Visiting various places in the search of serenity, was everyone’s way of rejuvenating themselves.  These days, millennials prefer to travel solo. The reason is quite simple – 

To experience an uninterrupted vacation by exploring offbeat destinations on a minuscule budget.

So now, hotels should start finding out ways to attract solo travelers.

You must be having multiple questions running through your mind about this. I’ll answer all your queries in this blog, which include:

Who are solo travelers?

A solo traveler is an individual, who visits any particular destination and enjoys the tour on his own, rather than being part of a group. They are commonly known as a backpacker, solivagant, and vagabond traveler. 

As a matter of fact, the majority of travel bloggers also prefer traveling alone. As per the research published by Solotravelerworld.com in 2020,

34.7% of travellers prefer to travel solo rather than going in a group.

So you see, solo traveling has evolved at a great pace, and to a large extent.

What do solo travelers look for in a hotel?

Solo travelers consider a plethora of factors before booking their stay. Some of them are:

1. Low-cost accommodation facilities
2. Safety measures in the hotel
3. Activities offered
4. Location, and so on. 

And as a hotelier, you need to understand what solo travelers are looking for and take necessary actions to welcome them.

They prefer to invest more into experiences rather than opting for a luxurious stay with world class amenities.

You need to highlight the unique experiences they could have at your property. It would not only help you to attract solo travelers, but also carve a niche for yourself among this class of tourists.

How to attract solo travelers to your property?

I’m sure you might be receiving some bookings from solo travelers. But, just a couple of bookings won’t help. You need to be amongst the top choices for them, but how?

Here, I’m listing out the top 7 ways to attract solo travelers.

1. Be competitive with the rates

Solo travelers are quite concerned about their budget. Mainly because they wish to enjoy the trip without burning a hole in their pocket. 

Choosing an inexpensive place to stay without hampering the quality of experience is a challenge for this audience segment. The first thing they search for is ‘hotels in [Location] under [Price] range’. 

As a hotelier, you need to have an option for such guests. If you have higher room rates even for single occupancy or dorms, you won’t be a part of search results of low-budget travellers.

But, it’s a pretty simple process if you think about it. All you have to do is, dedicate some small or single-occupancy rooms for solo travelers at a competitive price.

In case, you don’t have such rooms, you can opt to create various packages to attract solo travelers. 

These packages can be in the form of discounts such as; one night free on weekend stays, 2 nights’ stay on and field hike, and so on.

You can also create special solo traveler rate plans, which would be inclusive of meals like you have for regular guests. Whatever you offer, ensure that the rates are justified for a single person.

Push these rates via the channel manager on your website and every OTA you are listed on. However, always check that this price change does not have a negative impact on your hotel’s revenue.

2. Let them know about your property in detail

Once the solo travelers shortlist a couple of options to stay as per their budget, they will check property details for comparison.

They will visit the hotel’s website for amenities and OTA listings for reviews, which will develop trust in their minds.

So, before taking any step, I would recommend you invest in having a brand website and putting efforts in collecting reviews from your guests. 

You can mention all the available facilities and specialties of your property on the website. It could be anything, from a swimming pool to a factsheet of your city or town.

In fact, many of them check for the view from the hotel rooms such as the sea view, hilltop view, and so on. 

Also, keep a check that these details are available on your hotel’s social media pages and OTA listings.

3. Address their safety concerns

Post-COVID-19, travelers have safety and hygiene as their primary concerns while booking any stay. Moreover, these days, there is an increase in women’s safety issues. 

As per a study published by AARP Travel Research,

79% of women avoid solo travelling because of safety issues, whilst for men it is 93%.

You need to address their concerns in the best possible way to attract solo travelers to your property. This can be done by implementing and highlighting the safety and security features of your property such as – 

• CCTV – Your hotel should be 24*7 under CCTV surveillance. Access to these footages should be available to the top management.

• Medical Emergency – Have a doctor on call at your property. Also, try having a first aid kit at the reception, or on each floor for any medical emergency.

• Fire Safety – Keep fire safety equipment on your premises. Also, connect with your local fire fighting department to conduct a fire safety training or drill for your staff at regular intervals.

• SOS Facility – Many hotels have a dedicated speed dial number for SOS emergencies. This is one of the most important features for women’s safety. They could reach out to the hotel’s vigilante department directly in case of any mishaps.

• Dedicated Inventory – These days hotels have started to address women’s safety issues on a serious note. They keep a separate floor or series of rooms specifically for female solo travelers to stay. 

Also Read: How to Handle Emergency Situations in Hotels

4. Organize community gatherings

Community gatherings are an ongoing trend among solo travelers. You may have noticed that many hostels and B&Bs have started this, as a part of guest engagement activity.

It’s quite a simple thing. The guests residing at the property gather in a common area every evening. This is kind of a group activity.

The guests sit around a bonfire, have a couple of drinks, sing songs, and share stories to connect and make merry. An open-air barbeque is a cherry on top.

Many properties plan for some local games such as foosball matches, pictionary, and musical chairs for entertainment.

You can use these gatherings to attract solo travelers to your property. Just click some candid pictures of these events and promote them across your social media pages. 

Check out how Zostel, India’s leading backpacker hostel chain is organizing community gatherings across their hostel properties.

People tend to get influenced by such pictures on social media platforms. A survey by AARP Travel Research shows that,

57% of solo travellers have their decisions influenced by Facebook itself.

39% of solo travellers choose their place of stay by influencing from social media platforms.

So, you can use these pictures as a tool, to be in the limelight and attract solo travelers. It would also act as a catalyst for their decision in booking your property.

5. Make it easier for them to travel locally

A cab or a car is convenient and preferable while traveling in a group. This helps travelers to share their expenses equally. However, while traveling solo, this comes as a dent in their budget.

Hiring a cab for sightseeing and local traveling is the last thing solo travelers would think of. They are already on a limited budget.

So, they prefer more convenient ways such as exploring on the foot, renting a bicycle or a motorcycle for the entire duration of their stay, or using the local transportation. 

This helps them in covering a maximum number of places without compromising on their expenses. However, the point where they struggle is, finding and negotiating with vendors dealing in rental vehicles.

You can solve this problem with just a low-cost investment. You need to purchase some refurbished bicycles or 2- wheelers and share the availability of rental vehicles to your guests.

You can recover this one-time expenditure by renting them out on a day-to-day basis. 

6. Tie up with local activity providers

Any solo traveler would invest more in experiences than any other thing. They would go for enjoying recommended activities of your city or town.

For instance, if you’ve got a property on the seaside, the first thing you would have is water activities such as parasailing, jet-skiing, scuba diving, and so on.

Solo travelers connect with local providers for indulging in such activities. You can be their choice for this too. All you need to do is a partner with some local vendors conducting such activities.

Post that, you can create certain packages for solo travelers, which would be inclusive of accommodation, meals and activities. 

It’s kind of yet another opportunity for you to have an additional source of revenue.

7. Invest in your hotel’s promotion and marketing

Last but not the least, MARKETING! 

I’ve said this before. And I am repeating it again;  You CANNOT reach out to your guests without marketing. 

The entire travel and hospitality industry has to (rather, ALL businesses have to) rely on marketing to generate business from across the world.

If you do not want to invest heavily in PPC campaigns, then you can try influencer marketing or connect with travel bloggers.

You need to find out the best travel blogger in your locality through social media platforms. Just check out their reach and you know who to pick! 

Invite them to stay at your property and experience your hospitality for a day or two. Post-check-out, they would write about the experience they had at your property and publish it on the internet.

Results? You’ll have visibility among the blogger community across the web, with several leads being generated from the blog itself.

So it’s a win-win situation for you; a promotion of your property (to attract solo travelers) without a dent in your pocket.

Must read: Best hotel promotion ideas to implement in 2021

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