Travel + Hospitality
Lift up the guest experience with trends that focus on convenience and comfort.
Introduction
Competitiveness swarms the travel and hospitality industry. Whether your hotel or resort is in a bustling city or a cozy town setting, your guests have a plethora of lodging options. The same goes for airlines– wherever travelers embark, other carriers are vying for their patronage.
Guest demands are high. They expect only the very best services and experiences. When traveling stood still during the COVID-19 pandemic, it created the opportunity for businesses to reevaluate and reinvigorate the guest experience. With mandates receding to pre-pandemic levels, adventure and business travel are booming. And the global market trends support it.
The Trajectory
The industry is gaining momentum as the world opens up again to travel and tourism. Here's a snapshot of what you can expect:
- Travel is on the rebound. The global hospitality market is expected to reach $6.7B USD in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2%.1
- But conflict is stunting growth potential. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has led to economic sanctions on multiple countries, a surge in commodity prices and supply chain disruptions affecting markets across the globe.2
- Digital bookings drive profit. 87% of total revenue will be generated through online sales by 2026. In a global comparison, most revenue will be generated in the United States.3
- Hotels are in high demand. Daily hotel room reservations are projected to surpass pre-pandemic rates.4
- People are taking to the sky again. Pre-pandemic levels are expected to reach 94% for airlines.5
of total revenue will be generated through online sales by 2026.
Pre-pandemic airline levels are expected to reach 94%.
Trends that Focus on Convenience and Comfort
In 2023, brands and businesses can expect to see guests prioritize convenience and comfort in their travel needs.
Click through to see the new trends shaping the landscape:
Gain Your Industry Ground
The travel and hospitality industry is on track. How you set up your fiscal year goals is up to you, of course.
Below are some tips that can help:
- Expand experience with minimal touchpoints. Alleviate frustration and friction for the busy traveler through integrated tools and technologies.
- Be mindful of amenities. Inside the rooms or around the property, wellness amenities can help guests rejuvenate, let go of stress and increase relaxation. Remember: unwind the mind!
- Consider a mobile strategy to reach your guests. Brand mobile apps and an optimized mobile-friendly website can bring ease and convenience to your guests' experiences.
- Make sustainability part of your guest experience. Big or small, look into adding sustainable practices and eco-friendly products to delight your guests.
- Think about optimizing your tech stack. Consider how your guests and customers interact with your business, and how your on- and off-site teams can use cloud-based technology, such as SIP trunking for your reservation and customer service phone lines, to modernize your PBX system and other tools and ensure a seamless, personalized experience.
- Consider extending your hospitality network. Jointly work with local travel professionals for a complete global brand experience and extend your network.
- Ask your guests for feedback. Use their thoughts and insight to continuously improve your offerings.
- Evaluate your sales and service channels. Take a look at your current setup and assess if it’s efficient and scalable to support your guest experience growth. Be sure to include voice, chat, social media, video and other forms of communication in your evaluation process.
The AVOXI Platform Solution
Travel and hospitality trends are evolving. And to keep pace with the high-touch experiences your customers expect, an all-in-one cloud communications solution can help empower quality interactions and attract travelers across the world in a centralized place. Use our platform to…
Simplify cloud communications.
Customers need to reach agents quickly to get answers about their upcoming travel. Seamlessly transform your guest experience with reliable global virtual numbers, custom IVR navigation and cloud PBX infrastructure with standard compliance regulations.
Intelligently route calls.
Ensure your travelers and guests are routed to the right person every time to book their travel plans or get connected to customer service. Tailored IVR menus, skills-based routing, queue callback and failover routing can help your teams achieve their goals through continuous, targeted support.
Refocus, re-engage and surrender the silos.
Quickly and easily integrate with your CRM, helpdesk or chat tool to hyper-personalize the customer experience using feature-rich communications and automated workflows - all within a single platform.
Set goals and measure success.
Proactively monitor team performance, call performance and trends with advanced analytics that enable you to make smarter decisions to support room and ticket sales, protect your brand’s reputation and ensure a stellar customer experience.
Citations
- Hospitality Global Market Report 2022, ReportLinker, 29 Dec. 2021, https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/12/29/2358663/0/en/Hospitality-Global-Market-Report-2022.html#:~:text=The%20global%20hospitality%20market%20is,(CAGR)%20of%2015.1%25. Accessed 9 Nov. 2022.
- “Hospitality Market Size 2022 and Growth Analysis.” The Business Research Company, https://www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com/report/hospitality-global-market-report.
- “Flights - Worldwide: Statista Market Forecast.” Flights - Worldwide, Statista , https://www.statista.com/outlook/mmo/shared-mobility/shared-vehicles/flights/worldwide.
- Trejo, Leslie. “Hotel Daily Room Demand Headed for All-Time High in 2023.” Hotel Daily Room Demand Headed for All-Time High in 2023, CoStar, 15 June 2022, https://www.costar.com/article/489795461/hotel-daily-room-demand-headed-for-all-time-high-in-2023.
- Air Passenger Numbers to Recover in 2024, IATA , 1 Mar. 2022, https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/2022-releases/2022-03-01-01/. Accessed 9 Nov. 2022.
- Booking.com Travel Predictions 2023, Hospitalitynet, 20 Oct. 2022, https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4113082.html#:~:text=42%25%20of%20travelers%20want%20to,their%20bodies%20in%20other%20ways. Accessed 9 Nov. 2022.
- Freer, Anne. Travel Goes Mobile: 63% Use Smartphone When Booking, Business of Apps, 28 July 2021, https://www.businessofapps.com/news/travel-goes-mobile-63-use-smartphone-when-booking/.
- Booking global. Climate, Community and Choice: Booking.com Reveals the Trends Shaping Sustainable Travel in 2022, Booking.com, 14 Apr. 2022, https://globalnews.booking.com/climate-community-and-choice-bookingcom-reveals-the-trends-shaping-sustainable-travel-in-2022/.