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The Top Industry Changes for Hotels in 2018, Part Two

Major changes in an industry usually have to do with the customers of that industry changing, and that’s true for the hotel industry. Millennials approach work, travel and recreation differently than your older customers do, and their preferences are changing the industry.

In Part One, we saw that the influence of Airbnb is leading hotels to offer more community or lifestyle choices to capture millennial business. And we noted that millennials are far more interested in combining business with leisure travel, and that smart hotels are catering to that market.

Travel Market Report says that another millennial trend, that of blending work and living space, is an opportunity for hotels to stand out in the market. It cites Stephen Chan, partner in Eagle Point Hotel Partners, who says the “small rooms and inviting public spaces” format is popular with travellers.

The hotel might have 300 rooms where there would ordinarily be 200, but offer lots of working and socialising spaces with limited services – no room service or concierge – but high-quality space at an affordable price.

Other trends to appeal to millennial customers and their ‘always on’ lifestyle are the ability to get food in the lobby 24/7, instead of traditional room service ordering, and opening food halls in on the property to compete in convenience with local restaurants.

And technology, ever improving and ever more important to millennials, will be ever more present in hotels. Internet of Things technology, where mobile apps control not just the television but the thermostat, lighting and digital art in rooms, will be bigger.

“2018 is going to be the year that the rubber hits the road with IoT technology,” Marcello Gasdia of Deloitte LLP’s travel, hospitality, and services group, tells Skift. “It took a while for this technology to mature, but now personalization can happen in real time. It’s a win-win for everybody.”

Want help with steering your hotel or motel in 2018? Give us a call on 0800 277 225 or email us at sales@starlinegroup.co.nz and we'll organise for one of our business developement managers to visit you for a no expectations face-to-face meeting.