Opinion by Ritu Mehrotra, Country Manager, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives, Booking.com
Travel today has become more than an annual holiday or time off with friends and family. While the annual holiday planning ritual with family still remains one of the most anticipated activities of the year, impromptu trips, weekend getaways and solo adventures are quickly gaining popularity among the modern-day Indian traveller. Traditional touristy escapades no longer satisfy the modern traveller. Travellers today are on the lookout for more authentic and unique experiences that are true to the local culture and give them a closer look into the life of the destination they are travelling to.
With this shift in the perception of travel and constantly changing travel behaviour, a new type of accommodation has come to the preferential fold, known as ‘alternative accommodation’.
Alternative accommodation
Alternative accommodation is a broad term that encompasses every type of non-hotel accommodation ranging from home-stays, villas, apartments, farm-stays, bed and breakfast, hostels and tree and boat houses among others. The popularity of non-hotel accommodation- is further catalysed by the wave of digitisation that brings with it a plethora of travel influences ranging from social media influencers to travel blogs and vlogs that keep tourists abreast with everything that they need to know. This also helps them customise their experiences based on their interests. So whether it is learning how to salsa with the locals in Cuba, or sharing a meal with the local community in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, this segment of accommodation has got all the unconventional experiences covered.
On the rise
We conducted an annual survey of our customers, and a whopping 40 per cent would be willing to opt for a non-hotel accommodation within the next 12 months. And a drill down to the demographics revealed that not only was this a popular option among the 18 to 36-year-old travellers and young families, but also among people over the age of 65.
Though alternative stays or non-hotel accommodation options in India currently occupy a small portion of the entire Indian hospitality market, it is likely to touch US$3 billion by 2020, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Google. As pointed out earlier, the concept of alternative accommodation is growing with most Indians wanting to opt for it, as it is affordable and also gives tourists an opportunity to explore destinations like a local. According to a recent study by Booking.com, a majority (68 per cent) of Indian travellers said they will be looking to book alternative accommodation in 2019, compared to the global average of 37 per cent. The study further goes on to state that Indian travellers believe in staying in a home-type accommodation that allows them to see areas of a city or parts of a country that they wouldn’t have otherwise explored. In keeping with this growing demand for alternative accommodation, we currently have a reported 1,40,000 listings that are in homes, apartments and other unique places to stay. Goa, Kerala and Karnataka in India have the highest number of properties in the alternative accommodation segment. We are also seeing a growth in alternative accommodation options in the rest of Maharashtra (excluding Mumbai) and north east India.
Moving Ahead
Rapid technological innovation and evolving consumer expectations are having a constant, transformative effect on the way we travel. From modern reinventions of camping classics to space-age pods providing a comfortable place to rest, Indian travellers today have more options than ever when it comes to booking their next getaway.
Properties and travel businesses need to be increasingly agile and adapt in order to thrive. Reaching out to the travellers at the right time, with the right message to help them make decisions is critical. Any business in this space needs to be open to continuous learning and reinvention of their approach in order to keep pace with the continuously evolving Indian traveller and understand the shift from travel to experiences, to be able to bring to them more of just that.
