The tourism industry is undergoing significant changes, driven by post-pandemic shifts, rising environmental concerns, and rapid technological advancements. Travellers today are more eco-conscious, tech-savvy, and focused on health and safety, though they also continue to be driven by primary decision-making factors such as location, price, and accommodation type.
People don’t look for hotels in Cambridge when they want to sleep in London. They filter out the €600 per night rooms when their budget is €200. They will not entertain the idea of a remote isolated lodge when they are looking for a sleek city getaway.
So how can you make your hotel stand out?
This blog explores actionable steps to elevate your positioning and future-proof your hotel.
Elevate Your Reviews: Unlock Success with the Billboard Effect
While your website is important, I would argue that your reviews are even more crucial. Why? Because they play a key role in directing consumers to your website. It is a speedy, often visual filter that visitors to large OTAs like Booking. com apply as they glance through the possible accommodation options. This is known as the “billboard effect”—where travellers filter by location, price, and accommodation type, then quickly scan the review scores to shortlist their options.
Take my own experience for example: once I filter by location and hotel type, price becomes a factor, then I immediately check the review rating, usually eliminating anything below 8.0 on Booking. I will mentally shortlist a few options, skim reviews, and then head to the hotel’s website for more information. This entire process takes just a few minutes and is heavily influenced by the review scores and the first three images I see.
And I am not alone. Studies show that 81% of travellers always read reviews before booking, and 96% of all travellers find reviews crucial during their research. Most will read between 6 and 12 reviews before deciding to book. This shows the universal influence of online reviews across all demographics. ¹
Action Steps:
Perform a review audit: Use platforms like Booking. com to filter your reviews, highlighting both positive and negative feedback to identify areas for improvement.
Review your images: Ensure that the first images seen on your Booking. com page showcase the best of your property—these are crucial in creating a strong first impression.
Set a target for improvement: If your current rating is 8.7, set a goal to reach 8.8, and implement actions across your business to achieve it.
However, there is a big caveat to this section. There is no point spending time leveraging your reviews until you have invested energy into elevating the service you provide in line with those secondary and tertiary consumer desires such as authentically showcasing your sustainability ethos. Read on…
Choice Architecture: Future-Proofing Your Business through Sustainable Decisions
While surveys show that consumers want sustainable options, the gap between intention and action remains. This hesitancy from businesses to embrace sustainability may stem from overusing the term itself. But what if we flipped the narrative? Instead of just sustainability, think of it as a way to upgrade your reviews and future-proof your business. That sparks more motivation, right?
Choice architecture involves eliminating unsustainable options from the start, creating services and offerings that inherently support the pillars of sustainability—economic, social, and environmental. By removing non-sustainable choices, you reduce confusion and build trust with your guests.
Of course, no hotel can eliminate all non-sustainable operations overnight. But by applying this mindset, you can be transparent about the progress you are making. Hotels offer numerous touch points (from dining to leisure) to educate guests on sustainable practices. Simple signage, such as “Did you know...?” messages, can be powerful in shaping guest behaviour.
We need all business owners to approach decision-making with intention. By evaluating supply chains, analysing operations, and empowering staff, we can mainstream sustainable choices. Visit Norway exemplifies this, having embedded sustainable options into every aspect of their nation’s tourism offer.
Action Steps:
Review operations through a sustainable lens: Apply for funding to upgrade equipment, measure food waste, or switch to eco-friendly cleaning products.
Examine your supply chain: Check if suppliers use electric vehicles, offer recycled packaging, or support local community projects.
Partner locally: Promote tours, products, and services from businesses within a 10km radius, and collaborate on sustainable initiatives like bike rentals.
Empower Your Staff to Upsell Your Business
Post-Covid, many hospitality businesses struggle to attract and retain staff. While fair pay, flexible hours, and job-sharing are great ways to reduce turnover, future-proofing your hotel requires more. Involving staff in decision-making and applying a choice architecture lens to operations is key to building long-term loyalty.
Younger generations, especially Gen Z, care deeply about climate action. By 2025, they will make up 25% of the global workforce, and one-third of employees already consider a company’s positive impact as a major factor in whether they stay. In addition, 80% of employees wants to help their company reach climate or ESG goals. It is clear that engaging staff in your sustainability journey, showing your commitment, and ensuring your actions feel authentic are crucial steps.
The desires of the workforce of the future are already here. Investing in staff development boosts morale and job satisfaction, leading to better customer service—and when your staff feel proud of their workplace, they will naturally upsell your property through excellent service.
Action Steps:
Foster a sustainability-driven culture: Empower staff to be ambassadors for your hotel’s environmental efforts. Integrate sustainability into job descriptions and codes of conduct for daily operations.
Offer continuous training: Provide ongoing education on new technologies, guest engagement, and sustainability initiatives, and reinforce expectations for efficient, eco-conscious operations through in-house messaging and signage.
Ask opinions and recognise staff contributions: Regularly ask for staff feedback on what would help their department be more eco-conscious and reward those who offer innovative ideas that support sustainability goals.
In conclusion, attracting the right customers starts with upgrading your operational practices through a choice architecture lens, and engaging your staff with intentional messaging and training. This is not a quick fix, but it is the future of tourism, and those who start now will thrive.
I understand that the process can feel overwhelming, especially when you are already juggling multiple responsibilities. You may be wondering: Where do I start? How do I get my staff on board? Can I sustain this over time? How can I avoid greenwashing while showcasing real progress?
The key lies in asking the right questions and applying choice architecture effectively. That’s where the Marketing Sustainability Short Course comes in. Tailored for independent hotel owners and managers, this course walks you through how to create authentic sustainability messaging that resonates with your audience and meets regulatory standards—without the fear of greenwashing.
Built on the R.I.S.E. Framework, the course covers:
Relevant: Aligning sustainability initiatives with your core values and strengths.
Integrate: Seamlessly embedding sustainability into daily operations and guest experiences.
Showcase: Communicating your efforts effectively to the right audience, using the right channels.
Educate: Engaging and motivating staff, guests, and stakeholders with ready-to-use templates, checklists, and signage.
Including 35 customisable templates to streamline communication efforts, from website content to in-house educational materials, this library makes it easier than ever to reinforce sustainability messaging at your property.
And not just that, there is also a free scorecard developed using Travalyst's publicly available accommodation attributes that will give you an overview of your property's progress in the 5 defined areas:
The Marketing Sustainability Short Course is available now, with lifetime access to all resources. To learn more, visit Marketing Sustainability Course.
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