How Airport Lounges and Travel Brands are Prioritising Reputation Performance and CX
Paul Modaley
In today’s competitive travel market, brands must stay ahead of the curve and constantly adapt to changing consumer behaviours. This rings particularly true for airport lounges and other travel brands, poised to experience a notable surge in demand with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) anticipating a total of 4.0 billion travellers in 2024 (counting multi-sector connecting trips as one passenger), surpassing pre-COVID-19 levels (equivalent to 103% of the 2019 aggregate).
Amidst this backdrop of billions of airport passengers, travel brands vie for attention and their fates hinge on their digital presence and public image. The travel sector is swiftly embracing these core principles by placing a premium on customer satisfaction and maintaining a stellar reputation.
This article explores the pivotal roles that passenger experience and reputation performance have as a strategic focus for airports as well as lounge operators. We will have a closer look at travel leaders like SSP, Manchester Airport Group (MAG), and No1 Lounges that are embracing such innovative strategies to enhance the passenger journey.
- The Critical Role of Passenger Experience and Reputation Performance
- Elevating Passenger Experience and Reputation Performance in the Travel Industry: A Look at Collaborations with Reputation
- The Broader Impact on the Travel Industry
- Strategies for Ensuring Continued Profitability in the Travel Industry
- Reach New Heights With Your Travel Brand
The Critical Role of Passenger Experience and Reputation Performance
The digital era has reshaped consumer expectations, making online reputation performance a cornerstone of business success. Within the travel industry, amidst a sea of options and intense rivalry, brands vie for attention in shared spaces like airport departure lounges.
A strong online reputation, forged by exceptional passenger experiences, often becomes the clincher for consumers making their choices. The direct correlation between online reputation and business success is evident, as positive reviews and ratings influence booking decisions.
Our recently published article, ‘Better Together: How Pairing Reviews + Listings Combine to Become a Lead-Gen Machine’, underscores the importance of online reviews:
- 99% of customers include reviews in their evaluation process for selecting local service providers.
- 49% of marketers affirm that organic search results, driven by reviews, yield the highest return on investment (ROI) across all channels.
Enhancing customer experience, boosting positive review volumes and improving online visibility relies on understanding consumer sentiment effectively. By understanding passengers’ preferences and pain points, these businesses can deliver a better customer experience and see a significant increase in their revenues as a result.
According to research, businesses can grow revenues between 4% and 8% above their market when they focus on providing exceptional customer service. This includes understanding and catering to the needs and preferences of travellers, such as offering amenities and services that align with their desires. Additionally, by creating a positive and welcoming atmosphere, airport lounges and other travel businesses can build a loyal customer base and attract new customers through word-of-mouth recommendations.
Recommended resource: How Brands Are Winning with Customer Experience Over Price and Product
Elevating Passenger Experience and Reputation Performance in the Travel Industry: A Look at Collaborations with Reputation
Understanding the critical role of customer satisfaction sets the stage for examining how leading travel brands, such as SSP, MAG, and No1 Lounges, implement innovative strategies to enhance their passenger experience and reputation performance.
SSP’s Strategic Overhaul with Reputation
SSP, a leading operator of food and beverage brands at global travel destinations, recognised the importance of reputation performance and customer experience but encountered challenges in handling customer feedback and online reputation.
Collaborating with Reputation, SSP embarked on a strategic overhaul that resulted in a significant increase in review volume and notable improvements in customer engagement metrics. This partnership underscored the significance of consolidating feedback channels and utilising digital platforms to enhance brand visibility and customer satisfaction.
In addition to boosting online presence and increasing the likelihood of consumers selecting SSP brands, SSP’s insights teams successfully pinpointed factors influencing negative customer sentiment and proactively addressed these concerns.
Spotlight on Manchester Airport Group (MAG)
MAG’s strategic initiative to collaborate with Reputation underscores the group’s unwavering dedication to elevating passenger experiences throughout its network of UK airports.
Catering to a staggering annual influx of over 60 million passengers, MAG’s emphasis on monitoring and enhancing its reputation performance stands as a cornerstone of its operational ethos. By concentrating on refining every step of the passenger journey, MAG is aligning itself with a prevailing industry shift towards placing paramount importance on customer experience as a pivotal competitive advantage in the travel sector.
Incorporating No1 Lounges: A Premium Experience Provider
No1 Lounges, renowned for its exceptional multi-award-winning airport lounges scattered across various key locations in the UK, is yet another distinguished travel brand that is strategically arming itself with Reputation’s robust and cutting-edge platform. This move serves as a shining example of how premium service providers in the travel industry are harnessing the power of reputation performance metrics to not only gauge but also significantly enhance guest experiences, setting new benchmarks in customer satisfaction and service excellence.
With a core focus on delivering excellence, fuelled by unwavering passion, a strong sense of community engagement, and a commitment to fostering creativity in every aspect of its operations, No1 Lounges is poised to further elevate and refine its service offerings. This dedication ensures that every guest who walks through their doors experiences a level of hospitality that leaves them not just refreshed but truly valued and appreciated, setting a new standard for top-tier service in the industry.
The Broader Impact on the Travel Industry
The actions of SSP, MAG, and No1 Lounges with Reputation reflect a broader industry trend towards prioritising reputation performance and the guest experience. As ACI World Insights notes, airports are increasingly focusing on the passenger journey to differentiate themselves. This shift towards enhancing customer experience is not just about immediate satisfaction but about building a lasting positive reputation that fosters trust and drives growth.
Strategies for Ensuring Continued Profitability in the Travel Industry
To maintain profitability, travel brands must take proactive measures to enhance their services and understand their customers’ needs.
Drive Leads through Reviews and Listings Management
One effective way for airport lounges and travel brands to attract more customers is by actively managing their reviews and listings. In today’s digital age, consumers heavily rely on online reviews when making travel decisions. As such, airport lounges must ensure that they have a strong online presence with positive reviews across various platforms like TripAdvisor and Yelp. By consistently monitoring and responding to customer feedback, they can build trust and credibility among potential guests.
Recommended resource: Online Reputation Checklist: How Multi-Location Businesses Can Drive More Leads
Understand Consumer Sentiment through Surveys and Advanced Insights Tools
To truly cater to their customers’ needs, airport lounges must have a deep understanding of their sentiments. Conducting regular surveys can provide valuable insights into what guests appreciate about the lounge experience and where improvements can be made. It is also crucial for these brands to utilise advanced insights tools that can analyse data from various sources such as social media, booking trends, and website traffic. This will allow them to gain a deeper understanding of consumer preferences and tailor their services accordingly.
Recommended resource: Understanding Consumer Sentiment for Business Success: Your Ultimate Guide
Benchmark and Measure Performance
In the highly competitive landscape of the travel industry, it is crucial for brands to constantly evaluate and improve their performance. This is especially true for travel brands that offer premium services, such as airport lounges. These brands need to continuously benchmark their performance against their competitors to stay ahead and retain customer loyalty.
One highly effective method for benchmarking performance in any industry is through Reputation Score. This metric takes into account multiple aspects of a brand’s reputation, including customer reviews, social media mentions, and online ratings. By utilising this tool, airport lounges can gain valuable insights into how they are perceived by customers and how they stack up against other similar brands in the market.
Reputation Score not only provides a comprehensive analysis of a brand’s overall reputation, but it also serves as an ideal benchmarking tool for travel brands. By regularly monitoring and comparing their Reputation Score with that of their competitors, airport lounges can identify areas where they excel and areas where they need to improve. This allows them to make informed decisions and implement strategic changes to enhance their overall brand health.
In conclusion, benchmarking performance is crucial for the success of travel brands like airport lounges. Utilising tools like Reputation Score can provide a clear picture of a brand’s reputation and serve as an effective benchmarking metric to drive continuous improvement and maintain a competitive edge in the industry.
Recommended resource: Understanding Reputation Score: Your Guide to Better Business Performance
Reach New Heights With Your Travel Brand
The travel industry’s focus on reputation management highlights the crucial role of customer experience in today’s digital landscape. Collaborations with reputation management firms like Reputation are reshaping how travel brands interact with customers, improving their overall image and success. As the sector evolves, prioritising reputation management will remain a key strategy for leading travel brands aiming to outshine the competition.
To prosper in the fiercely competitive travel industry, continual innovation and a deep understanding of consumer behaviours are essential. For airport lounges and similar travel brands, actively monitoring reviews and utilising advanced analytics tools are critical tactics for generating leads and outperforming rivals. By consistently striving to meet customer demands, these brands can secure lasting success in a dynamic market.
Contact us to discover how Reputation can enable your travel brand to increase revenue in 2024 and beyond.