A new study, ‘Hotels 2020: Beyond Segmentation’, reveals what guests of the future will expect from their hotel experience, and what hotels will have to do to keep up.
Commissioned by Amadeus, the report highlights that the business model of hotels will have to adapt to global change, which may see the emergence of invitation-only hotels, hotels co-branded with luxury brands and ‘catch-all’ hotel chains that will offer one-star budget hotels through to six-star luxury properties.
The three key findings of the report outline the following trends for the future:
1) “Guests will be able to tailor every aspect of their hotel experience”
Traditional strategies of market segmentation will no longer exist. Instead ‘a total service model’ will take its place in which guests will be able to customise every aspect of their hotel stay, including technology, hotel services, the bedroom, the journey, pricing and communications. Over two-thirds of survey respondents said that by 2020 traveller motivations would become increasingly fragmented and diverse and harder to segment into clearly definable customer groupings.
2) “The hotel of the future will be more personal, connected and responsive”
Hotels of 2020 and beyond will need to cater for a diverse range of needs and demands. The study predicts that innovations such as intelligent furniture, personalised nutrition and responsive technologies will be commonplace.
3) “Horizon scanning, anticipation and rapid implementation will become some of the hallmarks of successful hotel groups”
Successful hotel groups of the future will need to have the ability to change and implement strategies quickly and have one eye constantly on emerging trends to meet the needs of tomorrow’s guests.
Coinciding with the report, Amadeus has announced the launch of Amadeus Hotel Platform, which combines central reservations, property management and global distribution systems into one integrated platform.
