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What hotels can learn from peer-to-peer travel accommodation

Peer-to-peer travel accommodation (also known as person-to-person home rental) is the process whereby an existing house owner makes their house or an empty room available for others to rent for short periods of time as an alternative form of accommodation. This phenomena is revolutionizing hotel industry. Just like OTAs (online travel agencies) in the 2000s, peer-to-peer travel accommodation demands of hoteliers significant changes in their businesses. Sharing economy players are no longer small, insignificant and easy to ignore, they are growing and fast, so the hoteliers need to raise their game or they will fall far behind. Below, Gruppo La Meridiana presents to you several suggestions on how you as a hotelier can learn from peer-to-peer players in the industry.

 

  1. Personalization

What peer-to-peer players do particularly well is they personalize. Every peer-to-peer travel accommodation product is totally unique. It is an alternative accommodation option for travelers looking for an authentic experience. Peer-to-peer accommodation providers also engage with the customer already at the very early stages of customer journey, even before the purchase. Customers can ask questions about the area, logistics etc. and hosts are willing to help. Hoteliers don’t do that well and have traditionally followed the belief that the stay and hospitality starts at the entrance of the hotel. We’ve seen this before. It’s the same mistake hoteliers made when the OTAs entered the market. For OTAs, the consumer journey begins during the discovery phase and it gives consumers confidence early on. Peer-to-peer players do this really well and it’s the essence of why they have succeeded. Hotels must become more hospitable online and engage with guests during discovery and then extend that hospitality on property.

 

  1. Communication

We’ve touched upon it above – peer-to-peer accommodation providers connect with the customers at the very early stages of customer journey. Consumers of peer-to-peer travel accommodation have direct access to their hosts during the stay and they use all latest mediums for it: texts, apps, social media. Hotels need to engage more with social media and engage more with guests. They need to build a rapport via their pre-stay engagement and build a relationship that then continues through the stay and beyond. From a revenue perspective this is vital, because hotels are not only selling a room — they are selling an experience. They hope the guest is so engaged with their product that they will also dine on property, take a spa treatment, use the leisure facilities and more.

 

  1. Loyalty

Peer-to-peer travel accommodation is not only an accommodation platform, it’s also a community. That’s another thing distinguishing sharing economy providers from traditional hotels. The – mentioned above – communication involved in peer-to-peer accommodation transaction goes a long way to building loyalty with the brand and a connection between the hosts and the travelers. Peer-to-peer accommodation aficionados are often loyal to the system, to the ‘community’ and what it represents – individual travelers looking for an individual experience. In order to learn from sharing economy providers, hoteliers should offer enticing loyalty programs, more opportunity to keep clients close and entice them with ‘members only’ offers. They need to reconnect with the guest, excite and engage, and get personal.

 

Sharing economy is as much a threat to hotel industry as it can be a growth and development opportunity. Above there are three main tips on how hoteliers can use peer-to-peer accommodation providers to step up their game. For more suggestions, and for customized tips for your hotel’s unique value proposition, please contact Gruppo La Meridiana. We are happy to share with you the outcome of our research and analysis.

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