THE COLOR OF BRANDS IMPACTS TRAVEL AND HOSPITALITY BOOKINGS

A business strategy which is often overlooked is utilizing the power of color psychology to increase sales.

Whether or not we realize it, colors influence our perception everywhere we go. Studies have proven time and time again that certain colors evoke certain emotions and feelings in people. For example, yellow has been found to stimulate the appetite while blue has been found to repress it.

Good marketing always employs psychological theories in their business strategies in order to increase sales. Color psychology is thus used as well along with all other methods. The fact that the colors used in marketing can turn into capital, has been suggested in the following case studies:

• Bing, the underdog search engine, switched the links on their website to a color similar to the one Google uses. The result? An increase in revenue of $80 million.
• Content Verve changed their CTA color from blue to green and received a 35.81% boost in conversion.
• Dmix switched their CTA color from green to red and received a 34% conversion lift.

So how does this work? Here’s an astounding implication of recent research: 90% of initial judgements made about a product are a result of color. Because the human mind is always searching for instant gratification, the instant processing of color makes a quicker impression than text that one has to read.

So how can you use this marketing method to benefit your travel or hospitality business?

1) Think about your brand

The colors you choose in your marketing strategy should always reflect your brand. Think about the mission statement of your company. Do you want to provide a quality travel experience for tourists to the city? Or is your company focused on outdoors based rural travel?

Does your hotel aim to provide a luxury experience for each guest, or is it more focused on a family-friendly experience and quality for low prices?

Each of the scenarios require different color. While black represents exclusivity and glamor, good for luxury hotels, yellow gives off a warm and friendly vibe good for family fun. Green indicates nature and health, making it a great color for an outdoors travel agency, but red, which symbolizes high activity, may be better for city travel.

2) Experiment with hues

You may know that you want to use an orange color scheme to indicate an energizing environment, but there are many, many different orange hues. Use your gut, but test several different shades of the same color and check conversion rates. You can even try split testing until you find the perfect shade which shows the most results.

3) Think about your target culture

Colors can mean very different things in different cultures. For example, in many countries in Asia, white symbolizes death. However, in most countries in Europe, white indicates peace and serenity. Think about the culture of the customers you are trying to attract and do specific research into the color psychology of that area.