At The Hotel Show in Dubai, experts highlight key trends of hospitality sector

DUBAI: Now that travel and tourism are gradually finding their feet again, it is only natural for the hospitality industry to usher in some positivity into their hotels as well. The Covid years saw the hotel sector plummet to the lowest ebb with many shutting shop.

Come 2022, with the world back to welcoming travellers across borders, hospitality business has started looking up as well. As per the Hospitality Global Market Report 2022, the global hospitality sector is expected to reach $4.5 trillion in 2022 from $3.95 trillion in 2021.

However, things may never be the same the way they were in pre-Covid days, and every sector has had to do major overhauling to adjust to what is popularly dubbed as ‘the new normal’. For the hospitality industry, which was already on the road to making much-needed innovative changes, the Covid days simply proved to be a catalyst in bringing new trends to fit into the fluid travel environment.

“Even pre-Covid, behavioural change was already happening, but Covid simply accelerated the bus. The industry had time to reflect and adjust, and now it can go faster and accelerate a bit more rapidly, and equally importantly, widely,” explained Oliver Harnisch, Senior Strategy Advisor, Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, at The Hotel Show, recently held in Dubai.

So, moving forward, what are the trends and changing behaviours that hospitality industry will have to adopt to be successful?

Naim Maadad, Chief Executive Officer & Founder Gates Hospitality, puts it quite succinctly: “For me the future of hospitality is very clear: space, luxury, food & beverage, retail, and making sure that guests understand the destination that is aligned with their vision of life. The future is about making sure we connect with individuals.”

While guest experience has always been a basic prerequisite for any hotel, it has now become the core centre and a key element when designing tomorrow’s strategy.

Experts in the field believe that today’s hotel guest is looking for a more rooted, tailored and more importantly, personal experience.

One key word often repeated in the hospitality realm is digitalisation. From virtual to augmented reality and AI, are the tools that further enhance customer experience both in terms of time-efficiency and convenience.

Pundits believe that the future of the industry largely depends on how well hotels adapt and convert themselves digitally, which, in reality is the gamechanger.

Learning to use technology effectively is the way to change the rules of the game, allowing hotels to deliver a far superior service.

One of the biggest outcomes of Covid has been the preference of ‘contactless solutions’ – a concept that is here to stay. From selecting a room to eventually checking out of a hotel, guests are now looking for a service that is more digitalised. For a consumer, their mobile should be the real point-of-contact for everything from booking to room service. Mobile functionality should allow the guest a sense of independence and greater freedom of movement while at the same time stay constantly connected to the hotel.

Rajesh Yadav, who deals in software management and data systems, gives an example:

“As soon a hotel reservation arrives from any source, the system should send a QR code as a confirmation to the guest. This QR code on the phone becomes the fulcrum of anything the guests do while they stay at the hotel”.

Customers can use the QR code for any service, from selecting their preferred rooms to using room service and making payments.

Moreover, the code even allows them to directly access the room without the hassle of checking in at the counter.

This convenience and efficiency, combined with a personal touch is the unique experience guests will be looking for as the hospitality sector moves forward. The winning formula for the future would be to combine the warmth of human service with the power of technology and hotels looking to adapt their service to the expectation of the guest.

A hotel, for instance, should be well able to differentiate between the requirements of a business traveller and one who’s vacationing with family, since no ‘one service fits all’ any longer.

Another main focus for hospitality sector today is sustainability. Again, a concept that found roots in pre-Covid days, the growing demand for a sustainable setup that supports eco-tourism has now become a hallmark of success.

In fact, a recent study found that consumers are now more aware of their carbon footprint with around 60 percent claiming that Covid has made them more conscious of their environment.

This puts a huge onus on hotels who must take stock of their impact on the environment and design a roadmap that will help reduce carbon emission.

Use of biodegradable materials, limited plastic use, reduction in food-wastage and going paperless, among other measures will be a huge plus points for any hotel that wants to stand tall as ecologically responsible and ethical in their contribution towards a greener environment.

Dubai, as one of the finest examples of hospitality, is spearheading this change and has already proved the success of the combination of technology, sustainability and outsourcing on several occasions.

The emirate received more than 4 million visitors in the first quarter of 2022 and boasts of a thriving hospitality sector that is both sophisticated and well-synced with the demands of its consumer.

This was quite evident at The Hotel Show held in Dubai. The largest trade event for the hotel & hospitality sector in the Middle East, The Hotel Show brought together experts, leaders and key stakeholders across different areas of hospitality sector including housekeeping, F&B, technology, facilities management and hotel services among others.

The event also featured several conferences, seminars and features that highlighted in-depth analysis and inter-industry debates. Moreover, the Show also hosted live competitions including Housekeepers League of Champions and The Chef’s Table.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022