Marketing

How To Market To Solo Guests

by Roy MacNaughton

"‘Just one?’" “The maitre’d in Miami asked almost condescendingly, as he then scanned the floor of tables for two, four and more, all mostly without customers, and spotted one in a dark corner. Surely, the deuces and four-tops would arrive later and be ‘real business.’ It was a bother to him when I said that the table area was too dark for my reading with dinner, for I would not be distracted by conversation. I was a solo traveler and diner on yet another of my 20 or more trips each year. I was a customer who would have a drink, perhaps an aperitif before dinner, two or three glasses of (high margin) wine with dinner, and would tip for service well above the house average. In this Miami restaurant, I was ‘put off’ because the maitre’d evidently did not value me as a customer. I skipped the pre-dinner drink, ordered one glass of wine, had an acceptable dinner for $30 when the restaurant would otherwise have had a $60, and high margin, customer”.

“There are millions of ‘me,’ individuals and professionals who travel alone, yes, in business, but more often for pleasure. If we like where we are we don’t have to listen to someone else about doing something different or going elsewhere. Solo travelers, unlike all other travelers, are in control of what they do and buy”.

These are the words of a man who should know. Leonard J. Hansen, (www.lenhansen.com) is the nation’s pioneer journalist writing to, for and about mature adults, having founded, edited and published the first senior newspapers in the nation in 1973. In tourism, he was Vice President, Marketing, for Sea World, Inc., radio and television promotion manger for the Seattle World’s Fair, broadcast and public relations director for the Seattle Center, adviser on tourism to the governors of Washington state and Alaska, and counsel to major attractions and hotel chains.

This fellow really gets around. He is what we call a “solo traveler.” Unlike most solo travelers, he is an expert on the marketing of hospitality and tourism, so his eye is much sharper when it comes to what we in this industry should be doing to improve our income generation. I caught up with Len at his home in Bellingham, Washington, where he was preparing for yet another trip to write an article about a different tourist destination and its restaurants and resorts.

“In Edinburgh, Scotland,” he said, “I was greeted by the manager of the restaurant. He welcomed me and, because he knew that I was an American and a solo traveler, asked if I wanted to join others at the community table. I agreed immediately and was led to a table set for eight but with five already seated, introduced to each of the others by the manager, welcomed by them. The next two hours were some of the best ever with visiting, learning from locals and from the travelers from yet other foreign countries”.

“Why don’t restaurateurs and hoteliers throw out all the old rules, and do some new thinking? Forget the "Just one?" question. Learn from the Europeans and consider a "community table." Don’t sit singles in the back, but at least one or two at tables near the front window so that other solo travelers/diners can readily see that they, too, will be welcomed”.

Len Hansen is just one of many tourism and hospitality people who are totally behind creating a rightful place at the table for the solo traveler.

Later, I caught up with another star of the solo traveler world, probably America’s foremost expert on solo travel, Sharon Wingler, international flight attendant of 30+ years with one of the major airlines, and author of a new book, The Joy of Solo Travel: How and Why to Travel Alone, which is ready for presentation to publishers, plus producer of her own Website and e-newsletter with several thousand subscribers.

She literally was on her way out the door on her next flight, this time to Buenos Aires, Argentina. I asked her what, as a solo traveler, she was planning for her short stay there.

“I’ve already traveled solo to Buenos Aires in the late 80’s but I’m enjoying it now on layovers”, she said. “This is one place where Americans can feel rich because the dollar is so strong against the Argentine peso. So far I’ve enjoyed tango performances at two nightclubs, and I’m going to try to see a third on this layover, and sample more of the excellent Argentine wine. I also intend to visit the art museum, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. I’ve posted good information about Buenos Aires on the Travel Tips page of my Web site.” (www.TravelAloneAndLoveIt.com)

I asked Sharon how she got into the web and publishing business, while being a flight attendant. I assumed she had done some market research and decided the market would bear what she intended. Why did you even decide to get into this line of writing and reporting, I asked.

“It started with my first book, Travel Alone & Love It, in ’96. I always thought it would be great to write a book. I’m not creative enough for fiction and didn’t think I knew enough about anything to write a “how-to” until a friend mentioned that there was an adult class on solo travel at a nearby school”.

“It hit me immediately – that’s my book! I had been traveling the world alone since my divorce in ’85. Along with all my travel experience as a flight attendant, that made me the perfect person to write this book. True confession – I am not a businesswoman! I did no market research except to notice that there didn’t seem to be any other solo-travel books. I figured that if there was a local class being offered on solo travel, there must be enough interest in the topic for me to go ahead with writing the book”.

“I published the book myself, paying top dollar to a book-packaging company. When the book was published, I did not even know what a press release was, so you can imagine the book didn’t make a huge splash initially. Still, it got noticed in a few newspapers”. “I was lucky to get a call for an interview from Len Hansen, who has since taught me everything I know about PR and has mentored my non-flying career ever since. Len encouraged me to write a newspaper column about solo travel, which I did for Chicagoland’s Senior News. Later I sold my columns to the Columbus Dispatch and Boston Herald.” Today she is about to entertain proposals from prospective publishers for her latest book.

I was intrigued by the size of the potential here. This is the story of a woman who “sees” an opportunity she believes exists in the marketplace…a need that is not being fulfilled. She senses a gap there somewhere. No one seems to be going after this market. Is it because it’s too small, or too insignificant? I asked Sharon “How big do you think this market segment really is? Or is it really a nice manageable "niche" not a real market segment?”

“The market is big and growing”, she said. “Recent statistics show that nearly one-quarter of U.S. travelers, or 34.8 million U.S. adults, has taken a vacation by themselves in the past three years”.

“There are lots of reasons for this market to grow. Here in the U.S.A., our vacation time is short. Many people get only two weeks of vacation each year. There’s no reason to compromise by taking someone else’s dream trip when it’s so easy to take your own”.

“Solo travel allows you the freedom to do exactly what you want”.

“The irony of solo travel is that you meet people more easily. You interact with the locals, so you learn more about their culture. Invitations and opportunities often are offered to solo travelers”.

I asked Sharon about all these solo “single” people traveling. I said: “The average married person might not even think of those single folks who want to travel, but like married folks, I’m sure they might be most concerned about the "single supplement", security, crime, or being ripped off in foreign lands. Are concerns like these really an issue?”

She brought me up short with this clarification: “First, speaking of married people, solo travel is not just for single people! You’d be surprised how many happily married people travel alone – including me. Not all spouses like the same sort of travel, or have the same time off from their regular job.

My husband owns his own business and can’t get away as much as I can. And he prefers active, outdoor vacations, such as golf. I, on the other hand, love to visit the world’s major cities and can easily spend half a day in an art museum. A woman recently wrote to me saying her husband refuses to leave the U.S.A. but she wants to go to Italy and asked me to recommend some tours”.

“All travelers, solo or not, share the same concerns about security, crime and scams. At my site I post safety tips, as well as links to the State Department so travelers can research the relative safety of any destination when making travel plans”.

I wanted to get Len Hansen’s take on this market and those who comprise it. He told me “I think most of the hospitality industry is still missing the proverbial boat.” “Most solo travelers are very comfortable with themselves and what they do; they are not lonely; they are not looking for a hot date. Traveling alone means being in control of one’s direction and day. If we are treated well we don’t have to get someone else’s concurrence to do or spend more”.

He added, “Look at restaurants, for example. In most restaurants, appetizers are served with one type to a plate – "Here, honey, let’s each get a different appetizer and then we can share" For solo travelers, offer a "sampler" plate of a variety, perhaps one each of four different types. Have your wait staff suggest your "singles special sampler to accompany their choice of wine." Both are high margin items, extra money made while dinner is being prepared”. “

The lodging and tour business is not any further ahead of the restaurants. “Some of us think they are using outdated statistics and old water cooler assumptions about just who these solo travelers are”, he added.

“If you’re in the tour and/or resort business, re-examine your pricing for solo occupants.” he added. “The "Noah’s Ark" principle of "two by two" is a gazillion years old, but most hospitality properties hit solo travelers with draconian ‘single supplements’ in order to get payment for two, as if such is a right. Do a re-calculation of your actual costs and I’ll bet the single supplement can be slashed as much as half while, at the same time, the single traveler will predictably spend more and tip higher per capita than when people travel in twosomes. Start by asking yourself should you, if a solo traveler, have to share a bedroom with a stranger in order to not get hit with an outsized, often draconian, single supplement?”

Wingler cites the single supplement as an out-dated, anachronism holding back solo travel as well. “The biggest hurdle for solo travelers is the ‘single supplement’ charged by tours. The reason is that most hotel rooms are built, and priced, for two. So a single person occupying such a room must make up the difference in cost. At my Web site, I post tours offered by solo-traveler-friendly travel companies and clubs. I also advise independent travelers on finding affordable accommodations”.

By now it was obvious to me that we have a very attractive, expanding market segment that offers, at the very minimum, two opportunities: (1) if you know how to attract it, this market segment or “niche” could be very lucrative; and (2) there are some issues related to how the hospitality industry ‘approaches’ this niche that need immediate attention and adjustment. The infamous ‘single supplement’ is likely at the very top of this list.

You may not be able to change how tour companies price their products; but you can change the way your hotel, resort or restaurant not only price but communicate your offerings.

Hansen reminded me of one hotel firm that really does it right; “Years ago I became a huge fan of Kimpton Hotels headquartered in the City by the Bay, for, in many of them, a late-afternoon event was a manager’s wine reception. As a solo traveler, I always arrived, not primarily for the free beverage, but for the meet and greet time with other travelers, most of them similarly solo. I learned much about their home national-and-international regions, and their recommendations for a local restaurant where solo travelers were welcomed”.

Linda Chin, the General Manager of the Kimpton Pacific Palisades Hotel in downtown Vancouver B.C., echoed Hansen’s comments. “All Kimpton hotels offer this type of complimentary opportunity for our guests to meet. It’s like an old fashioned welcome reception,” she said. “Our Summit Lodge & Spa in Whistler Ski Resort has an afternoon herbal tea/hot chocolate reception for après ski, and our Hotel Rouge in Washington, D.C. has a morning Bloody Mary reception; just a little different. But every Kimpton Hotel has one each day.”

If you’re interested in this market niche, and you should be, here are some other thoughts or ideas to consider:

• Solo travelers are not your total customer base, but if you cater to them, you can draw singles as your best and most profitable new customers.

• As Len Hansen says: “I’m a solo traveler by choice, therefore I am in charge of everything I do while traveling and dining. Don’t penalize me and don’t ignore me but, instead, welcome me, and I can be your best new traveler, diner and customer.

• Consider that the solo traveler is taking only one seat, not two, on the tour bus, so you can sell the other seat for even greater profits.

• Consider hotel negotiations that recognize the typically greater spending ability of the solo traveler and get a lower room rate for solo travelers. The hotel property will find operational savings in everything including the laundry (towels and washcloths for one, not two).

• Consider a "solo traveler/diner advantage" card to gain return business and, importantly, to develop and use a highly targeted e- and snail-mailing list.

• Promote this "solo travel advantage" on your website, presenting your welcome and citing your package or menu of offerings/advantages.

• Solo travelers/diners can be your best and most lucrative new customers. Start attracting them by re-orienting staff re their value as customers for any and all of the reasons cited.

• In considering your advantage with solo travelers/diners, also focus on the mature adult demographic. Most mature adults (avoid the term "senior citizen" at all cost) are single and, therefore, travel and dine alone.

It’s important to realize that this is a real market opportunity that is going to grow like topsy. As more boomers come of age, and assuming that at least one quarter or more of them will be single, it’s paramount to consider them as a market of extreme potential. Many Baby Boomers are newly finding themselves widowed, divorced, or have chosen to adopt a single lifestyle and are faced with the issue of wanting to travel but have no partner to do it with

Recently Ropers, Roper Public Affairs, a division of NOP World, conducted a survey on behalf of Fodor's Travel Publications. The results are based on telephone interviews conducted from February 4-6, 2005, among a nationally representative sample of 1,005 US adults (age 18+). Here are some of the results:

“The Fodor's survey found that Americans realize the clear benefits of traveling solo, although a stigma exists, especially for women. Eighty percent of Americans agree that traveling alone for pleasure would allow them the freedom to do what they want, when they want to do it, and 71 percent feel that traveling alone would be a fun way to meet new people”.

”Still, an astounding 55 percent of Americans agree it is more acceptable for a man to travel alone than for a woman to do so--and equal proportions of men and women share this view. Forty-four percent of Americans agree that traveling alone is perceived as odd. And men and women both feel strongly that eating meals alone would be one of the most difficult things about traveling alone, 39 percent and 42 percent respectively”.

A key thing to take out of this recent research is that the so-called ‘obverse’ side of the coin is in play here. If 39 percent and 42 percent respectively of the men and women interviewed in this study, (representing the American population), would feel awkward about eating out alone in a restaurant, a whopping 61 percent and 58 percent respectively DON’T agree; and would feel just fine about eating meals alone. This, friends, is a huge number to draw from.

Add the burgeoning baby boomers to Len Hansen’s comments regarding the “mature adult demographic” and you have yourself one big, fat, lucrative target. The members of the mature adult segment account for almost 70 percent of all travel spending, they have more time and personal disposable income to spend on travel, hotels, restaurants, cruises, golf, spas and rental cars.

Are you missing out on this profitable opportunity? If you believe so, then go back to the two things you need to address:

(1) delve internally within your own operation and proactively change the things you need to fix or bring it up to date (e.g. shoot the ‘single supplement’) to catch up with the new demographic reality and demand of the market; then

(2) begin to communicate interactively with this pre-qualified, prospective target group by working with people like Sharon Wingler and those who offer opportunities to reach, inform, motivate and sell the ‘solo travelers’ of America.

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©All Rights Reserved, R.W. MacNaughton, April 2005

Bio:

Roy W. MacNaughton is an operator, marketer and journalist with over thirty years of international hospitality and foodservice experience. He is president of his own firm that specializes in “niche markets,” while writing for several industry on and offline publications. He has taught hospitality courses at the university level in the U.S., Canada and the West Indies. As an employee or consultant, Roy has worked with McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Wendy’s, American Express, Four Seasons Hotels, Hyatt, Hilton International, Johnson & Johnson, H.J.Heinz, John Denver’s Windstar Foundation and the Aspen Highlands Ski company, among others. He is a graduate of Ryerson University’s School of Hospitality in Toronto; and he holds an MBA from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario. He may be reached at: roymac@winning.com