More and more consumers are buying hotel vouchers as gifts. There has been a radical shift in consumerism since the pandemic.
More individuals are choosing luxurious, immersive, and impactful experiences to create memories and host meaningful celebrations.
In this blog post, we take a deep dive and answer “Why buy hotel vouchers as gifts?”
Digital gift card sales at retailers can often generate a lot of money. It's no surprise that on average, they generated $2.6 million in income last December, a 121.1% increase from the previous year's figures of $1.2 million.
A big part of gift-giving is getting it right!
So personalising gifts to make the receiver feel special and considered is vital in achieving brownie points for a good gift.
Gift vouchers for hotels can be an effective way to do that, especially if the hotel offers flexibility in their gift voucher offers.
Some hotel gift voucher systems have what is called ‘add-on’s’. This is a feature where you can add items to a gift voucher to personalise it specifically for your loved one.
For example, if you have bought an overnight stay gift voucher, there would be a drop-down list of add ons. These can include:
Some hotels can provide all these and more to choose from, to add a little something extra to your gift.
Now the worry of the pandemic is over, experiences have become even more important to consumers than buying goods.
So when hotels can package up a great overnight stay experience with a dinner or spa day, it will be an opportunity not to miss. - Especially if the hotel is only offering their gift voucher deal for a short amount of time.
Hotels may even have a deal with a spectacular event close by at a local theatre. Gift voucher experiences that involve an overnight stay, transport, and a ticket to the show with dinner at the hotel in one package deal can be made. The flexibility and uniqueness of experiences can stretch as far as a hotel is willing to go.
The fear of not wanting to miss out (FOMO) can be felt- especially if a deal is missed. It’s a good idea to catch this money-saving and also one-time-opportunities while they are available.
Shared time together with loved ones is important. So many consumers will look for experiences that can be shared and experienced together when gift-giving. A hotel gift voucher is a perfect way to achieve that.
Hotels that sell their gift vouchers online are paving the way for consumer options for great gifts.
The attraction of digital shopping is due to its convenience of not needing to leave the home.
Digital gift vouchers can be sent electronically through email to the recipient. This makes is easy for last-minute gift-giving and for loved ones who live far away.
Black Friday to Christmas is the most lucrative time of year for gift cards. However, hoteliers can use many events and opportunities throughout the year to advertise and encourage the sale of their gift cards.
This is great news for consumers as their gift-giving options are endless!
Business in the hospitality industry has recently been tough. hoteliers need to find innovative ways to increase sales and cash flow. In particular, they must explore new revenue streams beyond just room bookings.
That’s why for many hotels selling gift vouchers is an integral part of their revenue stream.
As a hotelier, you have to sustain cash flow throughout the year.
Luckily there are many events that hoteliers can take advantage of. Valentines Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Summer, Halloween, Black Friday, Thanks Giving, Birthdays, and of course Christmas and New Year.
Gift cards are a perfect way to incorporate experiences around each of the annual events to generate more revenue.
There is also the added benefit of generating revenue at the point of sale with gift cards.
For example, individuals could purchase pre-paid gift cards at this time in order to get the most for their money. These pre-paid card sales come in handy if expenses happen at another point in time.
It’s been predicted that two million people have unused gift cards they were given last year. With Enjovia gift cards, you get paid instantly on each sale and automatically save on service costs if the vouchers are unredeemed.
When used effectively, businesses see the customer benefits that go well beyond just getting customers in the door. Recent data suggests that when people receive a gift card they normally spend 55% more on their purchase.
One of the best things about gift cards is that they come with next to no customer acquisition costs. Not only is this more cost-effective, but customers who return will spend more than anticipated.
Promotional deals can get you a ton more customers. But the best part is that gift cards are cheaper than regular customers, so there's no need to pay through the nose to grow your business.
Gift cards have proven to contribute an additional revenue stream for retailers, but their usage can also grant customer loyalty.
As we discussed above gift cards are an easy way to meet the changing consumer patterns since the pandemic.
With a larger shift to experiences, creating memories, personalisation, and digital shopping, gift cards are the answer to tick all these boxes.
We hope that we answered your questions about hotel vouchers as gifts.
Gift vouchers are developing and changing consumer shopping patterns. This makes them a great gift at any time or event throughout the year.
If you’re a hotel looking to set up or switch to a new gift voucher system. Or if you want to offer more flexibility in your gift voucher offers, then take a look at our gift voucher management system.
At Enjovia, we pride ourselves on being able to offer a system that is feature-rich to optimise revenue, but simple and easy to use.
Looking for a better way to sell and manage your hotel’s gift vouchers? Check out our specialist system.