Changing Consumer Attitudes, the Impact on

the Hospitality Industry

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2005 WHEN:1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave

2. You haven’t played solitaire with real cards in years

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three

4. You email the person who works at the desk next to you

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don’t have email addresses

6. You go home after a long day at work and still answer the phone in a business manner

7. You make phone calls from home and accidentally dial “9” to get an outside line

8. Your VCR is now the 8 Track of the 21st century and you are thinking you need a TV no thicker than an encyclopedia. What are you going to do with your entertainment center armoire?

9. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn’t have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10.You start tilting your head sideways to smile :)

Attitude (ǎt/ ĭ-tōōd) noun

A state of mind or a feeling, disposition

Synonyms: position, posture, sentiment

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?YOU CAN’T APPLY OLD NORMS TO

NEW ATTITUDES

THIS REQUIRES THAT YOU KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE,

WHAT THEY THINK AND FEEL

San Francisco, Demographics

Madison, Wis.

Demographics

Psychographics

Psychographics measures peoples propensity to buy

People with the same demographic profile may have radically different buying

patterns

San FranciscoPsychographics

Top Ten Lifestyle Propensities

Madison, Wisconsin

• Top Ten Lifestyles

• Baby Boomers– VIP services– Forever young – Nonconformists – unless it’s serving them– Participants– Adventure – Diversity – pack lots into one vacation– Spas; holistic destinations– Nostalgia

GENERATIONAL MARKETING

GENERATIONAL MARKETING

• Generational Marketing– How we act depends on our generation– Influences

• purchase decisions• brand awareness• travel experiences

– Opportunities and Challenges– Not the only factor influencing people

GENERATIONAL MARKETING

• Matures (1901-1924, 79-102)

• Silent Generation (1925-1942, 61-78)

• Baby Boomers (1943-1960/2, 43-60)

• Gen X (1961/3-1981, 22-42)

• Generation Y (1982-2000, 3-18)

• Generation 9/11 (2001-present, 2 )

GENERATIONAL MARKETING• Baby Boomers

– “Me” generation– Put individual desires ahead of good of a

group; job ahead of family– Huge economic gains– Brand savvy– Feel the country owes them– Resent authority– Passion for introspection and self-

enlightenment

GENERATIONAL MARKETING

• Generation X

– Being authentic means showing savvy

– Distrustful

– Real

– Wired

– Unafraid to try something new, challenging

– Family

– Spiritual

GENERATIONAL MARKETING

• Generation X– Extreme sports– Depth of purpose– Eco-tourism– Finding themselves in challenges– Brands are meaningless– Really smart, savvy, skeptical– Need one of their own to talk to them

GENERATIONAL MARKETING

• Matures– On the road from scout meetings to Sun City, this

generation…• Triumphed over the Great Depression• Vanquished the Germans and Japanese• Built suburbs and shopping malls• Instituted the New Deal• Built interstate highway system• In 1927, Charles Lindbergh made the first

transatlantic flight• … accomplished their goals through HARD

WORK

GENERATIONAL MARKETING

• Matures– Tremendous growth in country– Feel they owe the country– Look for value– Enjoy community, commonalities,

connecting– Getting to the end of their travel years

GENERATIONAL MARKETING

Matures Boomers XersDefining Idea Duty Individuality DiversityCelebrating Victory Youth SavvySuccess because Fought hard Were born, Have two

and wontherefore should jobsbe a winner

Rewards because Earned it Deserve it Need itWork is Inevitable Exciting Difficult

obligation adventure challengeLeisure is Reward for Point of life Relief

hard workEducation is A dreamA birthright A way to

get ahead

HOTEL MARKET TRENDS

Favorable near term and medium term hotel market dynamics Favorable supply/demand dynamics for the next 3-4 years

(probably 4-6) especially in major urban markets New supply additions look to be very moderate for the next

couple of years Some markets actually seeing reduction in supply due to condo

conversions Less reliance on 3rd party distribution Pricing power is finally returning Seller’s market Electronic marketing focus

YOU MUST KNOW HOW YOUR CUSTOMER’S CULTURE CHANGES

OVER TIME

You must know how your audience views and is reacting to the trends that flow through

the marketplace

HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE CHANGING CONSUMER ATTITUDES?

                  

 

Fad Vs. Trend

Fad

•Whimsical pop-culture reflection

•Short-lived or little potential for long-term relevance

•Niche or sub-segment focused

Trend

•Links to socio/demographic data and cultural forces

•Evolved over time with potential to evolve further

•Can cross segments and geographies with relatively broad appeal

2. “Trading Up”

EIGHT TRENDS AFFECTING CONSUMER ATTITUDES TOWARDS HOTELS

3. “Experience Economy”

4. Mass Customization / Personalization

5. Increasing Number of Women Travelers

6. Increasing Interest in Wellness

7. Internet Changing Buying Behavior

8. Authenticity/ Homegrown

1. Increasing Affluence and Style Consciousness

Increasing Consumer Affluence And Style Consciousness

• Consumers are becoming more affluent which is contributing to an increase in style consciousness

Michael Graves

“Trading Up” Consumer Behavior

Customers willing to spend more to have a better/more memorable experience…

……..while rabidly pursuing bargains on productsperceived to be commodities

                                               

Emergence of “Experience Economy”

Experience becoming more important attribute when choosing products

We are evolving toward an “Experience Economy”

Agricultural Industrial Information Experience

EXPERIENCE ECONOMY• People are collecting experience “Merit

Badges”– Vacationers are collecting experiences rather than

consuming things. It is no longer what one has, but what one does. Destinations are about the experience rather than the attributes. Within experience collecting, the following values exist:

a.     Learningb.     Growthc.     Freedomd.     Exhilaratione.     Fun

Mass Customization/Mass Personalization

Increasing rejection of “one size fits all” brand/product approaches

CRMBecoming

MoreImportant!

• Fingerprinting– People, especially boomers, are on a search for

personal identity. This is the one area where they seek affinity with groups and others with similar quests. This explains the rise in personal coaches and holistic journeys. Affinity travel is the niche of the future. Be a dream maker. Fulfill a fantasy. The values that relate to Fingerprinting are:

a.     Consumer identityb.     Individualityc.     Do-it-yourselfd.     Affinity – paring with others of like mind e.     Self-esteem

 

Mass Customization/Mass Personalization

An Increasing Number Of Woman Travelers

WOMEN TODAY•Today’s Female Customer – Multiminding vs. Multitasking

•Women’s buying has grown tremendously and is expected to increase dramatically in coming years

•Women Control 80% of household buying decisions

•The US economy is increasingly female-driven

•$3.3 trillion in consumer spending

•Make 62% of all car purchases

•Take more than 50% of all business trips

Increasing Consumer Interest In “Wellness”

WELLNESS: NATURAL HIGH

• People are seeking a natural experience and seek balance in their hectic lives. Vacationers search for an experience that allows them to unplug from hype and stress. This is the halo of rural, simple life. Spas, self-discovery camps, spiritualism, eco-tourism all fit within this area.

a.     Well-beingb.     Fitnessc.     Balanced.     Vitalitye.     Conservationf.     Spiritualityg.     Environmentalism

SENSE OF AUTHENTICITY / HOMEGROWN

– People have a passion for the real America and authentic experiences. Arts and crafts and nostalgia are important. Within this area experiences such as antiquing, authentic foods, backroad experiences, kitsch, festivals and rural travel are important.

a.     Authenticityb.     Rediscovering the familiarc.     Honoring your rootsd.     Curiositye.     Discoveryf.     Romance

The Internet Is Changing The Rules Of The Game

The Internet is leveling playing field for independent/boutique products and companies

….Small players can compete effectively with bigger players by creatively using the internet

INTERNET USAGE

• 56% of the 213.9 million adults in the U.S. currently use the Internet - 120 million adults (2004)

• Usage has flattened• 82% indicate they are travelers• Among the 145.7 million past-year travelers, 67% use the Internet

• Frequent travelers (5 or more trips) have high likelihood of using – 74%

INTERNET USAGE FOR TRAVEL PLANNING - 2004

•65% of online travelers say they consulted the Internet to get information

•26% used Internet for business travel planning (similar to 2003)

•94% of trips planned were for leisure

•76% did trip planning online – 69% in 2003

CONSUMER INTERNET USAGE

2003%2004%

Used internet to…Obtain travel info and pricing 57 65Make a travel booking 38 45Hotel reservations 67 73

Airline reservations 65 64Car rental reservations 29 32Complete vacation reservations 21 20Average number of sites visited N/A 3.9

INTERNET USERS

• Women 51%

• Men 49%

• Boomers (35-54) 47%

• Married 66%

• Children at home 42%

• Employed full-time 62%

• Annual HHI $73,000

E-MARKETING

• Travel suppliers such as hotels, airlines and online travel agencies have been successful in using email marketing to communicate with current and potential customers (whether or not booked travel)

• 37% of all online travelers (36 million) have registered or subscribed to travel websites

• 47% say they have registered with three or more travel websites

E-MARKETING

• Online promotions seem to have an influence over consumers

• In 2004, 11% of online travelers claimed they had taken a trip they otherwise would not have taken based on an emailed travel promotion, discount or offer (the same share as in 2003)

WHY IS ALL OF THIS IMPORTANT?

BRAND OR PRODUCT AWARENESS IS NOT ENOUGH TO INSPIRE BRAND LOYALTY….

TODAY WE MUST UNDERSTAND OUR CUSTOMERS’ ATTITUDES IN ORDER TO SPEAK TO CUSTOMERS IN THE

WAY THEY WANT TO BE SPOKEN TO

CUT THROUGH THE CLUTTER