WILLER Co., Ltd. Benefits other than “cheapness” that I noticed after using the night bus, which is incre asing due to the rise in hotel room rates

[WILLER Co., Ltd.] Night bus users are increasing due to rising hotel room rates. Benefits other than “cheapness” that I noticed after using them ​
WILLER Co., Ltd. Press release: November 6, 2024 Benefits other than “cheapness” noticed by the increasing number of night bus users as hotel room rates soar ～Conducted questionnaire survey among approximately 1,800 WILLER members～ WILLER EXPRESS Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Koto-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Koji Hirayama, hereinafter referred to as “Willer Express”) is conducting a survey for WILLER members to explain how the recent rise in hotel room rates has affected the night bus market. A questionnaire survey was conducted from October 15, 2024 (Tuesday) to October 21, 2024 (Monday) to find out whether the This survey is a compilation of responses from 1,820 WILLER members who have used the express bus “WILLER EXPRESS” within the past year.
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・Hotel accommodation rates have risen by 30% compared to before the coronavirus ・Night bus users will increase due to rising accommodation fees ・Experience the benefits of using a night bus, not only in price, but also in “Taipa” and “flexible time” ・“Ensuring privacy” and “female peace of mind” are reasons for choosing express bus “WILLER EXPRESS” ■Room rates for hotels, etc. soar 30% compared to before coronavirus Recently, the rise in accommodation fees has become a hot topic in the media. Looking at the “Accommodation Expenses” item in the Consumer Price Index (2020 standard), it has risen from around 120 in 2019 to around 140 to 150 in 2024. Comparing in September, it was 117.7 in 2019, but it will be 153.9 in 2024, a growth rate of 31%. In the same statistics, express bus fares and airfares have increased by about 10%, and theme park admission fees have increased by 22%, so it can be seen that the prices have risen particularly markedly among travel-related expenses. ・Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Statistics Bureau homepage (
https://www.stat.go.jp/data/cpi/sokuhou/tsuki/pdf/zenkoku.pdf ) ■Increase in night bus users due to rising accommodation fees In order to investigate the impact of such a rise in accommodation prices on the night bus market, Willer Express will conduct a survey in October 2024 of WILLER members who have used the express bus “WILLER EXPRESS” within the past year. We conducted a questionnaire survey and compiled the results from 1,820 respondents. ​ The results of the survey showed that 85% of customers felt that hotel room rates had become more expensive over the past year. Of these, 62.9% of customers answered that they chose night buses because of the high cost of hotel accommodations, indicating that the rising cost of accommodation is leading to the use of night buses. Ta.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27749/302/27749-302-17e2c66738b88460b5a9c6d5032e34e1-1900×1890.png Figure 1 (left) Subjective perception of rising accommodation prices Figure 2 (right) Changes in intention to use night buses due to rising accommodation fees The questions in Figure 2 are asked only to those who answered “I feel very much” or “I feel a little bit” that accommodation fees have increased in the previous question in Figure 1.) Additionally, approximately 20% of customers who have used the express bus “WILLER EXPRESS” in the past year answered, “Before lodging fees became higher, I did not use night buses at all/I have not used them for a while.” . This shows that the number of customers using night buses for the first time or for the first time in a long time is gradually increasing due to the rising cost of accommodation. ■Experience the benefits beyond just the price of the night bus As mentioned above, the number of customers using night buses is increasing due to the soaring price of accommodation, but if the price of accommodation drops to the previous price in the future, will these customers stop using night buses? We investigated future usage intentions and reasons. 357 customers who used night buses less than once every few years before accommodation prices went up said, “Even if hotel accommodation rates dropped to pre-coronavirus levels, I would still use night buses after that.” When asked, 37% of the customers answered, “Do you want to take a night bus?” Approximately 40% of customers gave this answer because it was “cheaper than other means of transportation,” but also “you can move while sleeping and have good time performance,” and “you can travel from early in the morning or until late at night.” Approximately 20% of customers cited benefits other than price, such as “It’s easy to move around and have flexibility in local time,” indicating that an increasing number of people are finding new appeals of night buses. . Based on this result, even if accommodation rates drop to the previous prices in the future, a certain number of customers are expected to continue using night buses, leading to the long-term expansion of the night bus market. .
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27749/302/27749-302-e19cc9ef7edc92b24bbfe0d1956b7940-3779×1869.png Figure 3 Reasons why you can use a night bus even if the accommodation fee is cheaper (Extracting only customers who use the night bus before the accommodation fee increases “once every few years”) ■“Ensuring privacy” and “female peace of mind” are the reasons for choosing the express bus “WILLER EXPRESS” In addition, among customers who used night buses less than once every few years before accommodation prices went up, “WILLER EXPRESS” night buses will be used even if hotel accommodation rates drop to pre-coronavirus levels in the future. 54% of customers said they would be willing to use it. When asked why, 41% said “I felt like my privacy was guaranteed,” and 23% said “Because I felt that even women could use it with peace of mind.” The express bus “WILLER EXPRESS” has canopies (hoods) that can hide your sleeping face on the original seats “Relax”, “Prime”, and “DOME”, and the 4-row seat “Relax” and “Prime” is working to increase added value other than low price, such as by setting up women-only seats in the rear of the vehicle. As a result, we believe that these initiatives are gaining support from customers who use night buses instead of hotels. ​ ​ ・Original seat of express bus “WILLER EXPRESS”:
https://travel.willer.co.jp/seat/
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27749/302/27749-302-f2f2381bf616fd153f154d889ecb3f29-3779×1874.png Reasons why you can use the WILLER EXPRESS night bus even if the accommodation fee is cheaper (Extracting only customers who use the night bus before the accommodation fee increases “once every few years”)
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27749/302/27749-302-e258f8949ab779ee6a6d23da3856149d-1308×280.png DOME Prime ReBorn
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/27749/302/27749-302-4d4116d4e88c08ef02edd3e85535b0d1-1306×268.png Luxia Comodo Relax Fig. 5 Original sheet of express bus “WILLER EXPRESS” ■Future developments Due to the rising cost of accommodation, more and more customers who have not previously used night buses are now using them. Wheeler Express aims to provide “hotel-like
hospitality” to such customers, and aims to provide not only physical aspects such as vehicles and seats, but also the customer service of highway pilots (drivers) and UI/UI such as reservation sites and apps. We will develop services that meet the needs of our customers and will satisfy them in terms of software such as UX. Willer Express will continue to provide moving experiences through transportation and provide services that many customers can enjoy.