It’s all about me: Personalization in leisure travel

In leisure travel terms, what exactly is “personalization?” Is it targeted online advertising? Customizable website search capability? A loyalty program delivering individualized perks? Yes, yes, and yes. To be fair, “personalization” is still being defined by the various suppliers and customers in the billion dollar travel industry. But one thing is certain: this trend propelled by the explosion of Big Data is starting to define trip planning itself—and, alas, it’s getting more and more personal.

It’s not one-size-fits-all

Travelers today are taking to the Internet to build their trips, creating custom experiences based on their budgets or whims. They have numerous resources at their fingertips, and everything from peer reviews to hot deals factor into their destination and accommodation decisions. The airlines they choose, the restaurants they try, and the attractions they visit are carefully researched, whether they’re “Googled” or recommended by a friend or a travel website.

Ever since technology put travelers into the driver’s seat, travel service marketers have had to move beyond designing promotions around large consumer segments (think Big Spenders, Day-Trippers, Family Vacationers, etc.). Now, they need to consider the individual traveler and their particular wants and needs, and it’s a far more sophisticated endeavor.  Even more complicated is that an individual can be a very different traveler when on a business trip than when he or she is traveling with the family of 4 kids..Savvy travel companies are mining the data in their systems and out in the marketplace to understand their customers: to learn what they want, when they want it, and how they want to get it—so they can deliver relevant and timely offers that build revenue and loyalty.

It’s a lot of numbers-crunching

To achieve this, travel providers are putting a number of pieces together. In addition to looking at an individual’s online browse and click patterns, they’re looking at what they share on social media sites and what they say in reviews. They’re assessing how a shopper’s behavior differs between the research and purchase phases. They’re incorporating data derived from loyalty programs and ancillary sales, and taking hints from geo-location tools.

In their blog post Opportunities for Personalization in the Travel Industry, predictive analytics company Canopy Labs shares a few website personalization strategies travel companies can consider using:

• Self-segmentation by spend levels – Enable customers to filter search results by cost and convenience options. An individual’s selections lend insight into their booking priorities and traveler preferences that can be used to promote sales during future visits.
• Segmentation by payment method – When you see how an individual is paying for a trip, you can use this information to help personalize and upsell the experience.  A corporate traveler paying with a corporate credit card will likely appreciate restaurant reservations or a free in-room movie.   A leisure traveler paying with a debit card or PayPal might like a spa discount or travel insurance.
• Location-based travel versus theme-based travel – Deploy content marketing to support a customer’s trip research and learn about an individual’s interests. The content they consume gives clues into their upcoming trip and can be used to take them through the sales funnel.
• User reviews and social data – Encourage website visitors to engage with the brand and fellow travelers by posting reviews and/or connecting them through their social media accounts. Data generated through these social channels paints a picture of the customer and provides details that can be used to customize future messaging.

It’s expected

Travel shoppers expect to be understood and catered to. That’s why they’re usually willing to voluntarily share information with travel companies. They’ll create online profiles or enable social media sign-ins if it makes their trip planning experience easier and more customized to they way they want to interact with the travel brand. Why not work with the supplier if it means a more comfortable trip?

And for the travel company, their efforts often add up to becoming the individual’s go-to brand—even if they’re not the price-winner. That’s right. Effective use of personalization can put value over price. The little extras—more onboard legroom or in-room customizations like allergen-free pillows—can make a big difference. There’s no doubt that travel industry suppliers are up to the challenge of uncovering what little extras are going to yield the greatest results, and what combination of data and customer service is going to get them there.