The coronavirus crisis
El tourism sector in Spain is suffering in a special way from the effects of the current health crisis caused by the coronavirus: accommodations of all types, wineries, restaurants, shops, travel agencies, tour operators and other tourist service companies are being forced to rethink your current product and service offering in a context of much uncertainty.
But this crisis will pass. And when this happens, we must be 100% prepared to act quickly and effectively in the recovery of the national tourism sector.
New customer profiles
In this sense, the national destinations They will have before them a great opportunity to attract new visitor profiles that, due to various circumstances, they are going to be forced to rethink their preferences when it comes to choose a tourist destination or another.
Many will have fewer days off to spend on vacations and many others will have a tighter budget. Furthermore, we do not know when, how or how far we will be able to travel, although it does seem evident that the summer season is going to be displaced towards autumn.
And on the other hand, right now there are many active campaigns so that, when all this happens, society makes the effort to support the national and/or local tourism sector.
Deseasonalize the supply
One of the great challenges of the hotel industry has always been deseasonalization. This concept, in the new panorama that confinement and social distancing measures leave us, becomes more important than ever: nothing guarantees us the summer season. Neither do large events nor the fact that we can count on massive movements of people going to the same destination.
Diversify the hotel offer and destinations is therefore imposed as a priority. and do it through specialization in different customer segments seems a good alternative to address this challenge.
The selection of types of clients who travel at different times of the year provides an opportunity to maintain a stable occupation throughout the year, offering a sustainable product over time.
Cycle tourism and sports tourism
In this sense, the sports constitute a great opportunity thanks to the weather conditions of our country. Even more so in a context in which current restrictions are preventing train outdoors. Thousands and thousands of fans are at home looking forward to going out to enjoy their favorite activities.
Considering that el Cycling is the most popular sports practice in our country and that Cycle tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors Worldwide, specialize and position hotels and territories as reference cycling destinations will contribute to successfully facing this new stage.
Customers converted into prosumers
In an increasingly demanding, changing and digitalized market, where users have a large amount of information in real time and, therefore, have a greater ability to choose, it is increasingly necessary differentiate yourself from others to be competitive.
Taking into account the maturity of the hotel sector and the saturation of the market, the specialization seems to be a way to achieve success, but it also has to be done consciously and correctly.
Increasingly, there is talk about excite the customer, generate experiences, satisfy their needs and demands... The trends in the hotel sector They are based on these premises, but moving in this direction involves adapting the establishment's services, infrastructure and recruitment processes to the expectations of these client-prosumers.
Services and facilities adapted to the cycle tourist
And in the same way that there are themed hotels that strive to differentiate themselves by attacking specific market niches (musical hotels, movie hotels, hotels for families with children, fitness, halal, etc.), hotels that opt for specialization in cycle tourism They must become aware that specialization is a complete process.
A process that encompasses from creating an attractive product, to the training and training of hotel staff; going through the adaptation of the facilities if necessary.
For a cyclist, it will not be as attractive a hotel that informs you about all the cycle tourism potential of its surroundings through its website and their social networks than those who do not. Nor is the experience going to be equally satisfactory in a hotel where Its staff can inform you about routes, routes and specific services for cyclists or even provide you with tracks of the recommended routes than in the one that doesn't.
A sports cyclist will also need certain guarantees to store your bicycle Safely. It will also assess equipment such as workshop or washing areas for your bike and you will be delighted if you can count on specific offers or services such as adapted menus and meal times, access to sports facilities or the hiring of extra services such as provisioning en route, guides or sports supplementation.
Not to mention the satisfaction that other extra possibilities will generate, such as view and follow, through an app on your mobile, safe routes recommended by the hotel itself; to participate in cycling challenges with raffles or rewards during your stay or to rent the bike you want from the hotel's own website at the time of booking your accommodation.
Attract cyclists through online marketing
Of course, there is no specialization that is worth it if we are not able to successfully communicate all our efforts.
The new tools of online marketing They allow us to accompany the client during all phases of the travel cycle: from when they are looking for inspiration about destinations on the internet until they return home and share the experience through their social networks.
Therefore, if we opt for the specialization in cycle tourism, the hotel or destination must be able to make its bet count throughout the entire process:
- Good SEO, SEM and content marketing strategy, as well as proper use of social media will allow you to position yourself as reference destination for cyclists on the channels where they seek inspiration and information.
- The implementation of remarketing strategies, as well as an adequate design of the user experience on your website, facilitating the process of reservation of the stay and specific services for cyclists, will facilitate the conversion.
- A correct strategy email marketing, will lead to loyalty and the achievement of the desired recurring customers…
There are thousands of possibilities that the world of online marketing offers us, but The hotel industry is a particularly complicated sector. and with enormous competition. That's why, specialization becomes even more important. Is the safest way to obtain good results without wasting the budget.
Ultimately, focus on a specific customer niche allow adapt the product and all processes to your specific needs and, therefore, increase booking options.
Support in specialization in cycle tourism
All this attention to detail in order to offer an itinerary and a specialized product will help generate a positive and unforgettable experience linked to the hotel, which translates into greater customer satisfaction and, as a consequence, better brand positioning.
But as you have seen specialization is the result of a thoughtful strategy What happens, not only because of the generation of a differentiated and high quality product and service, but also by the Design of an exclusive recruitment and customer service itinerary throughout the process.
Therefore, from Bikefriendly We accompany those establishments and destinations that are committed to specializing in cycle tourism to develop your own itinerary.
We advise and provide support in the design and marketing of tourist products specific; We guide them and facilitate the infrastructure adaptation of the hotel to meet the requirements of the Bikefriendly Quality Seal; We design your strategies marketing, promotion and communication of new products and services for cyclists and we even act as marketing agency specialized in the hotel sector and cycle tourism.
All of this, with an eye on the objective that worries us so much now: being able to seasonally adjust our offer and attract new types of tourists to guarantee a constant flow of reserves throughout the year in our hotels.
You can check Here are the requirements for adhering to the Bikefriendly Quality Seal.
For more information and inquire about specific consulting services, you can Get in touch with us here.
On this map, you can see all the hotels that are already part of the Bikefriendly Quality Seal.
