The hospitality industry is familiar with massive transformations, bringing a wave of innovation each year.
If we look at modern global trends in hospitality, we find that innovation has an accelerating effect on the development and evolution of tourism businesses. Digitizing the traveler experience is one of these global trends. For example, the latest smartphone applications allow us to place modern technology at the heart of the traveler’s experience before, during and after their trip. This experience and virtual reality are intertwined—the latter offering travelers the ability to virtually walk through a hotel room, hotel bar/restaurant, spa facilities, or nearby beach.
360 virtual tours are among the most powerful forms of content, allowing travelers to feel that they have reached their destination before starting their journey. In the past, this experience was accessible through a piece of expensive equipment that was not affordable to most. Today, thanks to smartphones, access to virtual reality applications is affordable, inexpensive, flexible, and always available. As soon as the traveler enters the actual space, they can utilize their smartphones, scan QR codes on objects and create original content or receive contactless information about restaurant menus, shows, user reviews, tourist attractions, and more.
Smart enterprises analyze and utilize data that enable them to know travelers’ consumer behavior, style, and preferences
Digital and contactless services have become a reality thanks to modern technology’s evolution and broad use; to name but a few, these include check-in via smartphone, contactless payments, face recognition, and biometrics characteristics. Travelers who are used to unlocking their smartphones with the help of face recognition will soon enjoy this offering of contactless access in a hotel room.
Personalizing the traveler’s experience and handing over control to the traveler are equally important trends related to digital innovation. The modern traveler expects to be recognized and treated as an individual. A welcome email with the traveler’s name is no longer enough; services like Mailchimp and Zoho allow for individualized email marketing and targeted communication with the traveler. Smart enterprises analyze and utilize data that enable them to know travelers’ consumer behavior, style, and preferences and to personalize offers and promotions of products and services to achieve better management and revenue optimization.
Regarding modern trends, one has to mention bleisure travelers (a portmanteau of business and leisure) who combine business and pleasure in their trips. In the past two years, the boundaries between work and leisure have been blurred, and remote work has become increasingly acceptable. Because of this trend, bleisure travelers are here to stay, leading to hotels, bars, and restaurants being turned into hospitality/work spaces. Bleisure travelers can spend a short time at a destination or if they are digital nomads, a few months at a location of their liking in order to work remotely. For the destination selection, in addition to fascinating beaches, spa facilities and great food, bleisure travelers will seek infrastructures for quick, unrestricted and reliable internet access, not only to check their mail but also to participate in zoom calls. Moreover, they will seek a workspace with ergonomic seats and, ideally, 24-hour service.
In order to serve modern trends in hospitality, tourism businesses must understand technology’s significant role across the entire spectrum of the travel experience and invest in the required equipment and infrastructure that will transform it into smart businesses, offering modern travelers high-quality services and products, as well as human capital with the necessary skills and knowledge.
