After two years of continuous change in restrictions to international travel, keeping up with hospitality trends is necessary for survival in the hospitality industry and to take advantage of opportunities generated by change. At Odentio, we have analyzed all the different practices implemented the last two years with our boutique hotels, and are confident that despite existing conditions, hotels can both survive and thrive. Here we share the top 10 hospitality trends of 2022 and how they can be applied to hotel boutiques.
1. The pursuit of a once in a lifetime experience: Unique Tourism Products
After years of recurring lockdowns, self-isolation, and home-working, people have been forced to resort to the use of smartphones and digital technology for social stimulation - and the desirability of authentic experiences has been on the rise.
"The coming year (2022) will be characterized by growth in vacation length of stay metrics, travel farther from home, and a higher proportion of "major vacations" rather than more frequent local getaways."- MMGY Travel Intelligence .
How can this be applied to boutique hotels?
There are a variety of ways to produce unique experiences; distinctive architecture and special touches in the hotel that complement what the destination already has to offer.
It is also important to identify global trends to understand what ideas are proving successful. A great example are luxury bubbles, which has been growing in popularity over the last year in Europe and Asia. At Odentio we are proud to work with the first luxury bubbles in Mexico, made with high-tech materials, coming soon in Puerto Morelos (2022).
2. Know your client
"The most successful hotel in the world is the one that knows its client best."
Knowing your client should be your most important priority. Possessing clarity about your target clientele, and from there coordinating efforts to get to know them as much as possible, from how they book, their preferences during the stay, and in the follow-up after staying at the hotel. This can be achieved with good data management - a task that has become a necessity for any successful business - enabling good revenue management, customer relations and maintaining a positive hotel reputation.
Good data collection should be balanced with the privacy of the client, using appropriate platforms for data collection that comply with the personal data protection regulation. It is important to keep abreast of all differences in data protection regulation across all regions where your company operates.
How can this be applied to boutique hotels?
Boutique hotels are characterized by making a more personalized and intimate experience for their guests. First of all, it is important to have correct data management with the appropriate platforms for hotels, which will be a great support for a solid email marketing strategy, providing the opportunity to segment the newsletters by personalizing the messages of the profiles that are in different stages of the consumer journey - using data to optimize the user experience, The data will indicate specific behaviors and interests that can significantly improve the experience.
It is essential to use digital tools for data collection, but also a great advantage that boutique hotels have compared to large chain hotels is the opportunity to be able to interact face to face with guests and to greet them in person, always respecting the privacy of the guests.
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3. Mobile friendly bookings
"According to KPMG and Facebook forecasts, 9 out of 10 bookings will be made via mobile by 2022. December 2021 to date, Guestcentric research shows that mobile accounted for nearly 30% of total bookings." -Hospitalitynet
Odentio's recommendation is to prioritize your website's design for mobile - adopting a "mobile-first" policy is important to take advantage of the increasing use of cell phones for booking stays.
How can this be applied to boutique hotels?
Increase your reservations by increasing the priority of the Mobile version of your website, the greatest recommendation as mentioned above is to make your website Mobile-first, on a platform suitable for hotels, the page is created 100% for mobile use, these templates are clean, minimal, easy to interact with on a small screen, and have special features to generate bookings.
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4. More than a spa
Due to the current pandemic, preventive medicine, strengthening the immune system and personal care are hot trend.The wellness industry is transforming into a multibillion-dollar market, and hotels with facilities for these services are taking a large share of this market.
At Odentio we suggest going beyond the word spa, when we talk about wellness, it is important to open up to the variety of amenities, services and activities for human well-being. These can range from perfuming the lobby and rooms with relaxing essences, or conditioning spaces with specialized colors and decorations that are in harmony. The different areas of the hotel should be seen as opportunities for guests to relax.
How can this be applied to boutique hotels?
In these times it is crucial to have a spa service, but also to consider specialized experiences that involve all the senses: the type of music, scents, the flavors of the amenities offered and the textures of objects. A synergy of senses is used to achieve connection on an emotive and personal level to produce the ultimate experience in wellness services.
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5. Smart Suites
This new isolated lifestyle has changed consumer behavior towards travel, so it is important to look for smart room technology that will provide a sense of security, as well as reducing unnecessary contact with staff and facilities. They are also helpful tools in the collection of important data from guests to improve their stay. Here are some examples of smart room tools and equipment that can be integrated into suites: voice control, facial recognition, smart mirrors, concierge video chat, and smart controls.
How to apply it to boutique hotels?
Introducing a couple of smart room tools improves service and assists in data collection to optimize guest relations and overall hotel management. Odentio's recommendation is to take advantage of the use of customer's phones with the help of apps to be able to manage the room's amenities, which can range from changing the temperature or lighting, in order to avoid contact and make the stay more comfortable. We expect future trends to include the ability to select an entire room environment from the cell phone.
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