Hotel guests of the future can look forward to a host of cutting-edge amenities, including augmented reality, responsive guest environments and robots, as well as new hotel models such as invitation-only hotels, hotels co-branded with luxury brands, white-label hotels and "catch-all" hotel chains that deliver both budget and luxury properties, according to travel technology company Amadeus, which this month released a new report in which it studies "the hotel of the future."
The report, "Hotels 2020: Beyond Segmentation," predicts that hotels in the next decade will trend toward greater personalization, increased comfort and more innovative experiences.
"This report delivers a compelling picture of the hotel of the future and how evolving guest preferences will impact hotel chains over the next decade," said Vic Pynn, executive vice president and head of hotel IT for Amadeus Americas. "We anticipate an ever-growing demand for personalization in all aspects of a guest's hotel stay. Intelligent and responsive technology will be critical in bringing this personalization to life."
Among key findings from Amadeus:
• Traditional customer segmentation will likely be replaced by personalized service spectrums and a "total service model," which means guests of the future will be able to personalize every aspect of their hotel stay, including pricing, technology, services and communications.
• To help them cater to multiple guest needs and demands, hotels will likely embrace innovations such as intelligent furniture, personalized nutrition and responsive technologies that understand cognitive functions.
• Tomorrow's most successful hotels will be those that can spot and implement new trends quickly and effectively.
"What we see is a shift from neatly defined customer segments to a more fragmented set of service spectrums that will demand hotels act in a way that is guest-focused, personal, connected and informed," said Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Future Research, which produced the report for Amadeus. "The right technology will be an increasingly important weapon in delivering on guest expectations and securing brand differentiation."