We’ve all been there. You’re browsing through your Facebook feed and there it is, a whole album of your friends’ latest exotic vacations … Stunning images of the sun rising over Haleakala National Park; a baby elephant spotted on a safari drive through Pilanesberg in South Africa; the lucky glimpse of the Northern Lights shimmering over Iceland. The FOMO is almost unbearable as you flip through wondering, “WTF, why am I not there?!”
Thanks to Getty Images and their report on 2015 visual trends, that feeling now has a name—Wonderlust. Wonderlust is the fascination we have with the beauty of nature and the desire to seek out unique travel experiences. The constant barrage of imagery we are exposed to from friends’ social media feeds and come-hither travel blogs stimulate our lust for unique experiences. In this technological age, those images are just a swipe and a click away, inspiring us to pack our bags and seek real experiences.
Accommodation providers can harness this visual Wonderlust trend by including images on their website that inspire guests to have authentic experiences of their own. Choose images that show people hiking on a nearby trail, enjoying a good book in your lush rose garden, or horseback riding on the beach just a few miles away from your lobby. Anything that highlights the types of interactions guests can have with nature while staying at your property—anything that might make their friends a little bit jealous.
BookingSuite partners are already prompting guests to book trips that fulfill their Wonderlust. Saruni Mara Safari Lodge’s website is full of high-quality photos of guests riding in safari trucks mere feet from wild buffalo, relaxing on the porch overlooking a wide expanse of grassland, and having cream tea while a curious antelope looks over their shoulders.
Another BookingSuite customer that evokes Wonderlust is Tierra Atacama in Chile. Their site shows guests photographing birds at the Atacama Salt Flat, taking a dip at Puritama Hot Springs, and meandering through ancient algarrobo trees in their vast garden.
By showing this wondrous imagery on their websites, potential guests can picture themselves having similar experiences on their next trip and will probably start bragging about it online even during the planning phase.
Guests crave the opportunity to see, touch, smell, and interact with nature in person, not just through their BFF’s Facebook feed. Get their gears turning on their next visit to your website with some Wonderlust imagery and bookings will follow.
