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The report presents the findings of a major new foresight study commissioned by Amadeus – a leading travel technology partner and transaction processor for the global travel and tourism industry.
The report reveals emerging behaviors and demands of tomorrow’s hotel guest and what this means for the future strategies, business models, services and innovation approach of branded hotel groups over the next decade. The report looks to a future where augmented reality, customizable and responsive guest environments and service robots may become commonplace as guests demand deep personalization, increased comfort and innovative experiences. The study highlights the new hotel business models that may emerge such as invitation-only hotels, hotels co-branded with luxury brands, white-label hotels and full-spectrum hotel chains that will deliver one-star budget to six-star luxury hotel properties.
Key Findings
The study draws on a combination of desk research, expert interviews, international workshops in Delhi and Dubai and a global survey with 610 respondents. Key findings include that by 2020:
1. Guests will be able to tailor every aspect of their hotel experience
Traditional customer segmentation approaches will be replaced by personalized service spectrums and a ‘total service model’. The guest of the future will be able to tailor every aspect of their experience including technology, hotel services, the bedroom, the journey, pricing and communications.
2. The hotel of the future will be more personal, connected and responsive
With the rise of service spectrums and changing guest requirements it is likely we will start to see hotels that cater for multiple needs and demands. We will see innovations such as intelligent furniture, adaptive room environments, personalized entertainment, individually tailored nutrition and ‘thought control’ of guest facing systems and appliances.
3. Horizon scanning, anticipation and rapid implementation will become some of the hallmarks of successful hotel groups
The report details the characteristics of successful hotel chains of the future, including the ability to spot risks and opportunities, embrace open innovation, experiment, develop effective strategies and implement change programs quickly. The study highlights the central role of technology systems in helping hotel groups stay ahead and meet the needs of tomorrow’s guest.
Jerome Destors, Director, Hotel IT, Amadeus said: “Only by looking at the global drivers and forces of change can we begin to understand the future hotel guest and what this means for hotel chains. In this report we have been able to build a compelling picture about the hotel of the future and what changing personal preferences mean for the guest experience in the next ten years. Critical to meeting the needs of future guests will be intelligent and responsive technology systems that can support hotels to evolve, anticipate changing customer needs and make the most of emerging opportunities.”
Rohit Talwar, Chief Executive of Fast Future Research and co-author of the report said: “What’s becoming very clear is that guests want far more say over the delivery of the hotel experience. In response, what we see is a shift from neatly defined customer segments to a more fragmented set of service spectrums that will demand hotels act in a way that is guest-focused, personal, connected and informed. This also opens the door for more partnerships with luxury and high street brands to enter the hotel market to create highly differentiated brand experiences.”
Survey Highlights
The global survey found that by 2020:
- 79 per cent agreed ‘heavy investment in emerging tourism markets will widen traveler choice, increase competition and potentially drive down prices and profit margins across the spectrum of hotels’.
- 71 per cent felt ’traveller motivations will become increasingly fragmented and diverse and harder to segment into clearly definable customer groupings’
- 92 per cent believe ‘hotel guests will expect their stay to be personalized around a set of choices they make at the time of booking or prior to arrival’.
- 86 per cent think ‘customers will have the ability to choose the size of room, type of bed, amenities, audio-visual facilities, business equipment, etc. on booking and pay accordingly’.
- 96 per cent expect that ‘in the face of intense global competition, the hotel industry will develop a strong focus on strategy and innovation – adopting approaches such as crowd sourcing and open innovation to generate new ideas.’
- 97 per cent believe ‘hotels will increasingly consider factors such as cost of servicing, level of spend and average length of stay when targeting potential customers in different geographic markets.
- 95 per cent think ‘hotels will increasingly look to new technologies to drastically increase efficiency, reduce costs, personalize the customer experience and improve service’.
- 96 per cent agreed that ‘hotels will need to develop strong social media ‘listening skills’ to understand how customer needs and perceptions of brands and service quality are truly evolving and to develop service propositions, marketing messages, and pricing solutions that reflect the needs of an increasingly diverse customer base.’
- 78 per cent expect ‘global hotel groups will increasingly seek to cover the full spectrum from budget through to luxury and heritage properties.’
- 81 per cent felt ‘hotels will increasingly experiment with a range of business models.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
