Economic Trends
Streamlining of Visa Programs
- Various associations in the hospitality industry are advocating for streamlining Visa programs, which will boost the $97 billion economic contributions of global travel. Due to the coronavirus, the hospitality industry will have to address health safety measures.
Social Trends
Diversity
- Hotels are now providing services in various languages and have customized experiences to suit the different cultures of the world and the unique needs of foreign visitors.
Health and Wellness
- Travelers have become concerned about their health, and this has pushed the hotel industry to respond by providing well-equipped fitness centers, spas, and pools in their premises. Hotel guests expect innovative wellness options, yoga spaces, air purification, vitamin-infused water, and in-room exercise equipment.
- The wellness tourism industry is estimated to be around $563 billion. Hotels are making it possible for their guests to stay healthy on the road.
- In the wake of coronavirus, hotels are increasing sanitation stations in their institutions and provide prepackaged meals to their guests.
Technological Trends
Tech Explosion
- A majority of travelers are tech-savvy who use websites and mobile applications. Hotels are adapting to this trend, hence, providing up-to-date offerings and user-friendly applications. Guests traveling for conferences and business meetings expect the hotels to provide high tech equipment and knowledgeable support staff.
- As a trend, hotels are providing cloud-based digital registration and event planner apps to provide personalized experiences and greener solutions. Hotel groups are offering mobile check-in and digital concierge services.
- According to a survey conducted, around 75% of the respondents indicated that they prefer texting for help in real-time while only 42% said that they preferred talking to someone on video.
Insights
- Millennials are expected to represent 50% of all travelers to the USA by the year 2025, according to the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research.
- The global hotel industry was estimated at $600.49 billion in retail value in 2018.
- Over 70% of bookings are made through online travel agencies, boosting the growth of thehostel marketplace sector.
- According to Phocuswright, the global hostel market was expected to grow to $6.4 billion by the end of 2020.
The initial one-hour research resulted in finding some trends as provided above in the social, technological, and economic sectors. Due to limited time, we were not able to search for the legal trends in the hospitality industry (hotels, homeshare, and hostels).