Harness 2024 Travel Trends to Boost Bookings

“New year, new you” … and a new hospitality industry. From pop culture and special vibes to sustainable practices and wellness retreats, travelers are inspired by many facets of the modern world when it comes to the destinations, experiences, and accommodations they seek. They’re not just checking off bucket lists anymore.  Both Expedia and Booking.com […]

How to Drive Bookings along the Path to Purchase

Expedia Group’s latest study of how consumers plan and book travel online surveyed travelers in Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, the U.K., and the U.S.A. to reveal preferences and behavior along the path to purchase. The study, aptly named The Path To Purchase, discovered the average path to purchase length—from when a traveler starts thinking about […]

6 Impactful Ways to Adapt Your Hotel to Climate Change

Climate change isn’t coming anymore. It’s here. This year, we’ve seen record-breaking temperatures, devastating wildfires, unusually aggressive storms, and unprecedented flooding around the globe. None of this is particularly good for travel. While you can and should make your hotel as sustainable as possible, you need to find ways to weather climate change as well […]

How to Create a Niche Luxury Hotel Experience

Even with post-pandemic uncertainty, plenty of people look to experience the high life when they travel…and they’re willing to pay for it. The luxury travel market is expected to more than double from $638.2 billion in 2021 to $1650.5 billion in 2031. From Rodin-inspired pastries to 24-karat gold facial masks, here’s how to attract these […]

Pandemic Hotel Trends That Are Here to Stay

The pandemic is slowly fading, and people are just as enthusiastic for travel as they were before. However, the hospitality industry is not returning to 2019 but instead moving forward with innovative concepts and technology accelerated by the pandemic. To look ahead, we need to look back at “pandemic trends” that are now the norm.  […]

Biophilic Design: 7 Essentials for Hoteliers

The motivation behind biophilic design is to strengthen the relationship between people and nature, reaping benefits such as environmental preservation, reduced stress, and increased productivity and overall well-being. This design philosophy is achieved by blurring the boundaries between outdoor and indoor areas to create a soothing, peaceful atmosphere that entices people to reconnect with their […]

An Independent Hotelier’s Guide to Reducing Waste

Eliminate those little plastic bottles

Travelers are increasingly conscious of their impact on both the destination they travel to and the planet as a whole. Moving to Mars isn’t an option (yet)! The impact of any given trip is significantly influenced by the accommodation chosen. According to a 2022 report, 46 percent of travelers chose to stay at a sustainable […]

How Hotels Use AI to Serve Guests Better

Tech For Touchless

If you had mentioned Artificial Intelligence in relation to the hotel industry a few years ago, robots behind the front desk would likely come to mind. While 2020 saw the novelty of robot butlers, AI today is quite different—and astounding! Let’s define what AI is for hotels and explore how hotels can leverage it for […]

Boutique Hotel Trends to Watch

With travel demand, labor shortages, and operating expenses increasing simultaneously, it’s a challenge for independent hoteliers to uphold service standards while working harder than ever. Watching and implementing current hotel trends enables hoteliers to find new ways to streamline operations, even as they elevate guest experience and maximize profit.  Read on for important boutique hotel […]

The In-room Experience Guests Want

Gone are the days of pay-per-view movies and calling the front desk to adjust the thermostat (an annoying proposition even back in the 2000s). Modern guests look for a technologically advanced in-room experience that enables them to access additional amenities, make requests efficiently, and control more features of the room itself.  Wi-Fi Who wants Wi-Fi? […]

An Independent Hotelier’s Guide to Sleep Tourism

“I need a vacation from my vacation.” Hours of driving, flying, ferrying, and waiting in line. Days packed with exciting yet exhausting back-to-back activities. Sumptuous meals, drinks, and extended bedtimes. Sound familiar? In the past, going on holiday typically meant making the most of your time by participating in as many experiences as possible. Going […]

Hotel Meeting and Event Trends for 2023

In-person events, meetings, and conferences are back on! According to Cvent, 83% of event planners polled expect to host more in-person events in 2023 than in 2019! Is your independent hotel ready? Buckle up, because 2023 is bringing some major trends that will shake up the industry.  Gone are the days of stuffy (and dare […]

Hospitality Trends for the New Year

Heading into the new year, many people make resolutions for their personal lives, so why not make resolutions for your business, too? Resolve to harness hospitality trends that reflect your guests’ wants and needs to elevate your property’s stay experience and bottom line. Bleisure Travelers and Workations With the ability to work anywhere comes a […]

5 Sustainable Hotels to Inspire Us

By definition, sustainability and hospitality go hand in hand. To be hospitable means to be friendly and welcoming to guests, but it also means providing an environment that’s pleasant and favorable for living in. The bigger picture for hotels is how they contribute to the environment that surrounds them so that Planet Earth continues to […]

Getting in on the Health Kick: Wellness for Independent Lodgings

Recent events have highlighted the importance of looking out for ourselves and others. An Ipsos survey discovered that 62 percent of Americans care more about their health than they did pre-pandemic. Both leisure and business travelers look for experiences that enhance their personal wellness regimes when away from home and use this criteria to choose […]

Demystifying the Metaverse for Independent Hotels

POV: you enter the lobby of a five-star luxury hotel. Friendly agents behind the front desk exude welcoming smiles while sky-high ceilings inspire a sense of awe and walls adorned with fine artwork remind you that you’re staying near the Louvre in the world-class, cultural city of Paris—all from the comfort of your own home. […]

Gen Z: The Next Generation of Hotel Guests and How to Win Them Over

A group of three young Gen Z friends on social media

Born between approximately 1996 and 2012, Gen Z is more than comfortable with the latest technology. In fact, they’ve never experienced life without the internet. Gen Z is both socially conscious and sociable, whether or not they’re online. According to a Stanford survey, most Gen Z actually prefer in-person communication, so don’t neglect those smiling […]

Hotel Amenities: What Today’s Guests Look For When Booking Accommodation

Hotel Amenities

To win guest loyalty, hoteliers have always needed to offer more than a place to sleep. Whether it is valet parking, room service, or an on-site spa, hotels rely on extra amenities to appeal to customers.  This hasn’t changed post-pandemic. After two years of sitting around in sweatpants, trying to muster the energy to microwave […]

Hotel Trend Alert: Very Important Pet Perks

When the world closed down in 2020, it wasn’t just toilet paper that was rushed off the shelves—there was a rush on pets too, particularly dogs. Shelters couldn’t keep up with applications and breeders had year-long waitlists. Working from home made it the perfect time to welcome a new furry family member.  As travel opens […]

Here Come the Baby Boomers. Is Your Hotel Ready?

A group of baby boomers at the beach

There’s been much ado about Millennials (born early 1981 through 1996)—and for good reason. As the largest generation in the U.S., tech-savvy Millennials have driven the evolution of hospitality (think online presence, mobile apps, social media, and personalized experiences). However, in our warranted efforts to please the young people, we must be careful not to […]

Creating Coworking Hotel Spaces

Digital nomads enjoy comfortable coworking hotel space

With the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, the world kept going by remote workforces. While offices are opening up once again, the high level of remote work remains as companies and their staff discovered how possible it was. In 2021, the amount of permanent remote work actually doubled from pre-pandemic levels. As office walls have come […]

The Hotel of the Future

Do you wonder what the hotel of the future will look like? We’re not talking about a hotel on the moon or anything (but imagine the views!), yet rather what we can expect from hotels in the next decade or so based on current trends and forerunner technologies already in use.  It’s not so much […]

What Hotel Guests Want in 2022

What Guests Want

Just as the world began to open up to more travel, those metaphorical gates closed again in the face of new variants, proving that the only thing predictable when it comes to the future of travel is that it’s unpredictable! What we also know, though, is this: people love to travel in any way they […]

Hotel Marketing Trends for 2022

2022 Marketing Trends

As we look forward to the new year, it’s a good time to reflect on how much the world has changed in only a couple of years. What’s fascinating is how technology that existed before the pandemic was harnessed by the hospitality industry to make it through these difficult times with grace, optimism, and warmth […]