August 28, 2024
Underserved travelers make up a growing share of global travelers, but they don’t have the same access to the benefits of travel. A majority (80%) of underserved travelers face significant barriers when it comes to research, trip planning, and their on-property experiences.
Our new research, Journeys for All: An Expedia Group Study on Inclusion in Travel, explores the needs, preferences, and challenges faced by underserved travelers, including Black, Latino, LGBTQIA+, and travelers with disabilities. The study offers insights into their experiences and opportunities for the industry to make travel more inclusive. By understanding the needs and perspectives of underserved travelers, you can refine your strategies to make sure they are represented in your hotel advertising and promotions, while also building a more diverse customer base.
Let’s look at some of the key insights from the study and tips to be more inclusive in your advertising campaigns.
Inclusion in travel drives bookings
Connecting with underserved travelers is a powerful first step toward improving their travel experiences. It’s also good business. As the global population grows and becomes more diverse, underserved travelers’ buying power is also increasing, and contributes to their growing impact on the travel industry. Despite having more representation and buying power, nearly half (42%) of these travelers feel limited by their identities when planning travel. That means there’s work to be done to ensure travel is accessible for everyone, everywhere.
Identity strongly influences accommodation choice for underserved travelers with 52% of Black and Latino travelers, 47% of LGBTQIA+ travelers, and 41% of travelers with disabilities saying their identity impacts the travel decisions they make. By promoting diversity and inclusion in your advertising, you can better attract these travelers to your properties.
More than two-thirds (71%) of underserved travelers prefer brands that support diversity and inclusion, and this preference leads to repeat bookings, while less than half (48%) of the general population are more likely to book again with companies that support diversity and inclusion. Creating more inclusive travel experiences will help you welcome more guests, build loyalty, and differentiate your property in the competitive landscape.
Tip: Optimize hotel marketing to promote your property’s commitment
As a hotel advertiser, embrace every opportunity to promote your commitment to diversity and inclusion to create meaningful connections with underserved travelers. To reach a diverse group of travelers and increase their likelihood of staying with you, intentionally and authentically incorporate diversity into your hotel advertising.
Our advertising products such as TravelAds Sponsored Listings and display advertising for hotels are effective in helping hotel advertisers authentically engage with travelers through custom copy and diverse images. For example, during Pride Month, incorporate copy in your ads that highlights your property’s inclusivity, such as “Welcome all,” “Where everyone belongs,” or “Celebrate with us.” Overlay this language on imagery that authentically represents the LGBTQIA+ community. Review our best practices for inclusive travel advertising to learn how to create more inclusive campaigns today.
Underserved travelers want representation in hotel advertising
Most underserved travelers say it’s important for travel ads to represent people like them. Eight in 10 Black and Latino travelers and 7 in 10 LGBTQIA+ travelers and travelers with disabilities say this matters to them, because representation helps them feel welcome when they’re selecting a hotel. But the reality is that only around 16% of travelers — both underserved and the general population — feel that travel promotions represent them authentically.
This lack of representation might be affecting your bottom line because when travelers feel represented in travel promotions, they are more likely to take a trip. Latino travelers (78%) feel the strongest among the different identity groups surveyed, though this sentiment is even more pronounced for travelers with intersectional identities, such as Latino travelers with disabilities (80%) and LGBTQIA+ travelers with disabilities (76%).
Tip: Effectively target diverse groups of travelers with TravelAds Sponsored Listings
Underserved travelers use multiple channels to find their ideal place to stay, from social media and community-driven advice to travel websites. This is why you must know when — and how — to reach underserved travelers at the right time. You can use our hotel advertisement targeting capabilities to connect with specific travelers. This feature further enhances the power of TravelAds to increase your visibility with travelers: 90% of hotels that use TravelAds are more visible in search results and, on average, partners that use TravelAds see 120% more bookings.*
Underserved travelers need more information and resources
During the research and planning phases, all travelers identify safety, value, and a welcoming atmosphere as their top priorities. However, the extent to which these factors are prioritized varies considerably. While safety is the top concern across every group, the emphasis on feeling welcomed is particularly strong among Black (85%) and Latino (82%) travelers and surpasses the general population (75%).
It takes a lot of time — an average of nine hours — for underserved travelers to ensure their accommodations are safe, welcoming, and truly inclusive. LGBTQIA+ travelers face the most extensive planning, averaging 12 hours for both research and planning. During this process, underserved populations look for and strongly value travel experiences and recommendations from individuals who share their identity through reviews and first-hand experiences.
Tip: Promote welcoming, informative content for diverse audiences
To support underserved travelers, and to ease the burden they face finding relevant information, develop user-friendly resources that address the key concerns of safety, belonging, and accessibility. This could be identity-specific guides on your website that include welcoming language and offer recommendations specific to identity, or participation in a co-op campaign that educates travelers on a destination’s focus on diversity and includes information on inclusive hotels, activities, and local businesses.
To further help potential travelers feel more confident about choosing your property, display positive, relevant reviews from a diverse customer base across your advertising and marketing channels through our Guest Review Widget.
We also make it easy for you to indicate that your property is designated LGBTQIA+-friendly in search results, and Expedia and Hotels.com have dedicated pages of curated properties that are committed to welcoming LGBTQIA+ travelers.
Our team is here to help empower your brand on our shared journey toward a more inclusive travel industry. Download the study for more insights on the needs and experiences of underserved travelers and reach out to us today to begin applying these learnings and take the necessary steps to make your hotel advertising campaigns more inclusive.
*Expedia Group internal data
