First-party data: The elusive key to travel's recovery

The travel industry is eagerly anticipating the release of pent-up demand. But are we ready for the impending recovery?

The recent boost in searches and bookings reported by travel marketers in the United Kingdom following its government’s road map announcement is promising. Coronavirus vaccines continue to roll out, raising hope for an economic rebound.

Not all travel companies will capture their fair share, though. It won’t be for a lack of effort, staff or a faulty booking engine. They just won’t have the relevant information required to reach travelers changed by COVID19: first-party data. 

First-party primer

First-party data is information a company receives directly from consumer behavior: a review, call center conversation or website click. The problem is that such first-party data is often scattered across the organization and not actionable. Unless you have a fairly robust CRM process, you likely rely on third-party data aggregated and provided by an external source.

Third-party data may come from a distribution channel, partner or data aggregator. In digital marketing, it usually refers to the cookies a marketer or ad-tech firm places in a user’s browser. You know those ads for that thing you bought last month that follow you everywhere online? Third-party cookies make that happen. The good news from a privacy/annoyance standpoint is they’re going away. But from a marketing perspective, it’s a significant shift. 

The perfect personalization storm

The 12-month near-total cessation of travel caused by the pandemic obliterated a tried-and-true source of behavioral data: bookings. Without recent historical data, recommendations from even the most sophisticated artificial intelligence modeling will be outdated, a reflection of our pre-COVID hand-shaking selves.

At the same time, consumer preferences have changed amid broad societal and cultural dislocations that continue to evolve. More outdoor escapes than city breaks. Takeout versus hang out. After viewing pictures of pristine au naturel Venice canals, one might place more value on environmental stewardship. It’s hard to decode all that from a persona based on a pre-pandemic trip. That’s so 2019.

Don’t expect today’s tracking tools to help. Privacy concerns raised by the Cambridge Analytica scandal and multiple high-profile data breaches have government regulators scrutinizing the practices of big tech firms like Google, Facebook and Apple. As a result, it’s no surprise Apple will require explicit permission from users to track behavior in iOS 14.5 or that Google will phase out third-party cookies in Chrome by 2022.

This perfect storm of developments makes personalization significantly more challenging for everyone, from global brands to independent operators. To ride the wave of recovery, we need to listen and learn how traveler preferences are changing.

Tuning in to traveler tastes

As in any economic crisis, organizations with capital are acquiring the companies, resources and customers to emerge stronger. They’re ready to deploy marketing campaigns to capture the lion’s share when bookings rebound. But the message must be relevant.

Without recent historical data, recommendations from even the most sophisticated AI modeling will be outdated.

Tedd Evers - TripTuner

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Campaigns from global players can help reduce their reliance upon Google, who may emerge even stronger after its recent anti-tracking moves. Brand campaigns though, are inherently not targeted. Promotional offers fall flat if safety concerns and changing individual tastes are ignored, like the cautious non-traveler who’s suddenly ready to book having been vaccinated.

Travel marketers who have stayed in touch and listened to customers even when they weren’t booking, have a head-start. One doesn’t need a large budget to learn more about your customers. Surveys have been a cost-effective method ever since Charles Booth interviewed London’s urban poor in the 1880s. 

Capturing demand at scale, however, requires a tech-enabled listening that’s not limited to prior behavioral data. It has become a critical area for innovation as third-party data sources dry up. Travelers should be able to view relevant offers by indicating their nuanced preferences based on how they are feeling now.

Call to action

Anyone who has sat in a meeting (er, Zoom) reviewing the latest analytics knows the value of actionable insight. Start small, looking at website search activity. It may not be statistically significant, but it can be directionally informative. Segment customers into increasingly focused cohorts - even if only from region to country to city - getting more personalized each time. 

When getting started, it’s OK to “do things that don’t scale,” as Paul Graham, the founder of Airbnb accelerator Y Combinator once counseled. If a cohort likes hiking, reflect that in email copy or imagery. Mine your social channels for further insight.

Setting up ways to track direct interactions on your website can ultimately lead to real-time personalization and less-intrusive re-targeting. Those types of solutions can scale, preparing your business for the inevitable return of travel demand - and you’ll be first to the party celebrating the occasion.