It's no secret that the minority travel market is ripe with business opportunities. Tapping into those opportunities, says Nicole Johnson-Reece, Cendant's vice president of diversity and community involvement, requires understanding the difference in travel habits of various groups. To that end, Cendant Corporation's Hotel Group tapped NFO Plog Research to analyze the travel patterns of African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans. For any hotelier looking to leverage diversity, the results are enlightening.
travel preferences of emerging markets
...by Nicole L. Johnson-Reece
FOR HOTELIERS PAYING ATTENTION to diverse markets, three simple questions can yield profitable insights: why do minority groups like to travel, what do they like to do, and with whom do they travel?
The study Cendant commissioned, which depended heavily on data collected by Plog's syndicated study, the American Traveler Survey, revealed some interesting facts about minority travel including the fact that vacations appear to be more important to minority groups than other segments. Vacations are most important to Asians, followed by African-Americans and Hispanics.
Asians travel most frequently: approximately 5.9 trips in a 12-month period. Hispanics make 4.8 trips per year and African-Americans make 4.7 trips.
The study found that Asians are much more likely to take business trips, averaging more than one annually. African-Americans are the least likely to travel for business. Hispanics take fewer business trips each year than other segments of the American population. Asians take the most leisure trips, while a smaller proportion of Hispanics and African-Americans travel for pleasure.
How minority groups spend their vacation time and money is just as important as why they travel. Like all other travelers, African-Americans spend most of their leisure travel budget on transportation. Shopping takes the next greatest portion of their vacation money, followed by lodging and meals. They allocate less than 10 percent of their household budgets for other travel purchases, including tours and cruises, entertainment and rental cars.
The Hispanic Traveler allocates the largest portion of their leisure budget for transportation and nearly equal amounts for lodging, shopping and meals. Tours, cruises and entertainment account for one-tenth of their travel budgets, with the smallest portion going to rental cars.
Asians allocate a much larger percentage of their travel budget to transportation than other groups. They spend about equal amounts on shopping and meals. Lodging accounts for the next largest portion. All other travel components, including entertainment, rental cars, tours and cruises, make up the smallest portion.
African-Americans tend to shop more while Hispanics attend more family and friend events. Asians tend to do both about equally.
African-Americans also are likely to visit casinos, gamble, enjoy fine dining, go to theme parks, experience nightclubs and stage shows, visit historic sites and churches, go to beach resorts and visit museums, art galleries, nightclubs and stage shows.
Hispanics tend to visit historic sites and churches, beach resorts, theme parks, enjoy fine dining, go to casinos and visit museums and art galleries. Asians enjoy fine dining the most, followed by going to theme parks, beach resorts, casinos and visiting museums, art galleries, historic sites and churches.
Other activities vary by group. African-Americans prefer health clubs, exercise rooms, spas, health resorts, riverboat gambling and jazz concerts. Hispanics favor fishing, bird watching and biking. Asians like to snorkel, participate in nature travel, go "eco-touring," attend musicals and visit wineries and desert resorts.
While trip motivation varies among different ethnic groups, there are some elements in common including a scenic location, weather, previous satisfaction with a destination or activity, abundance of activities, relaxation quotient and cost of hotels and meals.
African-Americans tend to travel with the largest groups, followed by Hispanics and Asians. However, members of these minority groups are more likely to travel alone than other segments of the population.
Once the different travel patterns of these minority groups are understood, it is important for the supplier to learn how to take advantage of the differences. These differences should be reflected in marketing and customer service.
Hoteliers, for example, should know which local events, restaurants or museums are most likely to appeal to each different minority group, then market to them accordingly. Marketing creative should highlight areas of interest to the particular group.
Hotels should provide guides that list local areas of interest including salons, events and points of interest. Since shopping is an important activity for African-American travelers, such guides should list local malls or outlets. Hoteliers also should partner with local cultural establishments to create packages.
Since minority groups prefer to travel with their families, there is an opportunity for hoteliers to organize family reunion packages and advertise them locally. Packages can be marketed directly to frequent guests if their specific travel patterns are known. For example, a guest who typically travels with children may be receptive to a package built around children's activities. Guests who travel with a parent or grandparent likely will appreciate a senior's discount.
The Wingate Inn Omaha/Airport in Carter Lake, Iowa, booked nearly every weekend from the end of June through the end of August with family reunions, nearly all involving minorities. As the official hotel for the Native Omahans Club, which services African Americans in Northern Omaha, the hotel benefits by hosting many club members who attend its biannual events that bring native Omahans together for a week. The hotel also sponsors the club's banner and publishes its schedule.
The bottom line: hotel owners who fail to tap into minority markets are missing out on an important source of revenue. By taking the time to understand what these groups appreciate and value most, hoteliers can steal market share from operators who don't make the effort. « «
Nicole L. Johnson Reece is Vice President, Diversity & Community Involvement, Cendant Corporation, Hotel Group.
Nicole L. Johnson-Reece
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