Click, Book, Go: The Digital Generation Expects Online Bookings

If you’re anything like a lot of the tourism businesses we’ve worked with, you have a ton of loyal customers that come back year after year. Some of them are getting a little older and visit less frequently—but sometimes their kids start coming, and new customers are just around the corner. 

Some of you are new business owners—you’re started a business yourself, or you’ve taken one over from someone else. You’ve experienced the joy that comes with running your own business and making people’s vacations special.

But, in addition to running your business, and tending to your guests, you’ve now got to spend 20 hours a month dealing with reservations, cancellations, and scheduling. Maybe you do this via phone or email. Maybe you’re listed on some third party booking sites. But younger generations don’t make phone calls. Many of them don’t even do emails. 

We’ve reached a critical moment with technology. While we know that many people still want to make a phone call or send an email, the vast majority of people are now comfortable with online booking—and not only that, they expect it.

In fact, studies have shown that 80% of people under 40 are afraid to make a phone call. They want their booking experience to be easy to use, frictionless, and be immediately available wherever they find themselves on the web—not in person, and definitely not over the phone or through email. 

Younger generations live and die on their phones. They expect things that work properly—where websites are optimized for mobile viewing and the systems they use load properly. 

80% of people under 40 are afraid to make a phone call.

They want modern integrations with trustworthy systems like Google and Apple Pay—they have no interest in using a physical credit card. In fact, they don’t want to have to remember anything at all. They have all the details they need on their phone, and they expect your website to work as well as the rest of the internet. 

These people can read an article, or see a viral post by a travel influencer, and make their decision to book with your business right away. If they can click a BOOK NOW button that second, and have a clean, smart, modern booking experience that works on any device or browser, they will book immediately. No waiting, no phone calls.

In the end it's less work for you and less work for them. This translates to new customers, but it also translates to ease of succession. If you’re selling your business, the new generation will happily pay more for a business that has a proper online booking system accompanying it. And for current business owners, this tool allows you to take full advantage of everything your destination marketing organization is doing to get visibility for your business. 

So, book a call with the Booker team today, and find out how you can transform your businesses online presence, with expert assistance and the lowest fees in the industry.