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What do travelers find valuable when booking destinations, accommodations, and activities? According to a report from Google, high-value travelers consider customer service (60%), an easy-to-use website (55%), online reviews (50%), and loyalty programs (46%) as important factors when choosing a travel brand.
Brands that do not optimize these factors risk missing opportunities to fully engage their customers. Even brands that excel in these areas should keep in mind that travelers’ perceptions of value can vary widely depending on regional preferences, economic conditions, and cultural influences.
“Understanding these nuances is essential for travel brands aiming to meet diverse customer expectations across different markets,” said Sarah Moore, SVP at Rocket Travel by Agoda, the strategic partnerships arm of Agoda, a Booking Holdings company.
Understanding Regional Preferences
Travelers in various regions find different things valuable when booking travel. For example, the ability to gain redemption opportunities through loyalty points and rewards is a significant factor for travelers in the Americas, where loyalty programs have firmly established themselves as a key component of the travel booking decision.
“The popularity of loyalty programs in the Americas is driven by credit card usage and the margins available in travel,” Moore said. “Loyalty keeps travelers engaged by offering various types of value, including free checked bags.” According to Barclays, the majority of U.S. travelers in loyalty programs (76%) say they can’t imagine taking the caliber of trips they do without the benefits these programs provide.
By contrast, loyalty points have not gained the same traction in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, where the focus is more on discounts.
“In some APAC markets, like Japan, loyalty programs are significant, but in others, they haven’t taken off due to market fragmentation and diverse payment methods,” Moore said. “Many people hold multiple cards for different purposes, limiting the ability to build loyalty. In APAC, instant discount is more common than points, as discounts are a preferred value proposition, reflecting a consumer preference for direct, tangible benefits.” According to a Euromonitor International survey, 60 percent of respondents in Asia Pacific participate in loyalty programs primarily to receive discounts or offers rather than to accumulate points for future rewards.
Payment methods also vary by region. In China, mobile wallets like Alipay and WeChat Pay are the most popular payment methods, accounting for more than 90 percent of China’s mobile payments. These platforms are integrated into daily life, allowing users to pay for everything from groceries to utility bills via their smartphones. Meanwhile, India has been at the forefront of adopting tokenized payment systems, particularly with the introduction of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). This platform allows instant bank transfers using mobile devices, reducing the need for traditional credit or debit cards.
“When adapting their booking solutions to take regional preferences into account, travel brands should also consider these localized payment methods and user-interface features,” Moore said. “We’ve invested heavily in payments, allowing us to offer more than 100 localized payment options that deliver value in a way that resonates with consumers across different markets. This modularity lets us tailor our solutions, turning features on or off as needed.”
Customer Support Throughout Booking
For travel brands to capture what travelers around the world find valuable, they need a platform that supports loyalty programs at a global scale and delivers the right experience at the right time in the right way. This starts by providing robust customer support throughout the booking process.
“Specialized customer support is crucial, especially when dealing with complex loyalty programs, payment methods, and currencies,” Moore said. “In APAC, it makes sense to use Whatsapp for customer support, for example. We have support centers with specialized language and currency knowledge for APAC and Latin American markets. We also offer language support for North American Spanish-speaking or Portuguese-speaking customers.”
According to an Intercom study, 70 percent of customers are more likely to be loyal to businesses that offer customer support in their native language, and 68 percent of customers say they would switch to another brand if it offered customer support in their language. In all, Rocket Travel by Agoda is able to communicate with customers in more than 200 languages, and the company’s currency knowledge allows agents to solve customer problems while taking into account regional differences in applicable laws and tax regulations.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that providing customer support for loyalty bookings requires a different flow and understanding than standard bookings, especially across different languages and currencies. For example, suppose a customer books a hotel using miles and wants to cancel. In that case, Rocket Travel by Agoda’s system ensures they understand how the cancellation affects their points and how quickly they can expect a refund depending on their region.
Comprehensive Planning Tools and Trip Support
Cross-border trips can quickly become complex due to various factors that require careful coordination and management, especially with international travelers taking longer trips. According to a study by Rocket Travel by Agoda’s sister brand, Booking.com, Japanese travelers spent an average of seven days traveling compared to 18 for Europeans and 14 for Americans in 2022. The UK, Germany, and India are large outbound travel markets, with 67 percent, 75 percent, and 80 percent of travelers in those countries taking international trips, compared to 45 percent of Americans.
By giving travelers the tools they need to plan and manage their entire trip in one centralized location, travel brands can improve customer satisfaction, particularly during major travel disruptions.
“It’s about providing a seamless experience where travelers can access all their itinerary details and receive real-time updates,” Moore said. “This can go a long way toward alleviating stress and confusion during unexpected events such as July’s CrowdStrike-Microsoft IT outage. This approach enhances customer loyalty and positions our platform as a reliable partner in their travel journey.”
Moore cited two recent Rocket Travel by Agoda partnerships that exemplify this approach: The AAdvantage Hotels platform offers one place to earn and redeem rewards for hotel stays, and a collaboration with a large financial institution’s travel rewards program allows customers to book flights, hotels, cars, and attractions on one platform.
This kind of approach increased bookings by 37 percent year-over-year for one major airline, and booking technology that allows customers to plan a trip under a single itinerary empowers them to seamlessly make changes on the fly if travel plans change.
A Flexible Technology Solution
As part of the Booking Holdings group of brands, Rocket Travel by Agoda offers the reach and access of the world’s leading provider of online travel. Yet engaging customers in different regions with this universal value proposition requires a flexible approach.
“Our white-label platform is strong in the Americas, providing travelers with an expansive inventory of options,” Moore said. “For APAC, we offer a version of the platform that resembles an affiliate program, allowing for quick market entry. It is designed with this unique customer base in mind and offers cashback, integrations, and different payment types without extensive customization. This approach suits Asia, where programs are fragmented and our partners’ technical resources may be limited.”
As Agoda’s strategic partnerships arm, Rocket Travel by Agoda’s affiliate program allows brands in APAC to leverage Agoda’s reach rather than trying to build their inventory independently.
“Our modular framework allows us to tailor our solutions to different markets, turning features on or off as needed,” Moore said. “For partners looking to offer a unique value proposition within their platform, this flexible technology ensures they don’t need to build a new platform from scratch.”
In today’s interconnected world, the ability to offer flexible, scalable, and regionally tailored solutions is no longer a luxury but a necessity. By leveraging a partner-centric approach, brands can unlock unparalleled value, delivering personalized experiences that resonate with travelers across diverse markets. This strategy not only meets the varied needs of global customers but also positions brands to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape. The power of understanding regional preferences, combined with the agility of a singular platform, is the key to creating lasting connections and driving sustained growth on a global scale.
For more information about Rocket Travel by Agoda, click here.
This content was created collaboratively by Rocket Travel by Agoda and Skift’s branded content studio, SkiftX.
