Key Trends in Hotel Management for 2022

Don’t you just love the possibilities that a new year brings?And with scientists saying that it could be the beginning of the end for Covid-19, it’s the ideal time to look ahead to what opportunities 2022 could bring.Here we review the Top 5 Trends in Hotel Management for the coming year.

1. Encourage more guests to book direct

Still relying on third parties to get your rooms filled? Having a booking engine on your website to allow guests to book stays directly with you is one of the easiest ways to increase profitability.Direct bookings can help lower your client acquisition expenses and increase brand loyalty. Being active online with an optimized website, a more “Instagrammable” persona and eye-catching discounts will also all result in more direct bookings.The roommaster booking engine, can be customized to reflect your hotel’s website and integrates seamlessly with our channel manager so your availability and rates are always synchronized. This means you can accept both third party and direct stays without the risk of double booking.

2. Integrating Wellness into Hotel Design

Even before the pandemic, guest wellness had become a significant trend in hospitality. Along with stringent health measures to safeguard people from Covid-19, the wellness industry will continue to witness demand for holistic hospitality.Here are a few ideas that can enrich guest experience and cater to their well-being:

• Lighting – Customer loyalty is reliant on providing each guest with a unique and memorable experience. Install smart lights that can be personalized according to guest’s moods and requirements.
• Gym and Yoga Rooms – A fitness facility can help a hotel by increasing the property's appeal to potential guests, increasing customer happiness and improving guests’ well-being.
• Relax, Rejuvenate, Repeat – Transform bathrooms into spa-like experiences that calm the soul, nurture the body and tingle the senses.
• Buffet of Options – Make sure that your hotel provides dietary alternatives that include options for pescatarians, vegetarians, vegans and those with intolerances and allergies.

When it comes to improving guest experience, people are growing more accustomed to using facial and fingerprint identification to unlock their smartphones and computers and will soon expect the same convenience in their hotel rooms. Investigate how you can create more contactless but personalized experiences by maximizing your property’s mobile app.

3. Places with Purpose

Sustainability remains as relevant as ever. People are making conscious choices to look for responsible travel operators or facilities that strive to preserve and protect the environment. Sustainability might seem like a difficult and expensive choice, but it pays off eventually.Small changes like having a locally sourced menu, large shampoo and soap dispensers over single-use plastic bottles, reducing energy consumption etc... can have an everlasting impression on our planet.... and a great impression on your customers.

4. Staycations and Bleisure

Bleisure refers, of course, to those guests who like to combine their business trip with leisure. A report from Hilton Hotel & Resorts found that seven out of ten business travelers aged 25-30 want to extend work trips for mini vacations. With the pandemic making traveling more complicated, it’s no wonder that people want to take advantage when they do get away.This is an excellent opportunity for hotels; have a look how you can adjust your offerings to capitalize on this trend. Contact business travelers before their trip with ideas on how they can extend their stay with beneficial rates. Make it easy for all visitors to access leisure activities by including sightseeing info, day trips and hiking routes in the local area.And don’t forget, many business travelers have families who may want to join them on the trip. Rather than risking it abroad, the US has seen an increase in family staycations, so make sure you can cater to this new demographic with in-house activities that can keep kids entertained.

5. Preparing to Pivot

While it’s great to see scientists being more positive about the future, it’s important to know how to pivot. Stay prepared and adaptable for new lockdowns at short notice as Covid mutates or brings new challenges. Ensure your policies are flexible with regards to cancellations and refunds, so that your customers feel like you’re on their side.Keep relationships strong with past guests through regular communications and offers, so they know where to head when the time is right. Talk to them about the changes you’re making and how excited you are about sharing them soon.In addition to reacting to trends in hotel management industry, hoteliers should continue to look for innovative ways to automate processes, freeing up time to concentrate on creating incredible customer experiences for all guests.As technological innovation continues to evolve, ensure your PMS system allows you to react to whatever the future may throw at you, so you stay ahead of the game.___roommaster Software is a leading technology provider for the hospitality industry. For over 25 years, roommaster has combined hotelier experience with innovative technology to deliver an all-in-one solution that empowers hotels to attract guests, drive customer loyalty, and increase profits. Our flagship property management software, roommaster PMS, helps manage over 5,500 properties across 100 countries. roommaster develops scalable solutions ranging from a Hotel PMS, Cloud PMS, Channel Manager, Hotel CRM and helps properties enable guests to Book Direct. We believe that everyone deserves a great guest experience, whether they’re staying at a small B&B, a thousand-room resort, or anywhere in between.Call us today at 1.813.288.4900. We will be happy to walk you through roommaster’s solutions.