WORLDWIDE A new study from GfK MRI reveals behaviors and opinions of vacation travelers who influence the vacation travel plans of others via social media and other interpersonal interactions, finding links between their beliefs and their preferred hotel segments.
For instance, influencers who stay primarily at luxury hotels answered at a higher rate than the average that they consider themselves leaders and that they give loved ones gifts. These luxury travelers also say they buy brands that reflect their style and enjoy imparting their travel knowledge on others.
Two issues were targeted in the study (which can be found here): the differences between influencers who patronize different tiers, and the differences between influencers and non-influencers within a tier.
Among influencers who frequent upper-upscale hotels, they say that risk-taking is exciting, that they become regulars at favorite restaurants, that they regularly eat organic foods and that they make shopping decisions based on their family’s health.
Upscale hotel influencers typically buy on credit rather than wait to save enough to afford something, enjoy looking at advertising and say the most important thing in their lives is their friends.
Influencers of the midscale with F&B segment believe that too many products do not perform as well as the ads claim.
Among influencers of the midscale without F&B segment, prayer is a part of their daily lives.
Economy hotel influencers say they strive to achieve a high social status, that their children significantly impact their brand choices and that they view themselves as more environmentally conscious than most. They prefer traveling to new places and would rather take several short vacations than one long trip.