Hospitality Trends: Promoting a Safe Holiday Staycation Close to Home

In terms of travel trends for 2021, exploring the most scenic route from the kitchen to the couch so far tops all best-of lists. Anything other than that requires a major overhaul of health and cleanliness standards at hotel accommodation, along with getting used to a major shift in guest expectations and how to effectively serve others. 

At TrustYou, we took the time to look deeper into our semantics data for the last year in order to find out what else guests are talking about in terms of hospitality and hotel stays. Besides the strong performance of our Public Health semantic categories, around words such as Clean, Safe, COVID, Corona, Virus, and Mask - we also discovered noticeable mentions of the newly-emerging term: Staycation. 

The rise of the staycation trend took off at the end of April 2020, with the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific regions leading the way. Interestingly enough, this is not a trend that registered notable mentions in Europe and South America. One reason for this could be simply the fact that there are less English language reviews in these regions.

Global Staycation trends as shown through TrustYou semantics analysis data

Some reviews from our database indicated that hotels in the Middle East were running targeted staycation promotions during the first months of the pandemic. By actively promoting local hotel stays and reassuring guests of the hygiene and safety measures being taken by the hotels, these businesses were able to reassure guests of a home-away-from-home feeling and the chance to relax beyond their daily routine.

Why is staycation suddenly a thing?

We all know by now that staying at home can be a challenge and that it is only natural to be looking for safe ways to enhance our experience of life  While traveling to faraway exotic locations is only a daydream at this time, local getaways can become really appealing after being stuck at home for months on end.

This is a great opportunity for hotels and hospitality businesses to promote health and cleanliness standards to their local patrons first. Neutralize the uncertainty of potential visitors and make them feel confident about your establishment being a safe place to visit. Additionally, offering staycation packages can encourage guests, who may not currently be looking for an extended holiday, but simply a change of scenery, where they can feel comfortable and comforted. Getting out of the usual routine can be a tempting idea right now, whether that relates to a quiet and relaxing space to recharge away from home office, or a romantic weekend out of the house, or any other special occasion package that your specific hotel can offer.

Actively communicating promotions that make guests feel welcome, safe, and reassured, makes this staycation trend soar in several regions. Difficulty always comes with new opportunities. Sometimes it takes trial and error, but keeping up with the momentum of change is what keeps innovative businesses ahead at this time. 

Here’s what guests are saying:

“Having been at home for 4 months without leaving my house, I decided to book my staycation. The entire team was friendly and observed all the safety precautions. The bed was so comfortable and the view from my room was amazing.”

“We recently stayed for a midweek staycation during COVID to say the staff were accommodating is an understatement - they went above and beyond to make our stay a pleasant one - thank you!”

“Spent the night at the hotel as a birthday treat to myself. Was a lovely way to try to "get away" during a very tricky time in our society. Felt VERY safe at this hotel. The room was spotless and brand new: the remote for the TV was sanitized and sealed in plastic. The staff wore masks at all times and took people's temperatures at the door every time we re-entered. I've always been obsessed with this hotel but would definitely stay again on a staycation (until traveling is better permitted).”

“Amazing staycation staff did an amazing job at making our stay a special one. Flowers and a card in the room upon arrival was a great touch.”

Make sure to check out the TrustYou COVID-19 resource library for more insightful content. Better yet, you can join The Recovery Race for hotels, to have access to free resources, expert advice, videos, and everything in between.