Leisure Hotel Trends to Watch Out in 2020

Feb 17 / admin@aplbc

The leisure travel industry is growing dynamically, and so does the trends. Compared to 2018, the year of 2019 has been a good year for the leisure tourism as it recorded a 4% percent increase in holiday bookings. Apart from the increased bookings, there was also a lot of global changes from the increase in environmental activism, extreme weather conditions and the political uncertainty, such as the Brexit, leading to the volatility in the global economy and the weakening of the British pound.

The ravaging of the corona virus in China, at the beginning of this year, had hit the global tourism and will severely affect the income to hotels this year as Chinese outbound tourism is a major source of revenue, accounting for 160 million outbound tours that were predicted to be taken by the Chinese in 2020.

Whether be it a fluctuating number of tourists, an increase in the hotel room prices, geopolitical changes or some rampant unexpected events of extraordinary nature, the leisure market is one of the important categories in the hospitality industry, as it is purely based on entertainment, recreation, tourism and travel.

Being a dynamic business, this industry has a lot of challenges to face and trends to take in. Here are some of the important leisure trends handpicked by AP LBC experts exclusively for the leisure hotels to adopt this year.

Innovative technology is the harbinger of a quality guest experience

Technology is growing at a faster rate than ever before. The usage of innovative technology from the virtual reality to artificial intelligence is rising among the hotels to provide an outstanding and excellent guest experience. In order to stay highly competitive and stand out from the crowd, it is essential for the hotels to incorporate the use of technology and add it as an arsenal in their stock. Using the in-room technology can also make the guest’s stay more convenient and comfortable.

Voice technology is another way to improve online searches, as almost 50% of the searches are done through voice-enabled technology.

79% of the hotels are planning to invest in voice technology in the hotel itself and some hotels are already using it to give a seamless guest experience. Alexa for hospitality, offered by Amazon is a good example of voice-enabled technology, and amazon and this can be tailored to the specific needs of the hotels. Guests can speak into the device and control the various aspects of the room such as the music, lighting and temperature.

Many hotel chains like the Marriott had adopted the use of this technology, allowing the guests to connect to the hub with the use of their own amazon account.

Watch out for digital-savvy travellers

The digital maturity of the travellers had become one of the hot trends in the leisure industry and will continue to be so in the coming years. It is proven that 80% of the last minute booking is made through mobile devices, so if a particular hotel website isn’t web-friendly, then people are more likely to leave the site.

In just four years, the mobile booking had skyrocketed by 1700% and this trend will see a meteoric rise this year. An interesting fact is that a mobile app will convert 5 times more than a normal mobile browser. So, it is very important for all the independent hotels to develop their own app and keep the mobile website and the app, more mobile-friendly and optimise it constantly

Reviews are also important, as the stats prove that 65% of consumers scrutinise the review of that particular hotel before they book. A recent stat from TripAdvisor found that the hotels with higher ratings are most likely to have an increased chance to get booked by the customers. Apart from site reviews, social media reviews are just as important in gaining increased bookings.

Go Green with sustainability

It goes without a doubt that a customised hotel in the leisure industry will bring fun and has its own whimsical way for the guests, but apart from the fun involved, it is important to view the grave aspects of sustainability and concerns regarding the travel. In 2019, nearly 1.4 billion travellers jumped up into plans, boats and other viable vehicles that cause pollution for touring purposes and in majority cases, more environmental damage has been caused to the visited place.

In the western hemisphere of the world, there is a growing outcry that we have reached a tipping point in public sentiment towards the environmental action and how the choices of the consumers determine the health of the planet has now become a heavy concern that needs to be pondered over. This, in turn, gave rise to a new trend called “conscious travel”, which is rooted in the social awareness in the travel experience.

This idea of conscious travel is about sustainability and the hotels must adopt this trend to happen by including food ingredients from the locally sourced suppliers, using Eco-friendly vehicles for transportation like the electric scooters, cycles and solar buses and use organic suppliers and reduce food wastage. Although these are some of the top trends in the MICE industry, these can be effectively implemented in leisure standards.

On a safer and an operational level, it is important for the hotels to put their sustainable credentials front before being approached by government-legislation and highly dynamic sentiments of the consumer. In this regard, the hotel like Cactus Royal had submitted their sustainable report of the previous year.

Great success lies in targeting the niche markets

The niche marketing strategy will see a rising number of guests in the coming years. This sect of marketing strategy focuses on a particular market and targets the set need of travellers like the guest preferences and hobbies giving an ultimate travel experience for the tourists.

The pet-friendly hotel is an excellent niche market to enter into in 2020 and growing in trend currently, as travellers prefer more of their furry friends. The number of hotels offering pet-friendly stays is in a rise. The Stratford hotel in London is one of the great examples of pet-friendly hotels. The services include pet-friendly stay, play areas, food choices, water bowls and doggie-services if the traveller has a dog.

Our experts in AP LBC believe these tips to be the trendsetter in the leisure industry. We believe that cultural resources with technology, sustainability and security plays a huge role in the leisure industry this decade.