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The power of green in guest experience: how plants boost bookings
Reading time – 4 minutes
Alex Kolokolov
CEO at Hospitality Research
CEO at Hospitality Research
Platform
Knowledge base
Plans
Platform
Knowledge base
The future of the OTA market (2024 — 2032) and your business
The newest research of August 2024 by Precision Reports values the global Online Travel Agency (OTA) market size at USD269,508.98 million in 2023. But the most interesting part is that its expected extension will reach USD391,394.31 million by 2032.
These numbers allow you to make business strategy decisions that cover more than 1−2 years. However, it is important to pay attention that not all OTA market has a chance to experience that growth. Skift research points out: "Today the legacy OTAs face slowing growth, heightened competition, and shrinking profit margins. Yet, Booking and Expedia are not backing down, doubling down on innovation and expansion efforts to maintain their foothold in the industry. Ultimately, the future of the online travel market will likely be shaped by who can best balance innovation with efficiency whilst establishing enduring customer loyalty."
Simply put, if you use platforms like Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb, and so on, you need to advance quickly in terms of guest experience strategy and guest experience analytics to provide the greatest possible customer experience. Because there’s a good probability that those who just keep doing what they’ve been doing for years without making any updates will lose market share and profit in the upcoming years.
"Guest experience strategy" may sound complicated and expensive, however, in this article, we would like to help you find a new approach to the topic beginning with small and easy steps.
First impressions are crucial in the competitive world of Airbnb and Booking.com. Elements that psychologically create feelings of natural relaxation, modern luxury, etc., work from the first sight. They are strongly connected with booking intentions and sales. In a word, tiny details may make a revolution in your guest experience analytics.
First impressions are crucial in the competitive world of Airbnb and Booking.com. Elements that psychologically create feelings of natural relaxation, modern luxury, etc., work from the first sight. They are strongly connected with booking intentions and sales. In a word, tiny details may make a revolution in your guest experience analytics.
Is it just a plan or a reason to reserve an apartment right away?
We have compiled a list of some motivational biophilic design trends of 2024. Choose the options that you like the most and use our practical tips to conduct easy digital experiments with greenery in your listings. The outcomes could surprise you: the entire process is simple and effective while providing insightful data for analytics related to the guest experience.
Green plants in interior design: trends of 2024 and beyond
Green plants may raise energy, as a matter of fact watching them reduces the amount of stress and anxiety. They can transform a space, making it more welcoming and visually appealing, and create a sense of comfort and luxury that enhances the overall guest experience. On the one hand, there is nothing new in the extreme popularity of plants in interior design: people have grown plants in all forms and sizes at home for centuries. On the other hand, it seems that generations who live in big cities with enormous skyscrapers have found a way to balance bare stone and flora — in short, that is the idea of a biophilic design.
This design looks perfect in outdoor spaces like rooftop gardens and courtyards, yoga studios, and co-workings. Naturally, it aids in the creation of multisensory environments with wood, stone, and water. The combination of light and plants in biophilic lighting is a thoughtful element that is sure to stick in the minds of guests.
However, there is more to plants than just aesthetics. Green walls and vertical gardens improve the quality of the air, reduce noise, and assist in regulating temperature.
Let’s cover the topic of what plant to choose. Which depends on your taste and interior.
For enough space, the quite popular indoor trees are (the Pachira, Dracaenas, the Monstera Deliciosa).
This design looks perfect in outdoor spaces like rooftop gardens and courtyards, yoga studios, and co-workings. Naturally, it aids in the creation of multisensory environments with wood, stone, and water. The combination of light and plants in biophilic lighting is a thoughtful element that is sure to stick in the minds of guests.
However, there is more to plants than just aesthetics. Green walls and vertical gardens improve the quality of the air, reduce noise, and assist in regulating temperature.
Let’s cover the topic of what plant to choose. Which depends on your taste and interior.
For enough space, the quite popular indoor trees are (the Pachira, Dracaenas, the Monstera Deliciosa).
- If you doubt the ability to care for plants properly and cactus is your maximum, consider resistant Sansevieria or Zamioculca.
- Love Asian cultures? Great, try bonsai.
- For originality and creativity lovers, terrariums exist — they might become hidden highlights of the interior, even in extremely small apartments.
- For those, who all year dream about summer vacation, olive or lemon trees or lavender are highly recommended.
What about artificial plants? Sometimes they are necessary, for example for people with allergies.
Insight — Property photos featuring large greenery often attract more attention from potential guests on platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com, leading to increased bookings. The presence of plants in listing photos can make a property stand out, suggesting a well-maintained and thoughtful space; transforms the host or guest experience manager into reliable and caring, and may make staying in your apartment a unique experience.
The practical guide to boost bookings by digital experiments with plants
You can easily verify how adding additional greenery could revitalize your property and attract more guests. Analytics related to the guest experience assist in elucidating the specifics that most influence your desire to book. Decisions based on it are therefore practical.
Experiments are a crucial component of guest experience analytics. Even more helpful is the outcomes of these experiments which show options tailored to your property rather than just the general picture.
Step 1. Before doing something in reality, take your smartphone or tablet and add some plants to the photos of the apartments. Create different scenarios with and without plants in your listings. For example, one scenario could feature a living room with plants, while another does not.
The important rule is to save every experiment as a separate photo and never change two or more parameters at a time. That way, it will let you know which round was the most successful.
Step 2. Then suggest results to different groups of people and ask what variant they consider the most inspiring and catching; and what variant makes them wish to book apartments immediately.
The right audience will give you new ideas. You may ask recent visitors or find travelers from previous years, or simply find people in services like Qualtrics. The more people that participate in your surveys, the more accurate results you receive.
Step 3. Compare the results to see if there are significant differences. Use data you have received to improve guest experience strategy.
The important rule is to save every experiment as a separate photo and never change two or more parameters at a time. That way, it will let you know which round was the most successful.
Step 2. Then suggest results to different groups of people and ask what variant they consider the most inspiring and catching; and what variant makes them wish to book apartments immediately.
The right audience will give you new ideas. You may ask recent visitors or find travelers from previous years, or simply find people in services like Qualtrics. The more people that participate in your surveys, the more accurate results you receive.
Step 3. Compare the results to see if there are significant differences. Use data you have received to improve guest experience strategy.
In our Hospitality Knowledge Base, you will find more Templates and Tools to design your research.
Conclusion
The next 10 years of the OTA market and hospitality industry might be controversial, however, businesses that can find a balance between innovation, efficiency, and the outstanding guest experience will surely save and increase their positions. Hope, you will be among them.
In this article, we have shared recent trends in biophilic design, which is suitable for the hospitality industry and helps to create an unforgettable guest experience. Additionally, you have gained a step-by-step plan for conducting experiments with the implementation of plants in the interior without wasting money on details that don’t work.
By testing, you can optimize your listings to stand out in the competitive market of Booking.com and Airbnb. As you experiment with different elements, remember to adapt and refine your approach based on the results to continually improve guest offerings.
You are welcome to our Hospitality Knowledge Base for more inspirational tips, educational guides, and tools to make your apartment the #1 choice for booking.
In this article, we have shared recent trends in biophilic design, which is suitable for the hospitality industry and helps to create an unforgettable guest experience. Additionally, you have gained a step-by-step plan for conducting experiments with the implementation of plants in the interior without wasting money on details that don’t work.
By testing, you can optimize your listings to stand out in the competitive market of Booking.com and Airbnb. As you experiment with different elements, remember to adapt and refine your approach based on the results to continually improve guest offerings.
You are welcome to our Hospitality Knowledge Base for more inspirational tips, educational guides, and tools to make your apartment the #1 choice for booking.
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