Johor Bahru appears as top choice for Malaysians

As domestic and regional travel picks up steam in many parts of the world in tandem with the relaxing of travel restrictions, OYO has moved to capture the early travel trends, in the first edition of the Unlocking Travel Report.

The report captures insights on global consumer travel and booking trends during the ongoing pandemic, revealing travellers’ top preferences and the destinations around the world seeing the most active resurgence of travel.

From data on travel preferences across different geographies, the Unlocking Travel Report notes that Americans prefer long-term stays whereas Europeans are increasingly opting for nature-friendly as well as flexible pet-friendly vacation homes, and also hotels conveniently located close to grocery stores or markets.

Guests in India prefer to travel within a radius of 200km, to facilitate road travel to either neighbouring towns or states, consequently increasing the popularity of road trips. The study also shows that economy and mid-scale hotels are the preferred choice for travellers across the globe. These preferences and trends are in turn shaping the future of the OYO business roadmap, by influencing planning for new offerings and packages for potential guests.

OYO’s global booking trends recorded from June 8 to July 8 showed Malaysia among the top three countries with the most bookings in the OYO network. Breaking the numbers down, the most bookings were made for properties in Johor Bahru, followed by Kuala Lumpur and Kota Bharu.

To enhance consumer experiences and make it a seamless process right from the discovery and booking stage, OYO also recently launched its self-help tools and ChatBot across key markets including India, the US, UK, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Tan Ming Luk, Country Head, Malaysia & Singapore, OYO Hotels & Homes said,” The phrase ‘Safe Travels’ has been in the lexicon of human culture for so long, yet for most people, never before has it been more poignant than in the world we live in today. Through our customer survey and observation of booking trends, we seek to listen to our guests and form a deeper understanding of their top priorities, and in line with this, work towards building capabilities to stay ahead of the curve.”

“Through the Unlocking Travel Report and other efforts, we have ascertained that Malaysians are making travel plans, even if it remains a low-key priority for the next few months. We are already seeing signs of market recovery, as the desire to travel remains unquenched locally and in other markets we are in. Nevertheless, new travel trends are also emerging across the world, thereby making it more important than ever for the hospitality industry to understand their customers’ needs and preferences, and to adapt offerings in relevant ways. The ability to be agile and adaptable in the budget hospitality space is paramount, to allow businesses in this segment to fulfil the needs of guests more quickly and more accurately.”

The Unlocking Travel Report also found that travellers ranked the availability of hand sanitisers at the reception as their top safety feature while booking a hotel, followed by temperature checks, a facility for digital payments, social distancing circles at the check-in counter, use of trusted disinfectants for room cleaning and free cancellation policies.