Hospitality Industry: Today and Tomorrow

[Airline Booking Engine]

The market experts are speculating a rapid expansion of the hospitality industry in next few years, but at the same time they have also pointed out the potential loopholes that might turn fatal for the industry expansion. While there remains immense opportunity for the hospitality business to grow in the coming time, the deep-seeded recessionary trends and lack of business confidence can do an adverse impact on the industry. Shift in marketing trend and change in consumer behavior are perceived by many as a savior as well as foe for the business, depending on how accurately the marketers understand the changing market scenario and what measures they take to get a competitive edge.

It is now high time for the hotel business professionals to do a thorough research on the latest industry trends and chalk out their marketing strategies accordingly. To help marketers understand the industry functions from the core, we would be discussing some important trends that will have drastic impact on the industry operations:

International Vacations: With the concept of globalization getting impetus, leisure travelers are more inclined to go for vacations in international destinations. In the US, there are multiple destinations that attract billions of travelers every year, mostly from the foreign lands. Among the third world countries, India is in the forefront to attract international visitors from diverse regions of the globe. As cultural diversity is the basic reason for the surge of such tourists, it is suggested to the hotel property owners to focus more on local cultures.

Go Green: Majority travelers prefer green and eco-friendly lodgings. Recent surveys revealed that approximately 70% of the tourists are willing to pay an extra amount when it comes to eco-friendly lodging. Though the research finding may be speculated as a way for hotels to attract more consumers, it also poses challenge before them. To install eco-friendly appliances that comply with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, the hotels must first ensure good revenue returns. To balance this, the hotels may reduce complementary services, so that the budget can be used to install more such appliances.

Worker Retention Rate: The hospitality industry is one of the largest employment giving sectors in the world. Along with permanent staff, it gives employment to part-time workers too, who after gaining some experience leave the hotel in search of some better opportunity. The low wages and long working hours are the most significant factors for low retention rates. However, to cope up with the situation the industry gurus are now considering measures to retain skilled workers and minimize long working hours.

Mobile Devices: Of new mobile devices being purchased, the smartphones represent more than 50%. According to some researches, there will be around 50 billion connected devices in circulation by the end of 2020. In 2013, smartphone searches for holiday deals are greater than that of desktop searches. As more people are going mobile, the hotels need to develop more mobile friendly applications and hotel booking engines to reach their target consumers. Mobile based hotel booking software make it more easy and convenient for the consumers to search, evaluate and book their hotels, even while on the go.

Social Media Platforms: Some international surveys indicate that holiday deals recommended by friends over social media networks influence the decision-making process of most travel consumers.

Attractive photo sharing, positive reviews by existing consumers and recommendations create a great deal to generate more business. Thus, a positive social media presence becomes crucial for hotels to attract today’s tech savvy globetrotters.

Photo Sharing Sites: To visually communicate lifestyle messages is one of the most impactful ways to get customer attention and increase the looker to booker ratio; in this regard, photo sharing sites like Pinterest and Instagram are of significant use. Many renowned hotel, airline and travel brands are now using platforms like Pinterest and Instagram to create promotional campaigns and most of them are successful enough to draw the attention of potential consumers.

Content Marketing: Traditional marketing is gradually losing its value in this digital era, as the hotel professionals are realizing the advantages and effectiveness of content marketing. The content marketing also offers a cost benefit over the hefty expenditures of traditional paid media. It is certainly a smart decision to invest in the digital media tools like blogs, articles, social media, newsletters, webinars, e-books and video sharing over the online media as these have greater reach and require less investment.

Good Food: Today’s smart travelers crave for savory food varieties and not for celebrity chefs. While in the past it was almost a trend to employ celebrity chefs to bring F&B business, today’s travelers aren’t focused much on the chefs in the kitchen as they are focused on the food served on their table. The factor on which most of today’s leisure travelers focus is of healthy and organic food and diet restrictions. To bring more F&B business, the hotel professionals can show from where the vegetables are coming from. This allows the guests to connect more with the foods and the hotel’s overall experience.

To conclude, we must consider the steward services as well. A pleasant customer experience, both in terms of amenities and of hospitality, helps retain good customer relation and increases referral business. - via Hotel Booking Engine