Millennials are influenced by videos as much as reviews

According to recent research by Phocuswright, Millennials place equal importance on YouTube videos as they do on web reviews when the make decisions about travel purchases.  

This goes against conventional wisdom about how travelers make their decisions and how we can best compete for their business.  

Millennials influenced as much by YouTube videos as web reviews for travel decisions

Quote:
“Young travellers find themselves motivated by video content and online reviews in equal measures when selecting products for a trip.

Research by Phocuswright found that the influence on an 18 to 34-year-old’s travel decisions in both categories (both web reviews and videos) came in at about 30%, compared to those influenced by pictures and videos by friends or travel brands.

The survey of European travellers found online reviews were favoured most by those in the 35-54 range (around 38%) and those over 55 (around 32%), with videos and pictures from friends or brands the least influential channel.

Less than 10% of over-55s were inspired by travel brand content.”

This is particularly interesting if your hostel operates in a very competitive market where everyone’s ratings are very close, or if your rating is not as high as your competitors.  Its good news for creative hostel operators as it offers another way to compete that has nothing to do with pricing policies.  

Creating video content that is informative, entertaining, or inspiring may actually be easier than trying to compete for clients and then wowing them with a superior experience and hoping for a good review.  

But it doesn’t have to be one or the other.  Why not include your guests when you make your videos?  It will give you a chance to inform/entertain/inspire them, AND they are far more likely to 1) have a positive experience in your hostel that may result in a good review, and 2) share the final video product with everyone they know, increasing your exposure to other potential guests.