The Year 2020 is all about tech-savvy consumers who are passionate about different pleasures of life, including travel.
Although trends in the travel space have been significantly changed after the current COVID-19 crisis, avid travellers are still on the lookout for travel opportunities that can help them safely travel around the world with the least possible resources.
From environmental sustainability to learning how to cancel a timeshare, present-day travellers need to keep themselves updated with all the latest trends to get the most of their travel experience.
Hotel Industry Trends in 2020
Here are the top 7 travel trends to look for in 2020:
1. Personalized Travel and Booking
Whether it’s about selling fashion accessories, books, or online tickets, the concept of personalization is prevalent in an online marketplace.
Travellers also expect brands to deliver a personalized experience, research by Google and Phocuswright reveals.
Personalization has also proven to improve the ROI of hoteliers and businesses that are directly or indirectly associated with the hospitality business.
When hoteliers provide a tailored experience to their customers, the more customers are more likely to subscribe to their loyalty program. In fact, some of them would even pay more for a personalized experience.
That is why many hotels have incorporated the concept of personalization into their business framework.
2. The Trend of Generating Direct Reservations will Increase
According to research, more than 87% of guests will personally visit a hotel before they make a reservation. This statistic also includes those curious visitors who’re looking to collect as much info as possible before they make an advance payment.
The trend is not going anywhere, and hoteliers should adapt to consumer behavior accordingly.
For this, hoteliers need to create an optimized website that includes every possible info their customers might be interested in.
Also, a user-friendly booking engine with fast load speed and clear price listing will help your customers make quick bookings without needing to visit a booking counter in person.
3. Hoteliers will Create Strategies to Overcome Economic Crisis
As forecasts for economic recession loom over the hospitality sector, hoteliers must devise strategies to overcome the hurdles of potential economic headwinds in the current year and beyond.
Despite the fact that the travel industry is one of the most COVID-affected sectors, the industry has enjoyed a boom for more than 20 years.
While it is not possible for anyone of us to predict the future of the hospitality sector, things can definitely be managed better with a solid contingency plan.
Here are a few things that should be part of a hotel’s industry contingency plan.
- There should be more focus on distribution changes/management practices
- Prices should be more flexible and customer-friendly
- A greater focus on training/educating staff
4. User Generated Content (UGC) will Significantly Impact Travel Activities
The trend of sharing traveling experiences and holiday pictures on social media channels is on the rise.
According to research conducted by Global Web Index, user-generated content, also known as UGC, significantly impacts travelers’ holiday activities.
Even if we look around, we’ll observe that lots of people share their travel stories and holiday snaps on social media channels, such as Facebook and Instagram.
Notably, this influences the decision of a lot of travelers as they will now choose destinations they have seen others traveling to on their social media accounts.
5. ‘Go Green’ will Become a Top Priority for Hospitality Business
Next on our list is the factor of environmental sustainability that is affecting almost all the major business sectors these days.
The ongoing climate change has made travelers and tourists fully aware of their responsibility.
The growing environmental threat has caused a lot of damage to the environment. Tourists contribute a lot to environmental pollution. Also, they’re a big threat to wildlife.
Hoteliers should clearly mention their policies both online and offline. Fortunately, many hotels have now implemented policies where a certain ratio of their sales goes directly to environmental causes.
6. Travelers will Demand More Enriching Travel Experiences
Gone are the days when travel was believed to be a luxury reserved for the elite class only.
Thanks to digitization and budget-friendly airlines, many people can plan for international travel without any difficulty.
In turn, hoteliers must also diversify their policies to now cater to a wide range of consumers.
7. Google will Continue to Cause a Stir Across the Online Travel Industry
Elevating customer acquisition costs from Google will massively impact the hospitality industry in 2020. For an independent hotelier, it’s not easy to bid independently.
Hoteliers will now have to leverage tools like Google My Business to increase their visibility in front of interested customers. Paid ads are another option that empowers hoteliers to increase their reach and help them get closer to their target audience.
So, is your hotel ready to adapt to change this year and beyond?
