a stunning screen that is sure to increase the spend-per-guest. Showing special offers, like Happy Hour at the bar or local attractions, can be enticing to millennials. They are known to be tight fisted, so they will always be looking for a deal. They are also mush more interested in experiencing local culture and attractions. If you want to take it a step further, interactive video walls would go down well as a millennial is looking for something to keep their restless hands busy as they wait to check in.

Another great sales & marketing tool for hotels are mobile apps. They are becoming more and more popular amongst young travellers and offer a wide variety of features appealing to millennials.

Did you know that 78% of travellers would use a mobile app if they are offered discounts?

Furthermore, according to Business Insider, users spend 20% more when ordering via their mobile phone. This presents hotels with the great opportunity to embrace digitalisation and attract younger generations. Mobile apps allow guests to check in/out remotely, unlock their hotel room and even book a table at the restaurant or order room service. A mobile app also allows for hotels to reach their customers remotely resulting in faster and more efficient services.

In reality, many hotels have already moved towards self-check-in with more and more hoteliers adopting self-check-in kiosks or mobile apps with PMS integration. This allows for faster check-in process, minimalises queue times and increases staff efficiency. In fact, 75% of millennials have travel apps on their phone and 36% prefer automated check-in. Moreover, keyless hotel room access is also growing in popularity in recent years.

Mobile key access eliminates the need for physical keys or printed key cards and allows customers to access, not only their hotel room, but all hotel facilities that require a key card, just by using their phone. In fact, a combined 60% of users are more willing to stay at a hotel that allows them to use their smart phone for online check-in and keyless entry (Software Advice). This shows a significant interest and growing demand for mobile services.

Finally, mobile apps are a great way to engage with millennials and push some relevant offers. They allow hotel staff to send messages and push notifications to guests using the app which helps increase mobile sales. They are also ideal for you loyalty program and exclusive promotions. 52% of millennials are likely to access loyalty promotions on their mobile (Oracle).

Take a step further…

In-room technology is a great tool for making a guest’s stay more personalised and is a necessity to millennials. TV Systems, for example, eliminate the need for printed guest directories and enables hotels to up-sell products and services. Although TV systems can be a significant investment, they are proven to increase guest in-room spend and reduce printing costs. That, combined with screen mirroring options, offer the ultimate connectivity that a millennial needs.

Furthermore, 86% of millennials travel to experience culture (Hotelchamp). In other words, unlike their predecessors, millennials value their experience more than any tangible products acquired during their travels. This, therefore, can be addressed by providing guests with information about history and local attractions directly on the TV via a TV System. This way, guests are offered useful and engaging information with the click of a button. 

But most importantly…

As Richfield Hospitality suggests, millennial travellers expect to have internet access at all times. Therefore, at the very least, hoteliers need to ensure that there is a stable internet connection throughout the whole building in order to cater for the tech savvy millennial. Moreover, free Wi-Fi is seen as the most important feature of a hotel by 94% of travellers, yet only 64% of hotels offer it for free. Therefore, high-speed Internet needs to be on the top of your list when considering technological upgrades.

How to Encourage Repeat Visit?

Customer service does not end when the guest checks out. Technology nowadays provides ever more opportunities for hoteliers to engage with guests after their stay and encourage repeat visit.

For instance, smart Wi-Fi platforms allow for comprehensive data capture while guests are staying at your hotel and using the Wi-Fi. This data can, then, be used for targeted promotions after they have left.

Why not offer millennials a birthday treat?

Smart Wi-Fi Platforms

• Use captured data to target promotions
• Remember birthdays, anniversaries, etc. and offer promotions