A new study by SiteMinder, the global hotel industry’s leading guest acquisition platform, today reveals that great service and personalised offers are the two deciding factors for Italian travellers when choosing their accommodation.
The study, Le aspettative dei viaggiatori italiani alla base dell’evoluzione del settore alberghiero, was this week launched at Buy Tourism Online (BTO) in Florence to explore the preferences of guests for the country’s hotels.
According to the study, other strong influences on guest choice include hotel location, email promotions, packages with incentives, and practical use of technology.
While factors such as email promotions are important to Italian hotel guests, it is clear that great service and a personalised experience are still valued above all. Of course, recommendations from friends and family, as well as strangers through online reviews, are also highly influential. However, unsurprisingly for an industry founded on customer service, superior hospitality and personalisation remain key to attracting and retaining guests,” says Daniele Di Bella, Vice President – EMEA at SiteMinder.
More than 1,000 Italian travellers of different ages, educational levels and socio-economic backgrounds took part in the online study conducted in February. Of the participants, around six percent said they still used the expertise of a travel agent to make a hotel booking, while 77 percent said they now book online. One-in-four travelled for both leisure and business.
Assessing
the value of technology to their trips, participants said technology such as hotel apps and voice
assistants should be useful,
but not intrusive, to
enhance their stay.
About SiteMinder
In an age of rising choice and accessibility for curious travellers, SiteMinder is the name synonymous with the belief that technology can empower any hotel to win in a consumer-led world and unleash their potential. SiteMinder is the global hotel industry’s leading guest acquisition platform, ranked among technology pioneers for its smart and simple solutions that put hotels everywhere their guests are, at every stage of their journey. It’s this central role that has earned SiteMinder the trust of more than 30,000 hotels, across 160 countries, to generate in excess of 80 million reservations worth over US$35 billion in revenue for hotels each year. For more information, visit www.siteminder.com.
