Amadeus has launched a new report which identifies globalisation, a new breed of customer and new technologies as three key drivers for the hotel industry. The report was commissioned by Amadeus to identify the trends which will affect the hospitality industry in the future and the technology implications for hotels and hotel chains.

Amadeus commissioned Inspire Resources to conduct the report entitled A blueprint for the future of the hospitality industry. They interviewed a targeted selection of senior hotel executives, consultants, academics and researchers to identify the key issues and concerns facing the market. The hotel executives included a mix of C-level executives as well has those with direct responsibility for IT, distribution, revenue management, marketing and sales.

Opportunities for growth into new markets

The report identifies globalisation as a key driver. Emerging markets – particularly Russia, India, China and the Gulf – offer significant opportunities, but cannot be treated as a homogenous whole. For example, customers from China will search for, plan and book a hotel in a different way from customers from Russia. The notion of brand integrity is crucial: hotels will need to supply consistent service in a global environment, while adapting to support customers with new cultural background and sensitivities in local markets.

Information key to servicing the demanding customer

The modern traveller wants to have experiences built around their personal needs. The hotel industry recognises that it must go further in its adoption of social networking. User reviews expose the truth of a hotel’s brand since customers often use their peer group as the main source of information. Hotels are now challenged with maintaining high standards and meeting the expectations of customers who have done a significant amount of research before they travel.

The more demanding customer of the future will want to engage with a hotel across all touch points where appropriate. Hotels will need to capture and store more data, yet access to it must be faster and more targeted in order to personalise the guest experience.

Technological integration to improve operational efficiency

As distribution, channel and content management becomes more complex, ensuring tight integration between these cores systems will become an even higher priority for hotels. Applications, databases and networks must integrate more easily with each other and third-party systems to facilitate collaborations with partners.

The growing importance of the mobile channel is clear. Although the use of smaller devices for booking is not yet commonplace, it is anticipated the technology platforms used by hospitality companies must support and enable all user interactions to integrate in the future, from phone to fax to PC to PDA to mobile.

Ankur Bhatia, Managing Director, Amadeus India, said: “Globally, but more so in India, the Hospitality Industry faces many challenges. But along with those challenges comes tremendous opportunity. Through effective business strategy, with the right technology, the hospitality industry can meet these identified changing needs of customers and increase the level of personalization to increase loyalty and success.”