Emerging Hospitality Industry Trends

The emerging trends in hospitality are reinforced by the increasing importance of technology in the sector and the power technology firms are acquiring.

FREMONT, CA:The pandemic and ensuing economic downturn significantly impacted the hospitality industry. There is a shift in society due to changing values after the pandemic. Increased consumer awareness of all matters, including sustainability, purposefulness, health, and well-being, has set new benchmarks for the hospitality business.

Bleisure Travellers and Hotel Work Spaces

Working remotely has become commonplace for many employees, and they will stay for a longer period. Many high-profile companies have announced that they will adopt a hybrid flexible approach to working remotely, accelerated by the global public health crisis. This resulted in the hospitality venues being used as makeshift offices for leisure travellers and locals looking for a change of scenery. This is a great opportunity for hotels and F&B venues to capitalise on the trend and adjust their offering to meet the needs and demands of this emerging market with ample plug sockets, free high-speed WiFi, coffee, etc.

Holistic Hospitality, Health and Well-Being

Preventative medicine and self-care are trending due to the pandemic. The wellness industry is transforming into a booming market, and hospitality venues are extracting the benefits, especially those with existing spa facilities. In addition to the usual beauty and relaxation spa offering, there is a rapidly increasing demand for health diagnostic technology and bespoke treatment plans provided by experts conducting personal or group sessions to develop vitality, healing, stress management, emotional balance, mindfulness, and better sleep.

Digitised Guest Experience

Apps are essential in how hoteliers manage the services they provide to their customers and can control many aspects of the guest cycle and experience. The trend towards digital and contactless services has gained new momentum recently. Traditionally, customer-facing services are renewed with widespread technologically assisted options, including mobile check-in, contactless payments, voice control, and biometrics.

Consumers have become accustomed to unlocking their smartphones and laptops using facial and fingerprint recognition with the same convenience in accessing their hotel rooms. However, these establishments and upgrades are costly to install and maintain. Businesses desiring to stay ahead of the curve should dig deep and make the investment.

Personalisation

Today’s guests expect to be recognised and treated as individuals. Establishments are made to personally greet their guests, and tools have made personalised email marketing accessible to the masses, ensuring highly targeted audience-specific communications. This provides insight into customers' past buying habits, enabling hotels to tailor their offers and promotions and automatically offer similar services to previous stays.

Technological platforms use big data to develop one-to-one interactions between the guest and the host at scale. AI-powered chatbots are customer service assets during the booking process and responding to recurring questions. Hotel operations are increasingly shaped by the management system used to monitor and optimise revenues, customer relationships, property, channels, and reputation. The rising importance of integrated messaging, predictive analytics, and customer profiling seeks to connect disparate systems.

All these trends revolve around the need for the industry to evolve to adapt better to the current environment. These adjustments to the offer are insufficient, and the industry must truly reinvent itself. This perspective is reinforced by the increasing importance of technology in the hospitality industry and the power that technology firms acquire.