Why Travel Experiences Matter

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In the age of the experience economy comes the rise of the latest trend - travel experiences and experience gifting.

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After three dormant years, travel is coming back in full force as consumers yearn to fly across the world and reignite their love for travel. From Peleton bikes to plane tickets, study by Momentum Worldwide highlighted that 76% of global consumers would now rather spend on experiences over material items.

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Consumers seek for extraordinary experiences that are meaningful, from off-the-beaten track adventures to all-inclusive relaxation retreats. As travellers become more independent, they favour tailored experiences to their personality and vacation style. Guests are demanding more than just the standard hospitality service, but are looking for premium value-added services and highly differentiated offerings.

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Give the Gift of Timeless Memories

Turn the farfetched Lonely Planet destinations into reality. What would have normally required time and coordination to plan a holiday, buyers can now gift experiences easily in just a few clicks - whether it’s a sunset trek in Bali or a private Rolls Royce ride in Paris. Step off the well-trodden tourist trail and travel beyond the standard sightseeing spots by guiding guests to truly immerse themselves into the local culture and form deep connections.

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Theme experiences around local festivals, events, or cultural interests. Design small, and intimate community events that will allow guests to go behind the scenes to experience the life of a local, discover ancient traditions and absorb their culture. The gift of experiences allows guests to take away memories of useful things to bring home - whether it’s learning about cultural heritage or a new recipe from a private cooking class.

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Guests who choose highly-rated hotels have high expectations of a personalised experience. Take away the complexities and the unknown, and design experiences that are seamless so that guests do not have to worry about the logistics, but can fully indulge themselves in an experience they can fully enjoy and relax. Consider offering additional food and drink or transport options to provide a full end-to-end journey planning through our one-checkout system that will allow the mix-and-match of F&B, staycations, and experiences.

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As people begin to value more quality time together, experience gifts are much more valuable, changing gifting traditions and prompting an increase in travel experience gift purchases. Adobe’s study revealed that one-fifth plan to gift an experience, while an increasing figure actually purchases promotional gift cards for self-use. Gift vouchers are great for gifting as they can be used to book activities at their favourite hotel at any time. The flexibility of this gift is unparallel to others as it can be purchased at any discretionary amount and sent across the world electronically, perfect for those last-minute gifts.

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Hotels need to exceed guest expectations by creating outstanding and memorable experiences. The key to distinguishing experiences from others is to provide highly differentiated and unique offerings where the experience itself becomes a storytelling opportunity, and one so memorable that it becomes a gift worth giving.

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