Hospitality Experts Reveal Pandemic Travel Trends That Are Here To Stay

What do Bleisure, WFH and RTD have in common?

They are some of the biggest trends in hospitality right now.

A number of the changes that were made to ensure the safety of guests have remained popular among travelers.

For instance, Tom Santora, Managing Director of Hotel Vin, believes that working from hotel (WFH) is here to stay.

Santora predicts that hotels will continue offering packages including free Wi-Fi access and conference room usage to meet of the need of business travelers. He also believes that families and couples will take business travel opportunities and turn them into vacations everyone can enjoy.

Another trend Santora sees is that the hotel has become the destination for many guests. In previous years, many viewed hotels as simply a place to sleep at night during a vacation, but he believes there will be a trend of travelers flocking to trendy properties with experiential packages. Hotel Vin offers, for example, tastings at Bacchus Kitchen + Bar, the hotel’s on-site restaurant, as well as exclusive classes and events with wineries and distilleries in the area.

Philip Bates, CEO and Co-Founder of TMC Hospitality also sees increased demand for local experiences.

"The pandemic has taught us to better appreciate the small things, which will lead people to seek out ways to get to know and experience the cities to which they are traveling," said Bates. "Any locals-only type of offering will have appeal. For example, at our new Drift San José del Cabo, we are offering a mezcal bar developed in partnership with Mezcal Exiliado and a local taco truck accompanied by live music in the courtyard."

He also sees the ongoing evolution of the "bleisure" travel trend that combines business and leisure on a trip.

People are looking forward to getting out more and will increasingly mix work trips with leisure trips," said Bates. "Taking extra time to see friends and family, explore cities, and work remotely will all play a big role in 'bleisure' demand. Hotels that offer extended stay rates, spaces and co-working areas will benefit from this trend."

Lior Sekler, Vice President of Revenue Management at HRI Hospitality, focused on how travelers were spending.

"The increase of disposable spend within the younger generation is impacting search and interest in travel, as they’re looking for unique experiences, interesting new destinations and 'Instagrammable' content to share on social," said Sekler. "Research shows a more than 20 percent increase in bookings by those influenced by social media content."

Travelers, in general, are spending more.

"In 2021, the U.S. experienced the strongest consumer spending growth in 70 years, totaling 8 percent growth," Sekler noted. "This expenditure purge is expected to continue into 2022, as consumer wealth is at record levels and they are eager and ready to spend money."

Dana Pellicano, Vice President, Food and Beverage, Global Operations at Marriott International pointed out that certain aspects of the visitor experience that were added during the pandemic continue to be popular.

"The pandemic provided an opportunity for a room-service redo: Over the course of the last year, room service revenue far exceeded budgets and overtook restaurants and lounges as the top revenue-generating outlet," said Pellicano. "At Marriott International, we started reinventing room service five years ago. The pandemic accelerated this adoption, and dozens more hotels migrated to this new room service format last year, offering food that boxes and travels well, at prices more commensurate with today’s customer expectations."

Pellicano also noted that mobile dining remains popular, along with the use of QR codes for easy access to menus and ordering.

RTD or "ready-to-drink" beverages are also here to stay. These beverages offer a hermetically sealed solution to the crafted cocktail, often by a familiar endorsed brand, noted Pellicano, who pointed to another draw--these beverages often come with high-quality ingredients to reasonably replicate a great bar experience.

Source: TravelPulse.com