Broadly speaking, the hotel industry is one of the biggest service industries that serves and welcomes people from all walks of life. It goes beyond the basic need of providing accommodation for travelers and people away from home.
People worldwide rely on the hotel industry for transportation, food, entertainment, recreational and business needs. Customer experience is all that makes a big difference for the players.
Also, the hotel industry is often seen as the indicator of how other sectors will perform, as it entices work and leisure travel.
In this article, you will understand the hotel industry comprehensively, focusing on the following key areas:
What is a hotel?
- What is the hotel industry?
- What is the difference between the hotel industry and the hospitality industry?
- What are the different types of accommodations in the hotel industry?
- Why are star ratings used to measure the quality of hotels?
- The latest technology trends in the hospitality industry
- Post-Covid-19 consumer trends in the hotel industry
- What are the common challenges in the hotel industry?
Let’s dive into each area.
What is a Hotel?
Before the introduction of the hotel industry, it is essential to learn what a hotel is. Simply put, a hotel is an establishment or building that provides accommodation for guests to stay for a certain period, depending on their requirements – in exchange for money.
The dynamics of hotels have been evolving and shifting towards a rapidly changing landscape, especially with the advent of technology and communication.
Depending on the type of hotel and establishment, the hotel owners attract customers based on different factors such as value, experience, services, and needs. Through various strategies and tactics, hotel owners attract and retain customers.
The focus is to bring in new guests while maintaining existing relationships. For example, the largest hotel chains in the world have a stronghold, and entry into the market for new players is challenging.
However, new players can sustain the competitive pressure by ensuring exceptional guest service and experience.
Apart from providing services, hotels play a quintessential role in the development and growth of the economy. It has enjoyed a spurt of massive growth over the years until the pandemic and is moving upwards again, scaling growth.
What is the Hotel Industry?
With accelerated growth, the hotel industry is expected to reach 1.21 trillion U.S. dollars by the end of 2023. And the number of users is expected to amount to 1.33 billion by 2027.
But what is the hotel industry? How does it operate? And how is it defined?
All your questions will be answered in this hotel industry introduction.
The Modern-day hotel industry looks quite different, but its origin dates back thousands of years. The hotel industry is based on two rules: respect from hosts to guests and respect from guests to hosts.
The basic theme is to provide services to the guests. The hotel industry is defined as a business sector that evolves around providing accommodation to guests.
The hotel industry consists of subdivisions such as lodging service, food & beverage service, tourism, transportation, and events. These subdivisions often overlap and collaborate to create an overall guest experience.
As a core component, customer experience and service excellence remain the key focus in the hotel industry. Hotels in the industry can regain repeat stays by improving restaurant operations for better customer experience and customer service.
What is the Difference between Hotel Industry and Hospitality Industry?
Many people mistakenly believe the hotel and hospitality industries are the same. While there are differences that set them apart, they are also interconnected.
While the hotel industry is solely responsible for the accommodation of the guests, the hospitality industry is more inclusive and broader.
The area of scope for the hotel industry refers to the management of hotels and lodging. In contrast, for the hospitality industry, it refers to managing people and conducting business with them.
Even though both industries have entry, managerial, and top positions for professionals, the scope of employment is varied. From the employment perspective, working in the hotel market is limited to resorts, restaurants, and hotel chains, but with ample opportunities.
Meanwhile, in the hospitality industry, the scope is more comprehensive, and professionals have opportunities in different categories such as finance, administration, marketing, HR, and operations.
Most importantly, the hotel industry is linked to and contributes to the growth and business development of the hospitality industry.
What are the Different Types of Accommodations in the Hotel Industry?
To understand the nature of the hotel business, you must know the types of accommodations offered to the guests. To integrate the dynamic trends in the hospitality industry, you must understand how each type of accommodation caters to a different set of customers and requires different strategies.
Here are some of the most common types:
1. Boutique hotels
A boutique hotel is a small, intimate, quaint hotel with less than 100 rooms and typically situated in a fashionable urban location. It offers personalized services for the guests and is considered trendy due to its amenities and services.
2. Pop-up hotels
A pop-up hotel refers to a temporary accommodation or establishment designed to meet the demand for a certain period. It is usually built using collapsable elements to meet seasonal or unique event demands and can be easily assembled when required.
3. Resorts
Resorts refer to a place that is designed keeping in mind recreational activities, entertainment, and accommodation for travelers and vacationers. It offers services beyond lodging, food, and drink.
4. Bunkhouses
Bunkhouses refer to an accommodation with bunk beds often used for sleeping only. They are simply sleeping quarters for workers and campers.
5. Motels
Motels refer to roadside places where guests can stay overnight, with parking spaces and easy highway access. Motels target people traveling by car or motorbikes.
Why are Star Ratings Used to Measure the Quality of Hotels?
As an internationally recognized metric for the hotel industry, star ratings are indicators of a hotel’s quality, cleanliness, and standard of service. The higher the star ratings, the more you can expect from the hotel.
In the hotel sector, ratings are based on the following criteria:
One Star
A one-star hotel provides minimal and limited services, cost-effective accommodation, and basic amenities.
Two Star
A two-star hotel provides comfortable accommodation with limited amenities such as in-room TV, phone, and closet.
Three Star
A three-star hotel provides a balance between comfort and affordability. It includes a couch, comfy chair, a desk, closet, phone, alarm clock, TV, free Wi-Fi, a gym, a pool, and dining facilities for breakfast.
Four Star
A four-star hotel is designed to give guests an upscale featuring full-experience amenities and ambiance with noticeably elegant lobbies, indoor and outdoor amenities, spacious rooms, king-sized beds, shuttle services, and much more.
Five Star
A five-star hotel offers a high-end experience with personalized touch, round-the-clock services, and the highest standard of comfort and relaxation. Guests always receive undivided attention from the staff, extra pampering, and full-service experience.
Pro-tip for hotel owners: Ensure you attend top food service trade shows and events in the hospitality industry to enhance your visibility and increase opportunities to increase service excellence.
The Latest Technology Trends in the Hospitality Industry
Technology has drastically changed the hotel hospitality business landscape. As the industry evolves, hotel owners increasingly adopt the latest hospitality technology to stay ahead of the competition.
Hotels are now more inclined towards restaurant technology for efficient operations, and some of them include the following.
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Online booking platforms
As the use of online booking platforms becomes more common by customers in the hospitality industry, hotels give the freedom to book or reserve rooms at any time from anywhere in the world through a single click.
For example, Agoda is an online booking platform that allows guests to book hotels across the globe and also allows hotels to make listings on their website to connect with target customers.
Source: Agoda
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Smart room technology
Smart room technology offers a great opportunity to create a personalized experience, increase efficiency, and reduce costs. From room controls at the fingertips to room service requests, room technology gives guests the power to maintain greater comfort and convenience.
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Contactless check-in/check-out
Contactless check-in/check-out lets your guests skip the frustrating waiting lines in the hotel lobby to reach the reception desk. Through a mobile app or website, guests can check in and check out at their preferred times, reducing the workload on hotel staff.
For example, Jumeirah Hotel in Dubai offers online check-in and check-out services for an effortless arrival and time-saving departure.
Source: Jumeriah
However, it is crucial to balance technology use and personal interaction even with modern technologies in place. As both are equally significant to deliver an exceptional customer experience.
Post-COVID-19 Consumer Trends in the Hotel Industry
COVID-19 has been the most challenging time for the hotel industry. It has helped us redefine the operational framework and look for new opportunities to deal with the challenges.
Post-COVID-19, the operations and management of the hotel industry have entirely changed, focusing on versatility and flexibility.
Hotel Operations and Management
With a significant impact on the hotel industry worldwide, hotels continue to navigate the aftermath of the pandemic. Due to this, hotel operations and management have been affected. Maintaining financial sustainability has been a more important task for the hotels during Covid-19; therefore post-pandemic operations have become challenging.
Here are some key pointers to seamlessly run operations and management post-pandemic:
- Adopting technology and automation
- Use of robotics for housekeeping
- Enhancing guest meals and food services
- Integrate more self-service technologies
- Use a hotel management system
A well-managed hotel operations and management are at the core of satisfying customer experience. Hotel owners can substantially improve the entire property operation by ensuring each department is interlocked and operates with peak efficiency.
Front-of-house operations
Due to the pandemic, the front-of-house operations have changed due to social distancing. The hotel staff couldn’t cater to the people at the front desk, so online booking systems and web applications were integrated for a seamless experience.
Back-of-house operations
Back-of-house operations are concerned with the central command or the backbone of the hotel operations, such as the storage area, laundry room, and business offices.
For these, mobile apps and built-in displays are added in the hotel rooms to demand services with a click.
Importance of effective management
As customer service is paramount for the success of hotel operations, it is essential to maintain efficient management to satisfy the guests.
Here’s why effective management is essential:
- Relationship building
- Time management
- Responsive to needs
- Record management
- Operational efficiency
What are the Common Challenges in the Hotel Industry?
No industry is perfect, and each has its challenges. To address these challenges, you must proactively deal with them without being overwhelmed. If these challenges are not resolved instantly, it may lead to hotel operations failure.
Here are some common challenges in the hotel industry:
Hiring professionals and retaining the staff
Front and back operations require staff to run the hotel business smoothly. Hiring and retaining people for jobs in the hotel industry is challenging due to its changing nature and seasonality.
However, the management can focus on training and retaining staff by providing a detailed career development plan and a sense of belonging.
Operational issues
As a service industry, hotels undergo countless operational issues daily. Operating issues occur, from communicating with the guests at the reception to maintaining cleanliness. The only way out is to automate your processes and maintain transparency.
Housekeeping issues
Every guest demands a clean and tidy room as a basic minimal requirement. And even a hygienic environment in the hotel. Effective housekeeping with automated systems and strategies can help hotels maintain a great experience at all times.
Data security challenges
Data security challenges top the list due to the increasing data theft and confidentiality breaches. To deal with this, hotels must ensure better data encryption, compliance with security, and a secure IT system.
Hotel Industry (FAQs)
How are hotels adapting to changing travel trends?
By embracing technology and communication apps, hotels adapt to changing travel trends. From contactless check-in/check-outs, online booking systems, smart room technology, and much more, the industry is reshaping experiences to meet the changing needs.
What role does technology play in enhancing guest experience?
The role of technology in enhancing guest experience is derived through the following:
- Online check-in & check-out options
- Mobile applications
- Personalized dashboards
- Personalized communication
- Instant upgrades
- Feedback
Final words
After the comprehensive hotel industry overview, you must have fully understood how it works worldwide.
Even though the hotel industry has become complex over the years, technology has made it convenient and accessible for both guests and hotel owners.
By understanding the hotel and hospitality industry, you can help hotels achieve customer satisfaction and deliver service excellence with the right approach.
