Airlines come first in countries with a strong carrier, such as Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Other travel-related brands come in third place overall; with China, the Philippines and Thailand showing the most interest. Fashion and music brands only made a top three appearance in Vietnam and Japan. Despite it being a cliché, men tend to follow sport and finance brands more, juxtaposed with fashion and cosmetics for women.
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| Source: Accor. |
Accor worked with ORC International to survey over 6,500 travellers across 13 countries to uncover the social media habits of its guests across Asia Pacific. As the largest hotel group in the region, with 600 hotels across 17 countries, Accor is uniquely placed to provide a full insight into the social media habits of travellers and the group uses the results to better target travellers where and when they are looking to search, book or share their travel experiences.
The study found that four out of five respondents follow brands on social media, with the Chinese and Vietnamese the most keen, and those from Japan, Australia and New Zealand the least so. Generally speaking, women and younger travellers are more likely to follow a brand on social networks.
Malaysians and Filipinos use social media first and foremost to get immediate assistance, along with travellers above 55. Chinese and Hong Kong users are the most likely to seek VIP treatment, while the Indonesians show the greatest affinity with brands. Younger travellers and Koreans use social media mostly to get information. Women are looking more for information and deals than men; whereas men are more likely to show loyalty to a brand and are more sensitive to VIP treatment.
With regards to the key motivation for following a brand, the top two spots have swapped from last year and now people want to get information first (74%), followed by deals (71%). Overall, Thais and Japanese are the hungriest for information, and New Zealanders and Singaporeans are the top bargain hunters.
“By understanding what our guests are looking for when they engage with our brands online, we can better target the messages and services we offer them, whether it be in-hotel deals, advice on the best attractions within a city or access to VIP services,” says Emilie Couton, VP Guest Experience, Accor Asia Pacific.
Travellers tend to use hotel pages on social media more before and after their stay:
- Two out five travellers use it at least 'sometimes' to search for information before their stay. Filipinos, Thais and Vietnamese are the biggest users, and New Zealanders and Australians the smallest. Overall, one-third of respondents said their usage has increased in the past year and the younger the traveller, the higher the increase.
- One-third follow a hotel brand when they are staying there, at least 'sometimes', with Vietnamese, Thais and Indonesians leading the pack. Women are more likely than men to follow a hotel brand, especially when at the hotel. And the younger they are, the more they are likely to follow the hotel brand
- Almost half always or sometimes follow the brand after their stay. Again, the Vietnamese, Chinese and Thais are the most likely to do so.
- When in-house, almost half of respondents said they usually share their location, especially when staying in an upscale hotel. Thais, Vietnamese, younger travellers and women are the most likely to do so, which suggests they like to brag or show off more than other travellers. The Japanese are the most discreet about sharing their location.
“Engaging on social media with guests while in-house is a great opportunity for us to impact positively on their experience,” said Couton. “We need to give guests good reasons to follow individual hotel accounts by providing content relevant to each stage of the trip and giving them something that will enhance their visit.”
Following is one thing, but then what? The good news is that one-third of travellers have already booked a hotel after having seen an advert on social media, with younger travellers the most likely to do so, along with the Vietnamese, Thais, Filipinos and Chinese.There is overall positivity around social adverts in the online space. More than two-thirds of travellers find them useful or don’t mind them, with only 15% ignorant of their existence and just 12% finding them irritating. In general, women find ads on social media more interesting and useful than men.
Malaysians and Filipinos use social media first and foremost to get immediate assistance, along with travellers above 55. Chinese and Hong Kong users are the most likely to seek VIP treatment, while the Indonesians show the greatest affinity with brands. Younger travellers and Koreans use social media mostly to get information. Women are looking more for information and deals than men; whereas men are more likely to show loyalty to a brand and are more sensitive to VIP treatment.
With regards to the key motivation for following a brand, the top two spots have swapped from last year and now people want to get information first (74%), followed by deals (71%). Overall, Thais and Japanese are the hungriest for information, and New Zealanders and Singaporeans are the top bargain hunters.
“By understanding what our guests are looking for when they engage with our brands online, we can better target the messages and services we offer them, whether it be in-hotel deals, advice on the best attractions within a city or access to VIP services,” says Emilie Couton, VP Guest Experience, Accor Asia Pacific.
Travellers tend to use hotel pages on social media more before and after their stay:
- Two out five travellers use it at least 'sometimes' to search for information before their stay. Filipinos, Thais and Vietnamese are the biggest users, and New Zealanders and Australians the smallest. Overall, one-third of respondents said their usage has increased in the past year and the younger the traveller, the higher the increase.
- One-third follow a hotel brand when they are staying there, at least 'sometimes', with Vietnamese, Thais and Indonesians leading the pack. Women are more likely than men to follow a hotel brand, especially when at the hotel. And the younger they are, the more they are likely to follow the hotel brand
- Almost half always or sometimes follow the brand after their stay. Again, the Vietnamese, Chinese and Thais are the most likely to do so.
- When in-house, almost half of respondents said they usually share their location, especially when staying in an upscale hotel. Thais, Vietnamese, younger travellers and women are the most likely to do so, which suggests they like to brag or show off more than other travellers. The Japanese are the most discreet about sharing their location.
“Engaging on social media with guests while in-house is a great opportunity for us to impact positively on their experience,” said Couton. “We need to give guests good reasons to follow individual hotel accounts by providing content relevant to each stage of the trip and giving them something that will enhance their visit.”
Following is one thing, but then what? The good news is that one-third of travellers have already booked a hotel after having seen an advert on social media, with younger travellers the most likely to do so, along with the Vietnamese, Thais, Filipinos and Chinese.There is overall positivity around social adverts in the online space. More than two-thirds of travellers find them useful or don’t mind them, with only 15% ignorant of their existence and just 12% finding them irritating. In general, women find ads on social media more interesting and useful than men.
