Consumer behaviour

Habits change, expectations rise

The wider market

Recessions always change consumer behaviour, but travel is traditionally an area in which people preserve spending in some form. The last recession led to people taking shorter breaks and travelling more domestically. With financial pressure sitting alongside environmental concerns, the cost-of-living crisis and the lingering effects of the pandemic, this is set to be the pattern of the next couple of years as well. A recent surge in travel abroad has still not returned it to 2019 levels.

The switch from foreign to domestic travel in the last recession was initially driven by families, but the wider market soon followed. With increasing costs making European travel less attractive, experience-led messaging will be key to drawing in guests. People need to be shown how a UK break can replace travel abroad.

Within Canopy & Stars

Our own bookings show a shift in consumer behaviour to a broader season and greater flexibility. We’re seeing a longer booking season, with stays for September and October 2022 up 42% against 2019, and those stays being booked with longer lead times. We’re also seeing a greater demand for experiences that surround a space and more demand than ever for flexibility of booking rules - more than 50% of all our email enquiries now relate to that subject.

The power of Instagram

Social media is now more than a platform for sharing holiday memories. It’s a searchable forum and the place that many people look for inspiration and ideas on where to go and what to do. It has had a huge influence on glamping, cabin culture and outdoor holidays, predominantly driven by Instagram but with increasing competition from TikTok as video becomes the main medium for social sharing. Instagram is now a tool that operators can use to directly generate significant revenue.

How can operators respond?

Flexibility and longevity

Operators are responding to increasing pressures by being more flexible, extending their season as much as possible and enhancing and communicating the experience they provide, which we explore in detail here. Flexibility could be the relaxing of booking conditions or check in times, allowing guests to fit their stay into less traditional working weeks, while extending the season is leading the transition from canvas spaces to more solid structures.

Travel success stories from the last recession:

A Deloitte report into performance in the last recession showed investment was key, but in the right places, major hotel chains that chose to enhance existing assets and experience rather than expand performed well, whilst another, Marriott, sought to drive loyalty and add value with their RejuveNation programme -- encouraging weekend travel amongst business travellers.