1. Sustainability: Sustaining is caring
Attention to the environment is something that cannot go unmentioned any longer. Hoteliers are shifting towards a more environmentally-friendly approach, but most of all travellers are. They are looking for an experience that matches their view of life. To keep pace with the trend, hoteliers have a wide range of actions to undertake: LED bulbs, water reducing taps, green cleaning products, solar panels, plants, reducing plastic and paper waste. We know: Long list, but big ROI.
2. Guest experiences: The trip is the experience
Destination marketing is important for hoteliers as well. Travellers are looking for an “all-in” experience. Destinations will be more and more part of the overall trip in a deeper way, playing a key role on the holiday perception. Accommodations will adapt to the true essence of the place they are in and will need to be smart to use it to “captivate” guests and let them feel the magic of the location. Starting from their own website, hoteliers will need to sell the experience and the destination, not only their property.
3. Enhanced technology: Tech-evolution
Technology has proven its immense potential: It is our job to make good use of it. More and more hoteliers are starting to understand this. Fingerprints and facial recognition used to check-in and enter hotel rooms are signs of it. Virtual Reality is becoming a marketing strategy to showcase hotels’ products and help guests take better decisions as it brings them closer to the hotel’s brand.
4. Smart rooms: Rooms get smart
Ultimate personalisation is here. This is what all travellers were waiting for, a fully customisable room. Thanks to the Internet of Things, guests will be able to select how it looks like, how it smells, how much light there is. If they want to wake up with a view of Mount Fuji and the smell of cherry flowers, now they can. If they want to control every feature in the room just through their voice, now they can. Can most hotels be at pace with this?
5. Healthy food: Clean eating
If attention to the environment is growing, so is food consciousness. Travellers are more aware of what they choose to eat and how their food and drinks are processed. This consciousness plays a vital role also in their accommodation choices, which makes it necessary for hoteliers to adapt to this trend. Make sure you propose different options: Vegetarian, vegan, gluten- and lactose-free to name some. Also, offering fresh homemade drinks is a good strategy. Bonus point: Use local products from your land.
6. AI: Intelligence is artificial
We live in an ever-busy world and we’re trying to learn how to maximize our available time. Especially hoteliers who need to take care of different tasks at a time, are looking for new ways to address them all efficiently. Accommodations with big travellers flow will invest in artificial intelligence: Chatbots for potential customers‘ questions coming from online channels, and virtual concierges for current guests who want to know more about local activities, will speed up times and provide an immediate and flawless experience. This also enables hoteliers to have their staff cover the matters that need a more “personal touch”.
