Why Google Pays Billions for the Default Option

while default options in travel continue to reinforce unsustainable behavior

*This article is entirely human-written; AI tools were used only for final edits and confirmation of data sources.

If you are reading articles and blogs on travel and sustainability, you have been exposed to discussions about how we must change traveler behaviors and close the stubborn say-do gap (or intention-action gap). Yes, this is the gap that refers to the fact that a growing number of people say that they want to travel responsibly but, when they actually book and enter their credit cards, they do not put their money on the most responsible options they see.

In the past few years, you have witnessed a growing number of professionals, thought leaders, and media talk about this. If you have missed them, check out Economist Impact, WTTC, Accenture, or Adventure.com.

The trouble is that most of these discussions remain surface-level, focusing on travelers’ hesitation to sacrifice fun for the sake of the planet. They do not talk about the real say-do gap that continues to be a barrier to changing sustainability norms – the gap between the intentions of businesses to optimize the footprint of their operations and the lack of specific actions to redesign the choice points along their travelers’ decision journeys. Let me explain:

The $20 Billion Nudge

Behavioral science has granted us plenty of knowledge about choice design. There is also abundant market evidence about the effects of different tactics that use design tweaks to encourage desired choices. Because the power of choice design is undisputed, it is smartly used for commercial purposes. Google, for example, is known to have paid in 2022 alone over $20 Billion to Apple to ensure that its search engine is set as the default in the Safari browser. Why? Because this guarantees that the vast majority of the customers will stay with the default option. The design of choice moments – i.e. what options are included in the choice set, which one is set as the default or placed in the middle in a set of three – can have significant influence on decision makers[1]. So, if these tactics are so powerful and produce decision effects that are worth billions of dollars, are we using them appropriately in the context of sustainability?

Decision Journeys That Discourage Responsibility

For decades the travel industry has not been prioritising or incentivising sustainable choices. Those of you who have studied tourism or hospitality 20 or more years back will remember that in textbooks sustainability was consistently presented as a niche market strategy that was a matter of choice and that was relevant for small niche market players. In most cases, sustainability principles were tackled in the final week of the semester as an add-on subject in tourism policy or tourism planning courses. This is why generations of tourism professionals have been supporting choice designs that do not prioritise or favor sustainability in any way. From towel use and room cleaning, to transport options or food services, the choice moments have been prioritising high-intensity service, too much of everything, overconsumption, high production of waste, etc.

A New Market Reality

Today we find ourselves in realities in which most destination authorities and companies realise they should treat sustainability as a non-negotiable principle of doing business. There is a growing share of travel outfits that genuinely try to be good. Whether they pursue formal certification or not, they invest time and resources to calculate their footprint, improve operations, and upgrade technology and infrastructure. Their efforts, however, do not involve a review of the decision journeys that travelers follow and assessment of choice moments to ensure that their design steers towards responsible options. Even if they are familiar with nudges and incorporate them here and there, their services and operations continue to be “programmed” for less responsible behavior.

Programming for Responsible Behavior

So how can choice design close the gap between the intention of businesses to be good and the actions they take to encourage good behavior among their clients? They can make sure that all points at which their clients make decisions are set to encourage a responsible outcome, especially in areas that are identified as priorities. Traveler decision journeys are complex and may involve numerous choice points starting with the pre-trip planning phase, and continuing throughout the trip itself. Programming them for desired behavior means that every point at which travelers make a decision is set to maximize the likelihood that the most desired option will be selected. Here is a simple example:

What if a hotel group prioritizes the reduction of single-use plastic waste mainly by encouraging consumption of tap water? This would mean that at every point when guests make decisions that influence their water consumption behavior the choice design encourages preference for tap rather than bottled water:

• before they leave home, when they are packing and preparing for departure, they will receive a message reminding them to pack their water bottle because the tap water at their hotel is clean and delicious (choice design tactic: activate awareness at the right time)
• upon arrival they will be offered a water bottle in case they did not bring their own so that they can enjoy the free and tasty tap water during their entire stay (choice design tactic: make it easy and facilitate)
• they will notice that every water tap around the property has a visible sign indicating that the water is clean and drinkable (choice design tactic: maintain top of mind awareness)
• Then, when they check into their room, they will notice that there is a carafe and glasses with a welcome sign inviting them to enjoy the fresh and delicious tap water (choice design tactic: make it part of the design)
• when they go to the hotel restaurant they will note that tap water is the default option when they order water (choice design tactic: set as default)
• when they prepare to go on activities organised by the hotel they will be reminded to bring their water bottle and given information about water refill points (choice design tactic: make it easy and facilitate)

This simplified example illustrates what it means to align the design of all relevant choice moments throughout the traveler’s journey with a specific priority. This essentially maximises the likelihood that any guest, whether they care about plastics, sustainability, or waste, will opt for tap water throughout their stay. It also ensures that the intention of the business to reduce plastics by prioritising the consumption of tap water translates into real action because the design of its service is programmed to encourage it.

Must-Have, Not Nice-to-Have

As behavioral experts, we can gladly say that in the last couple of years, there has been growing awareness of the power of behavior change techniques. But they are often treated as an effort that is nice to have, potentially as an add-on to capital-intensive and highly visible steps.

My proposition is that a targeted choice design should be the starting point. It should program your services, supply chain, and entire operation for desired behavior. If you intend to reduce plastic waste but do not ensure that your guests are prepared (have water bottles), do not make it easy for them to drink tap (carafe and glasses in the room), do not remind them that tap is the easiest option (visible signs, information about water refill points) and do not set it as the easy or default option when possible, then your choice design discourages the actions that you have committed to. This is counterproductive and pointless.

What is Your Choice Design?

For years service providers, supply chains, and destination ecosystems in the travel and leisure sector have been following choice design norms that encourage unnecessary waste, inefficiency, and carelessness. We have entered an era, in which, even if you are not passionate about sustainability or have not started your net zero journey, you seek to improve efficiency and optimize costs. Have you considered how your clients’ decision journey is designed? What options do you encourage at different moments of their service experience? Are these in line with your goals and priorities? Are you certain that your business is programmed to encourage the behaviors that you intend to?

Let me know what are your thoughts and experiences with choice design. Our next piece will build on the stated importance of taking a must-have approach to understanding your choice designs and will offer a step-by-step process to help you get started.

[1] If you are hungry for some hands-on illustrations of how choice design works and how it is used by companies to influence customer behavior, you will enjoy the fascinating case study collection of Growth Design.