Travel technology industry experts explain how both travel suppliers and travel intermediaries are using technology as an edge to make sure they don’t miss out on the one-off boost to tourism from the Coronation of Charles III this coming weekend in London.
Despite many British residents planning to take advantage of the Coronation of Charles III to go away on holiday, a recent study by GuestReady found that the average cost of renting a London holiday let the weekend of the King’s Coronation was up by 67% from £485 in 2022 to £810 this year. Such prices are aligned with widely reported hotel room rates increases of approximately 60% year-on-year for the weekend too.
Meanwhile Visit Britain – the UK’s tourism board – has noted a 10% increase in flight bookings through May from the America market and a study from Trip.com very recently showed an overall 70% year-on-year increase in flight bookings to the UK during the Coronation week.
But which travel companies will be crowned the real winner this coming weekend? Those taking full advantage of the best technology available it seems.
Many of those visitors will be coming from nearby European countries and Emilie Dumont, CEO of Digitrips – owner France’s leading OTA, Misterfly, amongst other B2B travel technology companies – comments: “We’ve noticed that King Charles’ Coronation has sparked an influx of tourism from France to the UK – on our platform we’ve seen a 61% increase in hotel bookings for London for the first 15 days of May, when compared with the same period in 2022. This high level of demand presents a unique opportunity for travel agents here in France to showcase their expertise in personalized and tailored services, in order to incentivize loyalty for what should be a highly memorable trip. The right technology can play a big part in that, making the booking process seamless and handling any last-minute changes or additional requests.”
Evidently the online sales and marketing process is key to this and Simon Goddard, Chief Operating Officer at travel booking technology provider Vibe – whose clients include many leading online travel agencies – says: “For travel agents looking to tap into this tourism influx, the key is to package and present UK destinations in a way that appeals to these travellers. This means creating immersive itineraries that go beyond flights and hotels – attractions like historical tours, top-notch culinary offerings, and cutting-edge cultural events. You must commit to always having the best technology, continually innovating to stay ahead.”
For hoteliers who play their cards right for the Coronation “they can not only capitalize on the immediate impact of the event, but also create lasting relationships with their guests for future stays” says Rikin Wu, CEO & Founder of global hotel bedbank DidaTravel. In order capture those guests in the first place though he says “hoteliers should consider leveraging the latest booking technology, such as dynamic pricing and personalized promotions. Such tools pay for themselves many times over during peak periods.”
Alex Barros, Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer of BEONx – a revenue management platform for hotels – agrees. “Strategizing your pricing is key, with prices set too low hotels risk leaving money on the table. And prices set too high can turn away potential guests. It is important to strike the right balance and adjust pricing in real-time based on demand. Even if your hotel is nearly sold out, it’s never too late to make adjustments that can result in increased revenue.”
Not only travel suppliers such as hotels or airlines, nor intermediaries like travel agents or tour operators, will be dependent upon tech to get them through the weeklong celebrations. Spencer Hanlon, Head of Travel at B2B payment specialist Nium comments “whilst any spike in bookings is welcome news to the travel industry, they should consider the impact that this will have on working capital requirements as many hotels and airlines don’t see payment until long after the service has been provided, despite having to pay out for extra staff and so on. The strains of such peak periods can be significantly managed with modern payment solutions and those with such processes in place should handle this period without any complications”.
Katie Crowe from travel insurance provider battlefacej points out that the travel insurance industry can also benefit from the boost in bookings, saying “even short breaks, whether domestic or international, require insurance to protect the traveller and this is perfect opportunity to remind people of that – with travel sellers able to take advantage of that by cross-selling insurance to those booking to visit London that weekend. The key to this is by offering tailored insurance products relevant for the trip using the latest technology to unbundle the offers, not one-size-fits all policies that are off-putting because of their high-cost or confusing details.”
Finally, Carlos Cendra from travel intelligence platform Mabrian points out that “according to our data analysis, the Charles III coronation will benefit not only the United Kingdom’s inbound tourism, but will also boost the outbound since the Brits will enjoy a long weekend. For example, the demand by flight searches from the UK to Spain between May 1st and 8th has increased by 20% compared to last year and is higher than the volume registered during the same days in 2019. We also see an increase of air connectivity during that week to some destinations in Spain, standing out most being the increase for Seville, Valencia and Barcelona. At times of increased tourism like this, the role of data intelligence becomes increasingly essential to all players in the travel ecosystem by allowing them to not only anticipate but even shape demand through the creation of targeted, relevant marketing campaigns.”
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