Top 7 Trends for Resorts, Independent & Boutique Hotels for 2020 How the Hospitality Industry is (going to have to) Adjusting to Consumer Demand It’s no secret that with more people traveling than ever, the hospitality industry is quickly evolving. To keep up with customer expectations, independent and boutique hotels are expected to go above and beyond in their interactions with guests, the quality of their spaces, and their unique offerings. Gone are the days of hotels being just a place to rest your head. Hotels are quickly evolving to feel more like a home away from home, fully equipped with personalized amenities to make guests feel like more than just their confirmation number. Outlined below are some of the approaches boutique hotels are starting to take to elevate their guest experience to the next level and keep up with the consumer’s evolving needs.
1. Experiential Marketing By offering experiential marketing activities, boutique and independent hotels are creating a hotel stay that doubles as a memorable experience. Today’s target clientele (hello, millennials) largely place more value on experiences rather than things. Hotels are creating an immersive experience by offering an “all in one” package that transforms the traditional hotel stay to a unique and authentic experience that guests will remember. Experiential marketing can look like anything from adventure tours and excursions, to live music, to pop up events featuring local vendors. Whatever shape or form it comes in, experiential marketing is at the forefront of today’s hospitality trends.
2. Sustainable Travel With today’s consumers being more eco-conscious than ever, sustainable travel is rapidly developing from a trend into a global priority. The implementation of an eco-friendly approach is presenting itself in a myriad of ways. It’s becoming standard to see hotels taking a paperless approach, offering food grown onsite, eliminating single-use plastic, minimizing water usage and energy, and the integrating the “three-zero-concept”, an architectural strategy which uses local construction materials and skills, prioritizes energy management and lowers emissions.
3. Local Art Hotels are getting more location-specific with their properties, with each location visually and thoughtfully reflecting its place in the world. The curation of local art, whether in the form of installations, murals, or a visual narrative is undoubtedly a rising trend. Hotel spaces are serving as seamless extensions of its destination, many of them leaning into this trend completely and doubling as a museum. This seemingly subtle trend is effective as it not only enhances the ambiance feel of the space, but also helps hotels to stand out amongst competition as they lend themselves to this form of experiential marketing.
COVID RESOURCES ~ SoCap Agency
1