A recent research report, Online Travel Videos: Best Practices to Boost Bookings Industry View | 2014, released by Software Advice, found that travel videos play a large role in persuading travellers to book at one hotel over another.
Travel videos influence which hotels travellers book for their holidays./ Image credit: Shutterstock
Software Advice, a reviews and research company for hotel management tools headquartered in Austin, Texas, used a Google Consumer Survey to gather data for the research. It surveyed 2,345 travellers for the report.
Some of the key findings: (see slide presentation below)
- When researching accommodations for an upcoming trip, 50% of the respondents say they prefer to watch a hotel’s video on the hotel’s own website, while 34% go to YouTube, 12% prefer Facebook, and 5% log on to Instagram.
- 68% of respondents say they are encouraged to book at a hotel after watching videos that highlight its amenities and features, while 32% say their choice will be influenced by information about nearby activities.
- Over half of the respondents (57%) prefer hotel videos showcasing rooms and suites and common areas, such as the lobby. The spa, pool or gym comes in second (20%) followed by natural scenery (9%), restaurants and bars (8%), and the hotel’s staff and management (6%).
- 57% of respondents say they prefer watching informational videos that provide details about the hotel and its location over other types of videos.
Taylor Short: Hotel videos impactful for travellers,
Commenting on the study, Taylor Short of Software Advice, said, “The combined results of our survey about hotel videos really shows how impactful they can be for travellers, and revealed that producing multiple, short videos on different amenities and presenting them on both YouTube and the hotel’s website is the most effective strategy to turn views into bookings.
“Consumers are fairly predictable in regards to the type of content they want to see in a hotel video on the brand’s website; at that point in their shopping process, they’ve generally determined the area they want to visit and the purpose of their trip. That’s the point where they want more detailed information about the property’s offerings and are more likely to book.
“The psychology of buyer behaviour can play into hotel videos as well. Just as consumers tend to trust other consumers or friends for reviews of products online, using a real hotel guest in the video can help humanise the brand to potential customers.”
• Featured image (people watching videos) credit: Mopic/Shutterstock
