It won’t be an understatement to say that the millennials are the ones who are reaping maximum benefits of the ecommerce industry. From buying clothes to ordering food to traveling, the first thing they like to do is take out their smartphone and start searching for what they need or want. The number of millennials doing things online is so huge that they have become a different consumer category altogether, and today, we will be talking about the millennial travelers.
When it comes to millennials, the way they travel is a lot different from how people from other age groups do. Here’s a small infographic to give you a glimpse of how millennials are traveling…
(Click Here To View the Complete Infographic)
So before you plan what your travel website should include, knowing what the millennials want is a prerequisite. And this is exactly what we are going to talk about today. Read along:
More than anything else, millennials want trust from online travel portals. It won’t be wrong to say this particular age group is immensely aware of the internet world. They know many websites show something else and deliver something entirely different, mostly towards the inferior side. To make sure they are going to make the right deal, millennials have a habit to go through customer reviews, travel journals, discussion forums and blogs.
As a travel activity website owner, it becomes your responsibility to keep a WYSWYG approach. It will also be a good idea to have all these features on your website. Let them share how was it to travel with the booking help and support offered by your website. Give them space to talk, give them space to blog, you’ll be surprised how much people love such a space. In short, let them write on your website, make community pages and ask to leave reviews.
Depending on the season, your portal should tell people which place would be the best choice to visit. Let us put a fact in perspective: the tourist culture is fading out, especially millennials. This is one particular age group that wants to get back to traveling. For them, ease is everything; the ease of planning, booking a trip, packing, checking on everything else that revolves around traveling. And just in case their plan gets postponed or cancelled, they want the cancellation to be a breeze too.
So make sure your website has good navigation and allows visitors to book or cancel a trip easily.
Suggested Read: Make Your Travel Booking Website Ready for High Season with These Features
They just don’t want to stay informed; they also want to feel special. A mere “thank you for booking with us” is just not enough. Messages such as “Welcome to <destination name>, have a wonderful stay” the moment they check in shows you care for them. And when their trip is done, a message that thanks them for choosing you would be a nice touch. Also, sending occasional messages regarding the weather and preferable activities is also a good idea (obviously, apart from the standard SMS notifications/confirmations).
The normal practice followed by travel booking websites is that the website owners give a glimpse of a destination, and focus on selling a package. Millennials don’t like that. For them, it’s not all about the pricing alone or the convenience to book hotel/ flights; it’s in fact about what all travelers can do when they reach a destination, it’s about the value for money. Give them freedom to choose what they want to do.
Thing is, nobody wants to be treated as a typical customer. Customers are pushed round from one package to another. They come to your website because they feel you will offer something of value. If they wanted to be treated like just another customer, they’d have chosen any other website or simply decided to do things the old fashioned way.
Numerous of travel communities built across the world have clearly shown that people want to connect with likeminded people. And the case is even stronger among the millennials. They want to make memories. They have apps, blogs and everything else that lets them plan their trips, so now; it’s up to you to deliver the experience. Some people like to plan their trip around food, so their main focus is to go places and try local delicacies. Some people like to go on historical tours, while some want to have an adventurous traveling experience. And given the fact that customer experience begins counting the moment your customers log in to your website, you need to plan your website accordingly. Given the variety of activities people can indulge in during their trips, you can offer different levels of experiences to your patrons.
It’s always good to know what’s happening in the industry before you start tweaking your online travel booking website. The way millennials shop, eat and travel is a lot different from what other age groups do. Their taste differs a lot from the rest of the people, and they are always on the go. Given the fact that this particular age group is really good at juicing out the best of the internet, you know the millennials deserve more attention than they normally get.
We create future-focused content to help you stay updated. Follow us on Twitter to get notified about latest tips, trends and product updates.
Disclaimer: The Blog has been created with consideration and care. We strive to ensure that all information is as complete, correct, comprehensible, accurate and up-to-date as possible. Despite our continuing efforts, we cannot guarantee that the information made available is complete, correct, accurate or up-to-date. We advise - the readers should not take decisions completely based on the information and views shared by FATbit on its blog, readers should do their own research to further assure themselves before taking any commercial decision. The 3rd party trademarks, logos and screenshots of the websites and mobile applications are property of their respective owners, we are not directly associated with most of them.
FATbit Chef is the official broadcaster of everything that happens inside FATbit. Count on the invisible reporter for detailed analysis based posts, new service additions, and other brand related updates.
