How Can Hotels Embrace the Rising Slow Travel Trend?

It seems that travel has become ubiquitous.

If the chilled out peeps are sipping on a beer by a beach in Bali, then the adrenaline junkies are trekking in Kasol. People are going all out to tick off their bucket list.

But guess what, there’s one more group of travellers that the Gram and the Tube aren’t showing. This set of travellers are not into seeing everything there is to see; rather, feeling like a local, spending their days strolling the paths less travelled.

Who are they? The slow travellers!!

Slow travel and tourism is on the rise, and now is the time for hotels to tap into this segment. There’s no exaggeration; this is a very lucrative segment to cater to because these travellers are willing to pay for experiences and stay for a longer duration.

This article talks about all the ins and outs of the slow travel trend and how can hotels make the most out of it.

What is Slow Travel and Tourism?

Slow travel is an approach of building connections with local people, cultures, food, and music. To put it simply, it is about learning to live the lifestyle of the local communities, educate ourselves on the things we have not explored before, remain sustainable for the environment, and make an emotional impact.

Now, there are often two kinds of travellers when it comes to slow tourism — one stays at a destination and travels to the next slowly, the other stays in a destination for a supremely long time and builds deeper connections.

The Emergence of Slow Travel

The reason slow travel is booming is because of the changing mindset of people. Before covid (even now, to an extent) travel was about visiting popular destinations, sightseeing, clicking the best pictures to showcase, etc.

But, traveller preferences have changed significantly with the pandemic still around. People have gone through a lot lately — both physically and emotionally.

It’s not about regular holidays and trips anymore, but about life-changing experiences. Wanderlust enthusiasts are starting to realise that it’s not about the bucket list anymore; rather, about experiencing more by doing less.

If you ask me, I think even my perspective of travel has changed. I would prefer to relax, do things that I really like and matter to me, and connect with as many people as possible. All of this while hopping from place to another.

This is the same mindset that I am witnessing in everyone else around me and has been a major driving force behind the rise of slow travel.

Again, I am not exaggerating; it’s happening for real.

“Various consumer trends suggest that slow travel could take off post-pandemic. According to a live poll from GlobalData, a trip longer than ten nights is highly desired (22%) than a day visit (10%) or a short break away from one to three nights (14%).”

– Johanna Bonhill-Smith, Travel & Tourism Analyst at GlobalData

Why Do Hotels Need to Tap into This Segment?

This reminds me of an incident from 2015 when I was living in Mahabalipuram, India.

I used to play the guitar and percussion instruments by the beach in Mahabalipuram, and I once met this flautist from Ukraine named Nargis. We had a little chat that day and I was astonished when I heard her speaking in flawless Tamil.

When I asked how did she learn the language, Nargis said that she’s been in Mahabalipuram for the past 6 months. She was there for a trip but then decided to stay back for some time, play music, earn, and live a different lifestyle. Also, Nargis was staying at a hotel that had a wing exclusively for travellers coming for a longer duration.

Now that I am writing about the slow travel trend, it is starting to make more sense.

What I am trying to point here is that the slow travel trend has been around for quite some time now.

It’s just that, currently, the competition is getting high in the industry. And I don’t see a reason why hotels shouldn’t start catering to slow travellers. After all, the benefits of going along with this slow travel trend are immense for accommodation providers.

To give you all a little more clarity, I even reached out to that hotel manager in Mahabalipuram and got some insights.

The manager said and I quote:

“To be honest, initially, we were not into travellers with such long stays. We didn’t even think it was important. But with time, we saw more and more international travellers coming to Mahabalipuram. They were either staying at homestays or at someone’s home as a tenant.”

“Basically, we saw how it all started. That’s when we decided to give it a shot. We assigned one complete floor for such slow travellers. I kid you not, the best thing about this is now there’s a constant cash flow. And it’s becoming a permanent thing; one traveller leaves, another comes and the hotel is again good to go for a certain period.”

There’s one more thing the hotel manager said and it made me all smile.

“There’s one guy from France. He stayed in our hotel for more than 6 months. And guess what? We became really good friends and are ALWAYS in touch either through video calls or chat. This is a very bright side of catering to such travellers, you know. It’s good to meet, greet, and serve people from different walks of life.”

Here’s How Hotels Can Prepare For the Slow Travel Trend

This entire slow travel and tourism thing is intriguing, right? I know. I was also excited, recalling all the stories when I started writing this blog.

Now, let’s look at some points that will help you tap into this amazing travel and tourism segment.

1. Spread the word to a wider audience

When you start something new at your hotel, the first and foremost thing you need to do is to let people know about it.

How can you do that? Marketing is the answer!

Be it digital or conventional, make sure you’re making the most out of every channel. However, I would suggest you put a little extra effort into hotel digital marketing so that you can reach out to the right set of audiences.

2. Blend your property with a local touch

Next up, give your property a little touch of the neighbourhood.

That hotel in Mahabalipuram was located in the fisherman colony by the beach. So, the entire essence of the hotel was around the fishermen concept. Be it in terms of ambience or food, the hotel stayed true to the local culture.

Now, just because they were touching up the local culture, they didn’t let go off of the other guest segment. They still have their rooms, activities and menu for other guests.

(I love to stay in huts. If any hotelier has huts in his/her property, I am just a call away :D)

3. Go all things local cultural experience

If you’re thinking this is also the same as above, then it’s not.

What I mean by this is that you have to be able to offer slow travellers the experience of the local lifestyle.

And to do that, you have to step out of your typical hotelier shoes and become a friend. Arrange a walk-around of the neighbourhood for the first day if they are staying for a long time.

Take them out with you, introduce them to the locals, let them know about the specialities, the things they can do around, etc. This will boost their confidence so that they can step out all by themselves.

If not that, you can also host sessions with locals around certain activities.  

4. How about a volunteer program to help locals grow tomatoes?

It’s the tomato time of the year in your region and all locals have started preparing to grow ripe, juicy, and perfectly firm tomatoes.

As a gesture to help locals with this whole task, you have decided to invite your guests to offer a helping hand.

What do they get in return?

The love and affection from the community, meaningful connections and ripe, fresh off the garden tomatoes.

I am sure, once they take a bite, they’ll never go back to those hyper store tomatoes.

The point here is to help locals and slow travellers get along. And what could be a great way than to get both to work together for something meaningful?

5. Events are always on the trend

Hotel events can never go out of the list when it comes to catering to slow traveller kinds of segments. After all, they do not just offer education and entertainment, but also a platform to meet and greet.

If your hotel is on a remote hilltop, how about hosting a mountaineering event. It could be a day or two long with various sessions lined up.

Understand your guests and the locals, and come up with something that benefits both.

6. Despite the old school approach, don’t forget the tech aspect

Yes, slow travel and tourism require a bit of the old school element. Because the human touch and connection are what makes it so popular.

However, there are certain aspects where technology can up your game. And the first thing is a property management system that can streamline your hotel’s operations.

Meaning, when you have such a system in place, you’ll have more time to focus on your guests.

If you haven’t thought of getting a hotel PMS, I think you definitely should, because it is going to be a game-changer.

7. You might want to turn to revenue management as well

I have talked about revenue management a lot in my previous blogs and have received a great response.

Revenue management for hotels is nothing less than a magic wand. It’s amazing how it helps properties in skyrocketing their bottom line.

And I feel, this is going to be of great help for hotels going after slow travellers. The revenue management system and managers can help you 2X your hotel revenue.

To be supremely honest, I have personally seen this in the last couple of months.

8. Souvenirs make that much-needed impact

A souvenir is considered to be one of the most prominent elements of travel. People want to keep memories, they want to be reminded of the good times they lived, and souvenirs do just that.  

Imagine someone staying at your hotel for 3 months, getting along with the locals, and enjoying a completely different lifestyle. Wouldn’t you want to gift that person a special something that would remind him/her of the amazing hospitality?

Like I said in the beginning, slow travel is all about building connections and souvenirs can be a win-win here.

9. Help your guests break out of their comfort zone

This is one of the important things to keep in mind when you’re tapping into slow travel and tourism.

There are times when people think they can travel to a destination, live there for some time, learn about the locals, etc. But then for one or another reason, they fail.

This is when you have to step in helping them come out of their comfort zone. If required, you can even handhold them for some time.

There are many hotels in Mahabalipuram that do that. I have lived there and have seen hoteliers taking their guests out for a walk, dinner, or just simply sitting with them and talking.