Guest Column: Why mystery auctions are flourishing
By Diane McDavitt
In early November, travel experts at the World Travel Market conference in London noted “mystery trips” are on the rise again in North America, particularly for popular milestone holidays such as honeymoons and birthdays.
Luxury travel website, LuxuryLink.com started the trend more than five years ago with its first mystery auction that was a three-night Hawaiian getaway in a five-star resort. Mystery trips were introduced as a way to encourage a stronger connection to customers and increase brand loyalty.
Luxury Link hosts two mystery auction trips per week and only reveals the total retail value and images of the mysterious destination to potential bidders. With the starting minimum bid set at US$1, the auction’s keep loyal customers engaged with the site and provide another avenue of consumer interaction, encouraging additional browsing throughout the website.
For Luxury Link, mystery auctions weren’t created as another means to generate revenue, but rather as a great way to engage consumers and create stronger relationships for repeat business.
We have seen an increase in mystery-oriented features and contests and believe it could be the next generation of flash sales. With flash sale sites exploding throughout the travel marketplace over the past couple of years, mystery auctions are a great segue for consumers familiar with the flash sale format, as they combine the element of surprise with a smaller price tag.
For the supplier, the “mystery” affords them an even greater level of opacity which allows more flexibility in setting rates, particularly in the luxury segment.
To promote the mystery auction, we integrate social media into the mix by dropping hints about the mystery trip’s destination location on our Facebook page and our Community Forum, to not only increase social interaction, but overall consumer engagement and brand awareness.
With the trend of mystery vacations in full swing, ISLANDS Magazine and Pacificislands.com teamed up to offer 16 complete mystery vacation packages for two travelers for just $1,000. According to PacificIslands.com President Jean-Patrick Mouflard, “The Mystery Sale is a kind of cross between a race and a guessing game.”
Like Pacificislands.com customers, Luxury Link consumers really liked the game-like feeling of bidding on a mystery auction, which explains why it still remains as a part of our various offerings to pair savvy travelers with fine, luxury properties.
Mystery auctions have flourished over the past five years and can be utilized in a variety of different travel mediums from airlines to tourism boards, to encourage stronger company-consumer relations, increase site traffic and grow engagement.
Diane McDavitt is the President and Co-Founder of Luxury Link Travel Group, an online luxury travel company with three websites, Luxury Link, Family Getaway and Vacationist.
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