Johan Svanstrom: 'Ultra-aware' customers are the future of travel
For every 10 stays at a Hotels.com hotel, guests receive one night free as part of their Welcome Rewards program."Consumers are putting on the travel agent uniform themselves."
That's one of Johan Svanstrom's key observations after almost seven years as the vice president and managing director for Asia of hotel booking site Hotels.com.
From a small telephone service in the United States 20 years ago, the company has grown into a worldwide online booking site with around 140,000 properties in its books.
Currently operating 85 country sites worldwide, Svanstrom started 2012 with a bang -- by announcing a new loyalty program that gives customers one free hotel night for every 10 they book through Hotels.com.
But it's the next five to 10 years that Svanstrom thinks will really see the travel booking process turned on its head.
"[Travel planning is going] from comprehensive catalogues to quick comparisons," he continues, "This feeling of power in self-service online supersedes the extra time spent doing it."
Customers are going to get increasingly finicky about their travel details, going down to some hair-splitting specifics.
"Before, knowing it was a four-star downtown was maybe all you could get. Today users are going from 'unengaged aware' to 'ultra-specific aware' of what a hotel offers or not.
"You can know whether the gym has windows facing the morning sun (gotta get your yoga in, of course) or whether the reception desk has a fast check-in lane for more expensive room types."
He also predicts that bookings through mobile apps will increase from 10 percent of the total today to 30 percent in five years.
We asked him what else the future of travel planning had in store.
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CNNGo: Name one big change you expect to see in travel booking over the next few years.
Svanstrom: Ultra-personalized engines.
If I like urban, modern hotels with a good bar and not more than half a mile from a park, then my computer will automatically trawl the web and find exactly those experiences based on like-minded travelers and the best spot price at any given hour.
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CNNGo: Will Hotels.com ever offer tour packages or other hospitality sectors?
Svanstrom: We will offer in-destination sightseeing and attraction services, but not flights or full packages.
CNNGo: Do you ever foresee a day when human concierges and front desk staff become obsolete?
Svanstrom: There are already self-serve hotel experiments in a few places. I think it’s a trend that will continue.
I don’t need to pass any desks or people when I check out. However, for high-end properties and luxury stays, personal service and human interaction will still be wanted. If it’s done well, it adds to the experience, same as today.
CNNGo: What are the best innovations you’ve come across in hotels?
Svanstrom: The best innovations are more around service and experience, rather than technology. At the Opposite House in Beijing, someone just walks up to you in the lobby and checks you in on a wireless device.
This is a great concept, a guest can sit on a nice sofa, even have a drink, and don’t have to experience that feeling of queuing up at the desk.
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CNNGo: What has been your worst hotel experience and why?
Svanstrom: Once in the outskirts of Beijing I stayed at a local hotel. I arrived late and had an important meeting early the day after. I asked to get an iron and board to my room.
They told me I could only get the iron if I gave them RMB 300 in deposit, in cash. I didn’t have cash, couldn’t go out middle night to get it, and the hotel refused to take a credit card as deposit for the iron.
So I had to attend the meeting in a wrinkled shirt. Not the end of the world, but I was quite taken aback by their policy; they clearly thought I was really a risky guest keen on stealing their iron.
CNNGo: If more people use online booking systems, will hotel prices continue to lower?
Svanstrom: Yes. Transparency drives competition. Always has and always will, regardless of what industry or product you look at.
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CNNGo: How do mobile apps affect the planning process?
Svanstrom: With smartphones, user behavior seems to be moving from planning to promptness. There is a shorter booking window before the trip with mobile booking.
Around 30 percent of bookings in China are made on the same date. People will leave Shanghai and book in Beijing later that day.
Hotels.com is further developing our mobile apps on different platforms like iPhone, Android, iPad, Nokia and MeeGo.
