Hotels must prepare for a marketing funnel that no longer ends at the booking, as consumers constantly look for inspiration, with high numbers now re-shopping after completing a transaction.
Most travelers enjoy researching and planning, according to a new report, and hotels are being urged to better engage with their guests during the post-booking window.
“You can’t stop at the booking,” said Heather Balsley, chief commercial and marketing officer at IHG, at the recent Skift Global Forum. “That trend of travel anxiety, especially for the leisure traveler, is more rampant than ever.”
Today, it is a lot easier for the customer to research, second-guess and continue to get inspired, according to Balsley.
“That brings us back to staying top of mind in the inspiration phase, because that doesn’t stop at the moment of booking,” she said.
“What’s critical for hotel companies and IHG is to make sure we’re present and relevant with our brands and hotels, where the customer is getting that inspiration, where they’re researching.”
In February this year, the group confirmed a new AI-compatible content platform will provide video, 360-degree images, floor plans, virtual tours and automated language translation.
Balsley also said IHG is expanding its use of content creators: “There is absolutely still a role for traditional marketing, but the role of creators, influencers, is so much more important.”
From funnels to orbits
The solution? Rather than guiding consumers along a linear path to booking, hotels should pull them in from multiple “orbits,” according to McKinsey & Company's recent “Winning hearts in an age of infinite travel choices” report, which was carried out with Skift Research. Travelers now move through 65 touchpoints before a trip is booked, up from 45 in 2018, it states.
The so-called orbits are created by the growing number of influences.
“Across all channels, social media of course, but even movies, TV, friends and family, newspapers, creates a sort of orbital journey,” said Margaux Constantin, partner at McKinsey & Company, who was also speaking at the event in New York last week.
That shift in search patterns has already prompted IHG to roll out new tools for the group’s hotels so they can “show up in the best possible light” across its own channels, as well as through third parties, Balsley said.
Last month, IHG highlighted its involvement in Google's AI’s booking pilot, enabling guests to book hotels within Google's AI Mode experience. Those reservations are processed as direct bookings.
Balsley also said on stage that IHG is gearing up for a future where agentic booking will be a scale opportunity. An upcoming report from Propellic that studied what U.S. travelers actually do with AI revealed that the platforms told 71% of participants to book directly with an operator instead of through an agency.
Not the end of the story
Meanwhile, Constantin pointed out that in addition to the jump in different consumer touchpoints, it is now difficult to pinpoint exactly when the consumer began their journey and when it ended.
Some 78% of travelers keep researching after they book, and 50% have changed a confirmed accommodation after seeing a better option online.
The pleasure of trying to find that next perfect getaway may be an addiction for some.
“There was no clear moment of intention to buy,” Constantin added. “It was actually a constant intention to buy.”
Part of the reason is that consumers enjoy the process. The report found 80% of travelers said they wanted to spend a lot of time researching, contemplating options and getting inspired.
The report’s findings echo comments made by Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky at the event. He cited earlier Cornell University research that showed many people drive more pleasure from anticipating and planning travel, and remembering travel, than they do actually traveling.
“Shopping is entertainment,” he said. “The ultimate form of entertainment shopping is planning travel. I don’t think people want all that taken away.”