Chinmai Sharma, Chief Revenue Officer at Taj Hotels, discusses the luxury travel market.
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(00:31) What is the luxury travel market like at the moment? How has it changed over the past few years?
(01:33) What are the most important things for luxury travellers? What are the key characteristics of this demographic?
(02:43) What are some of the tools and methods that hotels can employ to really understand what customers want? How can this help hotels to offer the customer something different from what they might experience elsewhere?
(03:55) Personalisation is a challenge because you really have to dig deep into details about each customer. There is also a risk that you can get something wrong and put the customer off. How can brands make sure they are getting the most relevant experience for each user?
(05:56) You mentioned focusing on direct channels. The fact that the online travel agency (OTA) market has grown so much is something that many hotel brands struggle with. What should hotel brands do to move away from OTAs and bring customers in directly?
(08:19) The travel industry is obviously very international, with people coming from a wide range of different countries. Travel brands therefore need to provide a good localised experience, perhaps especially so in the luxury travel market where expectations might reasonably be higher. How can travel brands manage the huge challenge of creating that localised experience when they are in so many different markets?
(10:14) Online reviews are very important in the non-luxury travel industry. Many people read online reviews before booking with a hotel. Is that the case in the luxury travel market? Are online reviews still important in the luxury market or not so much?
(12:25) It is important to attract the right people to stay at your hotel. If you present yourself authentically online, then some people might not book with you, but they are probably not in your target audience in the first place.
(12:44) What are the most important things for luxury travel brands to think about in 2018?
