- Hotels in Africa must adopt a holistic service approach to boost revenues.
- Serving the local community through extended stays is the future of hotels.
- Investment in digital technology will improve hotel services.
The hospitality industry is changing fast. When considering the future hotel experience, you are no longer just looking at a travel destination or a sleepover spot. Hotels of the future must offer more. An ‘augmented hospitality experience’ is what experts are calling it. Thus, stakeholders in Africa’s hospitality industry must explore ways to adapt.
“The hotel of the future is more than just a place to stay; it is a location people can enjoy even if they live in the neighborhood,” comments Alix Boulnois, the Chief Digital Officer at Accor, one of the largest hospitality companies in the world.
This new reality of the hotel experience was forced upon the industry by the pandemic. However, as the expert puts it, it was always an inevitable future of the industry. Hotels that do not change to meet this new ‘demand type’ and stick to the traditional marketing targeted to external travelers will be left behind.
The augmented hospitality experience caters to all needs and more so for the needs of the ‘domestic traveler you, please.
“You can eat at the hotel, go to the spa, or enjoy the gym. In the future, the hotels could provide many other services, including banking, mailing, laundry, and so on,” Boulnois expounds.
Hybrid model of hotels
The sector expert should know that his company Accor represents a portfolio of more than 40 hospitality brands covering over 5,400 hotels across 110 countries. Boulnois says that to prepare for the future already here, they must ‘reimagine hospitality and anticipate and cater to travelers’ changing needs and expectations.’
So what we are looking at here is a hybrid model of hotels. Here the hotel represents more than a place dedicated to travelers alone but provides for the needs of the locals as well. If hotels adapt to this new reality, experts say, in the not-so-distant future, “many people will choose to live in hotels instead of in apartments.”
What this means for the hotel is a much-needed market, especially during this post-pandemic recovery period. I say this investable future was forced upon the industry by the pandemic because, during the lockdowns and travel restrictions, hotels lost their traditional market, ‘the traveler.’
Brands that were able to stay afloat (if we can dare call it that) are those that turned to market to the local demand pool.
This meant hotels marketed their conference rooms more, their restaurants and cafes, pools and gyms, etc, and these facilities and amenities can and do provide lucrative options to room stay.
Not just that, marketing ‘room stays’ to locals also provides a market for the hotels, especially in low seasons or blackout nights.
For long-term advantage, hotels must look beyond ‘overnight stays’ and reinvest in branded residences. This new reality will bring to life the true meaning of ‘feel at home,’ a slogan many hotel brands use.
Branded residences mean, instead of a home from home, another hotel coveted slogan, the hotel becomes your home. Instead of locals renting out expensive furnished apartments, they can opt out of hotel apartments.
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Business travel is changing
The augmented hospitality experience is also true for business travelers. While figures show business travel is rebounding to almost the pre-pandemic levels, the nature of business travel is changing.
A new phrase has been conjured to describe this new trend in business travel, ‘leisure.’ Bleisure means mixing business with leisure. Persons traveling for business are no longer just going ‘strictly business’ but want the different elements of life intertwined in one hotel stay.
“This means hotels will need to provide multipurpose rooms and spaces where people can work, eat, and socially connect throughout the day,” comments Alex Schellenberger:
This means that rooms should no longer be rigid but rather fluid for hotels. Hotel rooms should be able to transform in a couple of minutes from an office setting to a party mood, to a private romantic moment, in the snap of a finger.
Hotels must make this change because another forced pandemic reality is the ability to work remotely. What this new reality means for hotels is longer stays. Working remotely allows the patrons to stay in travel longer. Consequently, hotels must adjust and provide for this new reality.
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Extended-stay: The future of hotels
Technically known as ‘extended-stay business,’ the remote working experience is booming in the hospitality sector, and experts say the trend will only accelerate in the coming years. Large hospitality management companies like the giant Accor are already planning around this and have announced plans to make their extended-stay network three times bigger in the next three years.
“Another trend we’ve seen arising since the pandemic is a strong focus on mental health and well-being,” comments Alex Schellenberger.
This is another huge new trend that hotels must capitalize on or lose out. Hotels must ensure a holistic experience, from healthy foods and nutrition guides to room ambiance and staff interactions.
For example, instead of spending huge bucks on gym equipment, hotels should invest in providing alternative fitness programs. These include yoga, meditation classes, and well-rounded spa experiences.
“Hotels now have a responsibility to help their guests recharge, sleep better, and feel restored…in the past, you might have felt more tired returning from a business trip. It’s up to us to give you the opposite experience,” Schellenberger asserts.
The health and nutrition trend forms part of a much larger paradigm shift known as ‘conscious living.’ Hotels must join the rest of the business community and plan their investment around sustainability.
For example, hotels can attract or lose customers based on sustainability policies. Conscious living means more and more people are, for example, conscious of their carbon footprint and will opt to stay at a more green hotel.’
Hotels must consider and make public such aspects as their energy sources and consumption patterns. Hotels should declare what they are doing to reduce their carbon footprint and go green.
“It’s no secret that the tourism and hotel industry is responsible for a big chunk of carbon emissions, so we have a big responsibility to lead in this sector,” he admits.
According to him, as of the end of 2022, Accor has already ensured that 84 percent of their hotels removed more than 45 single-use plastic items. Making such sustainable actions public attracts clientele. Recent research reveals that 65 percent of travelers would opt in if presented with more sustainable travel choices.
It bodes well for hotels that post their sustainability certifications and labels on their booking platforms. In this new conscious future, eco-certified hotels will be the first option.
Hotels must consider ergonomics
For brands that care, sustainability goes beyond reducing carbon footprints and controlling energy consumption. Hotels must consider ergonomics and ensure they provide good working conditions for their staff.
The hotel designs should not only ‘look good’. They should also make the hotel more efficient and put the ‘good of the planet’ first.
Here you run into another growing terminology, biophilic design, which means ‘increasing connectivity to the natural environment.’ Nature should inspire hotel facades to incorporate plants into the design.
Adopting new glass technology to capture solar energy or having rooms lit by direct light from outside. Even hotel corridors should be more like promenades or terraces open to the outside.
“A hotel will be like a landmark in a city. You might not even be able to identify it as a building,” Schellenberger comments.
Finally, the hotel of the future is digital, digital technology serves to improve operations and guest experience. The hotel can better personalize its services to each client’s needs by investing in micro-personalization.
Hotels can better recognize potential guests and learn their preferences using digital channels. Moreover, digital technology allows hotels to provide staff with client information enabling them to offer personalized service.
Hotel staff should be able to say, “Hello, Mr. X, we know you’re traveling with your kids, and we know you love chocolate, so we’ve left some chocolate in your room and so on,”
Further, digital technology allows guests to personalize even the most minor details. These include the temperature in their room, scent, layout, view, etc.
Using specialized Apps, clients can book their rooms right at their palms. With some detail, the App can have special features that can propose the best hotel and room depending on customer preferences and the reason for the stay.
You can also go to the room with your mobile app, so the reception and transactional process will disappear. That will free the hotel staff to dedicate their time to helping guests more actively, less transactionally.
