What is the direction of travel for travel sector content?

Taking a step back to a time when Lego or sourcing my next bag of sweets were the pressing priorities, I vividly recall from my childhood the travel brochures on the coffee table. Lakes & Mountains brochures, with the alpine promise of fresh air in landlocked European territories, were our family holiday thing. Page corners were turned down, pricing options scribbled in biro, and then the short drive into town, all ready to see our high street travel agent to get the booking over the line.

Lego long packed away and wanting to know where my next coffee is coming from, another thing has also changed over the years: how the travel industry markets its destinations and properties has gone beyond the brochure, in an increasingly complex digital landscape, but with content still at the very core of its mission to connect with consumers.

Research opens a clear window of opportunity

Data from Phocuswright’s ‘Online Travel Review Third Edition’ highlights that 80 percent of holiday bookers kick off their research two or more months ahead of the planned trip, and 55 percent consider at least five hotel properties before settling on the one. That means there is a window of opportunity for travel providers to deliver timely content, and by golly, that content better be relevant and offer a property or destination portfolio that truly delights and tempts its possible suitor.

How has the travel industry responded to consumer shifts?

Brand-led content approaches see content vehicles, such as monthly or quarterly magazines (both physical and digital), finding a place in the hands of those with wanderlust and disposable income or hard-earned savings. These publications are going all out on editorial approaches around aspirational destinations to build brand affinity and a reader rapport that provokes itchy feet for landmark celebration holidays, or an impromptu cheeky weekend getaway.

One digital-only example recently been launched by Travelzoo is a monthly publication, ‘Travelzoo Experience’, available via the web or app. This approach gets branded materials in front of a relevant audience and generates tangible insights, beyond clicks and downloads.

Knowing the digital reading habits of your database is invaluable for optimising all marketing comms, e.g. it informs social media retargeting efforts, future email content relevancy, and targeted trigger campaigns. It’s also critical to understand the rate of content delivery. A regular drip-feed or a timely delivery are better routes to success than a drought or flood of content. Even simple blog executions can sustain a regular engagement with your travel-hungry audience. STA Travel does a good job of helping student travellers manage the tightest of budgets with timely and sustained content on the path to purchase.

Bye-bye brochure?

Only in recent weeks did the owner of Thomson and First Choice announce the end of brochures as holiday-selling devices. High street travel agents will be phasing out print offerings by 2020 in favour of interactive digital experiences and engaging visual display units.

A report in The Guardian explains further:

The group, which prints 4.7m brochures a year across 58 themed titles, said it planned to publish a “lifestyle-related” magazine but on a much smaller scale. Thomson’s newest concept stores – called Holiday Design Stores – have already done away with brochure racks in favour of technology such as interactive maps and video walls.

Now, is it time for print to panic? Far from it, moreover that printed content for travel has changed. There are plenty of stunning publications that originate from travel brands that play a critical role in inducing severe wanderlust. In fact, Wonderlist is the name of the Virgin Holidays journal-esque print publication that merits inclusion in your coffee table set-up. This content piece forms just one part of a bigger, more personalised CRM production.

Airbnb, as one of the most digitally-driven travel offerings, had a short-lived foray into print with their Pineapple publication. It saw one issue, released in 2014.

In their words at the time of the launch:

‘This is a printed magazine where honest stories are told by the unexpected characters of our community. It is a crossroad of travel and anthropology; a document of community, belonging and shared space.’

Pineapple was supposed to be a platform for the incredible stories from Airbnb’s extended family, thereby connecting shared experiences with experience-seekers. In their own disruptive way, they charged you $12 for the benefit to be sold to through storytelling in print.

That single issue was not followed up. Instead, a digital option has been given more love and funding to unlock local-level knowledge and understanding with content that you would place further down the sales funnel. The stage at which you deliver relevant content to a holiday-goer is critical and evidences the maturity and understanding of content marketing in the travel sector.

Locals know their city better than anybody and will uncover hidden gems and off-the-tourist-trail treasures, and they will unlock the A-to-B efficiencies your £12.99 guidebook won’t cover. Airbnb is leading the way with neighbourhood guides that serve well as content pieces on the buyer journey – pre- or post-holiday purchase. Check out the ‘Locals Love’ and ‘Locals Complain About’ top tips.

But we can’t depart discussion on the role of the tangible brochure without at least a nod to Mr & Mrs Smith who have been long-standing producers of beautiful brand collateral. Book a holiday, maybe pay for it with one of their cheekily titled ‘Get a room’ gift cards, and buy the destination guidebook, which features specially commissioned photography, well-crafted copy and unlocks further members-only perks and opportunities for your Mr & Mrs Smith holiday experience.

Concierge content, step this way…

Another interesting appraoch to surfacing tempting content to get you into the ‘club’ is the concierge approach – getting emails from ‘Anna’ (if that is her real name) at Voyage Privé, with Buzzfeed-esque headlines, e.g. ‘3 good reasons to leave the UK behind’, followed by relevant deals with stunning images and tempting prices – creates a regular dialogue, even when holiday-booking is furthest from your mind.

Tapping into wanderlust and coupling it with underlying affordability messages is smart. The concierge route also plays a critical content-led role once a booking has been made. Sending tips, tricks and local recommendations around the user’s chosen destination can only better inform and enrich their overall experience of the holiday and the brand.

Editorial rigour brings credibility

Websites such as i-escape surface interesting places to visit and stay at the boutique, luxury and family end of the scale. These are showcased through in-house travel writers’ reviews and copy that goes that little bit deeper and is more informed than a Trip Advisor user-generated review.

The members-only masquerade

The proliferation of member-only travel websites (whereby membership is defined by having a Facebook login) has given rise to the notion of the curated property portfolio, whereby better rates or perks are negotiated for members. These websites speak of hidden gems or private deals just for you (and Facebook’s other 1.59 billion users). They may not always be the best rate – going direct can still save you money – but the additional perks and fine-tuned filter they apply to the properties they offer is bundled into the service, giving rise to the feeling of a concierge-like service.

Give a little to get a lot

Speaking of a holiday that isn’t for everyone but certainly will appeal to some, step up Kind Traveler. A holiday is a treat but it need not be laden with guilt. But what if you could holiday and do some good at the same time? Kind Traveler is the destination website for you.

In their words:

As the first ‘Give + Get’ hotel booking platform, you donate to a choice of top-rated charities to benefit the community, environment, or animals; You get exclusive hotel rates to book directly with the world’s greatest hotels and unique properties. It feels good to #TravelKindly.

The supporting story-telling on their site is also wonderful too. And thankfully, not worthy. Just right.

Help your customers go a long way

The research says the opportunity to arrest attention is clearly presented as a 3-month window and so the integration of content in a multi-channel approach – coupled with the smart use of data to understand and support your customer base at exactly the right stage of their buying journey – will help you build and sustain a better consumer relationship. It will also ease the friction that can make the conversion from wanderlust to booking an often frustrating experience. Serving the right content at the right time can only ever help travel businesses to go farther than ever before.

This article was written by James Ainsworth, Head of Content, and first appeared on The Real Adventure Unlimited's CRM Life blog.