Hospitality Trends for the Coming Year
With the onset of the pandemic in the year 2020 and its resulting lockdowns, no doubt, the hospitality sector took a big hit on their revenue stream. But with lockdown restrictions easing out, the future for the sector looks bright even if it may never go back to what it was.
In this new age for the sector, competitors need to stay with the trend if they wish to be competitive in the market. Some trends for the coming year and beyond for the sector are:
• The changes in the sharing sector
While looking at the data for the end of 2020 as well as the beginning of 2021, it is easy to see that bookings for single family rentals have gave gone up drastically on sites such as Airbnb and VRBO. This was so because people were looking for isolated accommodation to help them freely roam during the pandemic with its lockdown restrictions.
This trend is on the rise because of it being able to provide the customers with an unique perspective of being able to live as a local at any place that they have rented the property out at.
• Global Tourism
The future of this sector in the industry is as of now unclear due to the pandemic and its implications, but expert predict that it will soon see a boom in the sector. As more and more countries remove their travel restrictions, the sector will mostly go back to being as it was with the caveat that now all institutions will have to pay special attention to cleanliness, as the pandemic has brought forward awareness with regards to it.
• Booking via Voice
It is said that of all the people that use the Internet and its services almost 20% do so via the usage of voice search. But this number is not to remain stagnant as it is expected to grow in the coming years. While people might consider using this feature for high-cost booking a risk, but studies have shown that this is already happening and that it will continue to grow.
It is expected then that any competitor in the industry would make their establishments voice friendly as it would make them easier for the customers to interact with.
• New age travel agents
Previously, travel agents were your go-between to book flight tickets or hotels at certain places. But this is not so in this day of internet boom. Today travel agents are far more in-depth with providing luxury to their clients, from ride-sharing, to things like meal delivery options, dinner reservations, destination weddings and finally long-term accommodations. Some examples of such travel agents would be TripAdvisor and Expedia.
• Pre-booking VR
The virtual reality industry thought to be in its infancy is actually already a booming industry with estimates for it being upwards of $5 billion in the coming year of 2022. Within the hospitality industry, VR is expected to play a big role too. With it being able to provide potential customers a feel for what is to be expected from their stay in the institution of their choice. This then allows hotel owners to show off their inventories and help provide the customers a peace of mind prior to their booking’s confirmation.
Finally, staying up to date with the up-and-coming trends is the need of the hour if anyone is to stay competitive in such a cut-throat market.
