COVID-19: Hotel Insights & A Conversation with Preferred Hotels & Resorts [Webinar]

YouTube searches for travel topics in the US are up 60%.

May 13, 2020

With our access to real-time traveler audiences and unmatched visibility into global travel demand, we are in a unique position to share current travel trends at the forefront of marketers’ minds. In this series we take a look at the data in order to aid travel marketers in their assessment of this worldwide event. Marketers can use these trends to inform their strategies during this period and be prepared for the recovery once the situation stabilizes.

This week, Google reported that YouTube searches for travel topics in the US are up +60% in the last 30 days. Greece announced its intention to reopen to tourists by July 1, and Carnival Cruise saw a 600% surge in August bookings.

As countries and states cautiously reopen, travel marketers are preparing for the surge in interest in their destinations, attractions, and hotels, either by offering inspiration or optimizing their websites to capture more direct bookings (and thus, more revenue). And this preparation couldn’t come sooner, as we begin to see early signs of recovery in hotel searches and bookings. The week of April 5th appears to be the bottom of interest, and while we are still nowhere near 2019 levels, there is an increasing desire to travel domestically as shelter-in-place restrictions are lifted. A recent Sojern survey of 500+ hoteliers, found that 39% of respondents are looking to change their distribution strategy for more direct bookings, precisely to catch this interest.

Preparing for Recovery: Marketing Through a Pandemic

In a conversation with Preferred Hotels CMO, Kristie Goshow, we dive into why there are upticks in hotel searches and bookings, how far people are willing to travel, what signs hoteliers look for that will point to recovery, and how to reach potential guests.

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For real-time insights specific to your region or country, check out our insights dashboard.

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“We look at technology as the enabler of guest experience. We are able to learn a lot about the guest and ensure that’s kept in what we call ‘The Golden Profile.’ When a guest arrives, we want to be able to cater to their individuality and their needs. Through time and through a lot of feedback, we continually evolve that to be more and more robust.”

Helen Smith & Eugenio Pirri

CEOs (on the Hospitality Daily Podcast)

“We're focused on having a lot of opportunities to collect information that the guests provide us. There's a lot of shopping behavior and historical activity that you can get from guests. Many have gotten good at collecting customer information. I think the real trick here in the landscape that we're in today and over the next few years will be how to activate that data.”

Ed Skapinok

Chief Commercial Officer (on the Hospitality Daily Podcast)

"Our digital ad experience with Sojern has been nothing short of top-notch... Sojern works very effectively with keeping our lines of communication open and being aware of our internal deadlines. When the digital ads are presented to us, the team at Valencia Hotel Group is consistently pleased with the designs delivered. They have been an amazing strategic partner."

Amy Trench

Corporate Director of Brand Marketing and PR

"My experience with Sojern design team was very smooth and efficient. The example/template provided was very helpful, to explain what we were looking for. Based on all brand elements (ie: fonts, colors, tagline…) and a selection of pictures I provided, they were able to put together a very nice and well-balanced ad selection."

Magali Simonot

Complex Marketing Manager

"It was an absolute pleasure working with the entire team at Sojern. We were looking for a simple way to reach potential guests on social media, and Sojern provided a simple solution. They answered all our questions quickly and put together well-designed ads that the entire staff was thrilled with and did it quickly."

Knute Gregory

Marketing Manager

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