Club Med’s CEO of East and South Asia and Pacific, Xavier Desaulles (left) and Vice President of Marketing for East and South Asia and Pacific, Vincent Ong.
Club Med’s CEO of East and South Asia and Pacific, Xavier Desaulles and Vice President of Marketing for East and South Asia and Pacific, Vincent Ong talk to traveldailynews.com about the new trends according to key findings of latest Club Med’s survey and how should hotels prepare in order to fulfill the needs of millennials.
TDN: Which are the biggest myths about travel habits of millennials?
Xavier Desaulles: People have always held this notion that millennials value their independence, and hence prefer to travel solo. While it is true that autonomy is important to this demographic, it’s more about knowing they can make their own decisions about where to go and what to do, but ultimately they still prefer to travel in groups.
Adding on to that, it was interesting to find that a significant 44% of millennials surveyed travelled with their families more often than they did with their partners and friends.
Another surprising result from the survey was that even amidst the rise of culinary tourism in other parts of the world, millennials surveyed prioritized beautiful natural environments and sightseeing above gastronomic experiences when planning their trips abroad.
TDN: Which are the key findings of your survey and which are the new trends?
X.D.: Contrary to popular belief that millennials prefer travelling alone, it was found that only 10% of respondents indicated that they most often travelled solo.
A significant 44% of millennials indicated that they travel often because of their families.
At least 60% of the respondents regard themselves as the final decision makers when making travel plans, relying essentially on their own personal experiences and individual research from online resources to select their travel destinations, rather than seeking advice from their friends, social media feeds, the media or traditional experts, like travel agents or travel fairs, for input and inspiration.
Millennials feel that staying connected is their top concern when travelling abroad. For 76% of all respondents, the availability of WiFi is ‘important’ or ‘extremely important’ in their choice of holiday accommodations.
The survey also highlighted key insights on what millennial travelers prioritise on their trips. Ranked in order of importance are:
i. Beautiful natural surroundings
ii. Sightseeing and excursion options
iii. Unlimited food & beverages
iv. International & friendly atmosphere with amazing hosts
TDN: Do you recognize any differences in the travelling habits of millennials according to their geographic origin or their gender?
X.D.: It was found that when it comes to travelling, men and women behaved very similarly, with a small exception that women tend to show a slight preference (12%) for planning their holidays more than 3 months ahead of time, as compared to men.
TDN: Millennials are technology savvies. What kind of technologies can you expect to find in hotels?
X.D.: Hotels are fast expanding on their technological offerings to capture the interests of this unique demographic. Club Med, for instance, offers 360-degree virtual reality tours for pre-holiday planning, uninterrupted wireless connectivity, and a specially created Resort app providing information, reservation options and in-built chat functions to avoid international charges for texts. We’ve also introduced digital bracelets to expedite cashless payments and facilitate easier unlocking of room doors.
TDN: How should hotels prepare in order to fulfill the needs of millennials?
Vincent Ong: The needs of holiday goers change constantly. In the past, holiday goers preferred to go “off the grid” while on vacation, but now travelers want to be in constant connection with the rest of the world. Similarly, with previous generations, there was a much stronger reliance on travel agents and travel fairs, but now everything can be done on the go and with a click of a button. So what hotels should do is be adaptable to change. Keep your ears to the ground, have a holistic understanding of what your guests need and want, and be flexible enough to acclimatise to such a dynamic industry.
TDN: Which are the new marketing and distribution strategies and channels hotels should use to attract millennials?
V.O.: Reinforce differentiated and ownable DNA of the hotel or resort. In the case of Club Med, this refers to building on its USPs like fostering human connections enabled by our Gentle Organisers (GOs), offering idyllic once-in-a-lifetime destinations, as well as active and experience-based vacations that stretch one’s potential.
Develop partnerships with key, notable brands that share a similar passion of helping millennials better experience the world, thereby creating stronger emotional connections with them.
Embrace user-generated content, relying on the effectiveness of word-of-mouth marketing
Collaborate with influencers, tapping into high social media usage rates, that are well known amongst technologically-savvy millennials, to help build brand awareness
Experiment with new channels and platforms, because Facebook, Instagram and Twitter aren’t the only means to outreach your target audience – being creative can go a long way!
Xavier Desaulles joined Club Med as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of East and South Asia & Pacific (ESAP), based in Singapore, effective May 3rd 2016. Based in Singapore, Xavier has an in-depth understanding of Asia emerging markets, as he has been leading the expansion of the Remy Cointreau Group and its portfolio of Wine & Spirits there since 2011. As Regional Managing Director for Southeast Asia, India and the Middle-East, Xavier unlocked the potential of these countries by designing premium consumer platforms and by implementing new route-to-market initiatives. From 2008 to 2011, Xavier held the position of Senior Vice-President Commercial Director of Remy Cointreau USA and was based in New York. He was then responsible for developing and implementing commercial strategies, ultimately engineering a double-digit turn-around and returning that market to growth. Prior to that, Xavier held various positions in Paris, including that of Marketing Manager at L’Oreal, Management Consultant at A.T. Kearney, International Brand Manager for Remy Martin Cognac and Director of Business Development for the Remy Cointreau Group, up until 2007. A Swiss and French national, Xavier graduated from HEC in 1996, then from the INSEAD MBA program in 2000. He also holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Paris IV-Sorbonne. Married with 3 children, Xavier and his family have been Club Med GMs for many years and have enjoyed holidays at Club Med Villages around the world!
Vincent Ong joined Club Med East and South Asia & Pacific (ESAP) as the Vice-President of Marketing in December 2016. Based in Singapore, Vincent will define and execute the regional vision and overall marketing strategy aimed at brand building and demand generation into Club Med resorts worldwide. Together with his team, Vincent is in charge of:
- Regional Brand Marketing; Digital Communications and Public Relations; Customer Relations Management; and Loyalty and Marketing partnerships in the following countries: Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, and emerging countries
- Working closely with the Global Marketing, Digital and Technology (gMDT) teams as well as country marketing teams to drive consumer awareness, brand preference and retention of clients, as well as drive new innovative initiatives on the digital platform.
Prior to joining Club Med, Vincent was the Asia Pacific Senior Director of Brand Management under Starwood Hotels & Resorts since 2007. Covering over 250 hotels across 20 countries, Vincent led and managed Brand Management and Marketing for five differentiated lifestyle hotel brands, as well as operational Brand Standards which include branding, operational and service standards development and implementation. He was also part of the extended Global Brand team to conceptualise, develop and roll-out guest experience initiatives as well as signature brand experiences. From 2003 to 2007, Vincent held the title of Director of Six Sigma for the Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur, where he managed and implemented business performance improvement projects and operational excellence across different properties. Vincent has also previously held consulting positions with Accenture and KPMG, where he and his teams consulted in strategy, business planning, process re-engineering and mergers and acquisitions. A native of Malaysia, Vincent holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree with a major in Accounting from the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. He is a Certified Practicing Accountant with CPA, Australia and holds a certification in Logistics and Supply Chain Management. In his free time, Vincent enjoys seeking out the best cafe in any city offering the best tasting coffee, appreciating moments where creators convey good taste and great design, and immersing himself in a good book.
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