Case study
Upgrading the traveler experience with NFTs
Banyan Tree Group piloted a digital scavenger hunt at its Laguna Phuket resort to improve its customer experience and boost ancillary revenue.
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Call for change
The travel industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. Patterns of demand for services have changed, while a decline in consumer and business travel has left a revenue gap to be filled. At the same time, customer expectations are evolving. With a surge in the adoption of digital services across industries, digital now dominates customers’ interactions with all brands.
Laguna Phuket is a beachfront resort in Phuket, Thailand, with multiple hotels on its grounds. The resort’s team looked forward to welcoming customers back after the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted and decided to create a scavenger hunt as a fun way to introduce guests to the range of facilities available.
Accenture recommended creating a digital scavenger hunt to provide a Pokémon-like experience. Guests would use their mobile devices to search for digital objects (NFTs – non-fungible tokens) and win exclusive prizes while learning about the services the resort had to offer.
When tech meets human ingenuity
Accenture has partnered with SmartMedia Labs to leverage its BLOCKv stack to create a travel industry solution. The Net New Revenue Platform follows the travel customer journey from end to end. It can manage multi-channel distribution, back office services, self-service reporting and performance management, and deliver engaging, interactive customer experiences. It enables personalized up-selling and cross-selling, opening new ancillary revenue streams.
Leveraging the platform, our team built a proof-of-concept digital “Laguna Phuket Scavenger Hunt” that the resort could trial with guests. NFTs based on the resort’s existing branded assets could be dropped on a map, captured in augmented reality, added to a treasure chest and redeemed for real world value.
We also included media content that guests could interact with, like a welcome message from the general manager. A map helped guests navigate to facilities such as the spa, golf course, volleyball courts, bars and restaurants.
A valuable difference
The Laguna Phuket Scavenger Hunt pilot proved to be fun for everyone. Guests enjoyed capturing NFTs and discovering parts of the resort they might not otherwise have visited, and staff were thrilled to see guests having a good time. Prizes were popular— including vouchers for one night stays at Laguna Phuket properties, massages at the spa, rounds of golf, and credit toward food and beverage spend.
Of the guests who registered, 80% went on to participate in the immersive experience. The resort reported increased foot traffic to the targeted facilities and greater awareness among guests of the services offered.
Overall, the game was engaging, and easy and economical to deploy. The whole experience added value for guests as well as increasing brand awareness and driving sales for the resort.
The pilot also demonstrates the huge potential for the travel industry to use the Net New Revenue Platform to boost ancillary revenue and connect with guests in innovative new ways through gamification.