Meet Zhilin – an ‘Obligation Meeter’ who travels with a clear objective in mind

Obligation Meeters are restricted by the need to meet a bounded objective. Business travellers are the most significant micro-group that fall within this tribe. Though they will arrange or improvise other activity around this purpose, their core needs and behaviours are mainly shaped by their need to be in a certain place, at a certain time, and without fail!

They have ‘hard’ objectives – to meet with clients, go to a concert, attend a seminar, go on a pilgrimage or even to have a surgical procedure – and these objectives place important limitations on the choices Obligation Meeters have for their travel.

This tribe will favour a no-hassle, choice-minimal approach to booking flights, and will be receptive to the intelligent cross selling of linked transport, accommodation and services.

First and foremost, Obligation Meeters like Zhilin are focused on their objective, and any advice, service or information that helps will be welcome.

Future predictions

From now through to 2030, we will see advanced technology reduce wait times and communicate with passengers when things go wrong. Push messaging to proprietary airport apps, or even old-fashioned texts, will be vehicles to help Obligation Meeters know where they need to be and precisely when, and ‘paperless’ boarding will quickly become mainstream.

Integrated airport and airline systems will increase the speed of passage through check-in, security checks, and gates. Obligation Meeters will often be on tight schedules and will have a low tolerance for delays, so contingency plans should activate automatically with personalised rescheduling and accommodation options in such cases.

The core pain point for this tribe is timing anxiety. Obligation Meeters will be prepared to pay extra to remove anxiety. This could involve autonomous or connected cars, allowing travel providers to manage all timings and guarantee that they will arrive at their intended obligation on time and prepared. They want someone to help take responsibility for their trip and fix things if they go wrong.

Want to learn more about Obligation Meeters? Download a copy of our Traveller Tribes 2030 report and find out which tribe you belong to by taking our Travel Tribe questionnaire.

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