Hospitality’s a giant industry in the US, with travel and tourism alone generating around $1.6 trillion each year in economic output. As you can imagine for such an enormous industry, though, nothing stays the same for long!
Staying on top of these shifting sands is crucial for any business in the field that wants to get ahead. With that in mind, today we’re going through 4 upcoming hospitality industry trends worth knowing about in 2022. Sound good?
Keep reading.
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A Boost to Business Leisure Travel
Thanks to COVID-19 and the rapid adoption of remote working that followed, more people than ever are doing their jobs outside the office right now. The result? Business leisure (or “bleisure”) travel is going to be huge this year.
After all, because people are no longer confined to a workplace, they’ve started using hospitality venues as temporary offices! This represents a major opportunity for restaurants, hotels, and cafes. With fast Wi-Fi, good coffee, and plenty of workspaces, you could see an influx of new patrons.
Digitization Takes Over
The rise of digitization is beginning to impact the systems and processes used in the hospitality industry. For example, mobile apps are revolutionizing how businesses manage their guest’s experience and contactless payments/services are doing the same. This trend toward digitization shows no signs of slowing down in 2022!
Expect things like mobile hotel check-in, mobile payment options, biometrics, the need for website SEO (this website can help with that), and AI chatbots to become the norm. This modern technology will be expensive to install (and maintain), but it’s a worthy investment if you wish to compete.
Virtual Reality’s Key
VR and AR (augmented reality) has been around for a while now, but only recently has the technology made serious advances. Of all these hospitality industry trends, this one could have the most profound impact!
For example, consumers will be able to go on virtual tours of the hotel they want to stay in, experience tourist attractions at home before paying for them, and get a sense of a restaurant’s ambiance before booking a table. Early adopters stand to gain. Move fast and you’ll have an instant advantage over the competition.
Sustainability’s Big
Modern travelers are more conscious of the environment (and their impact on it) than ever before. As a result, they’re now prioritizing places, brands, and venues that have solid green credentials. If you haven’t already, then it’s time to ditch the disposable plastics, move to digital receipts, and so on.
This is particularly important for larger operations, for whom minor decisions can have a major impact. Remember: you’re buying items at scale! To satisfy traveler sentiments, ensure everything from your bedsheets to your bulbs is eco-friendly.
Remember These Hospitality Industry Trends
Given its size and rate of change, staying on top of the latest hospitality industry trends is no mean feat. However, it’s crucial to make the effort! Being unaware of what’s happening is a one-way ticket to eventual failure.
We hope the insights in this post will help you avoid that fate. Read more articles on similar topics by browsing our blog today.
