Emerging Trends in the Hotel Industry: A Lighthearted Approach

by Daniel Edward Craig

The hotel industry is built on cheerfulness and spirited optimism, yet in these challenging economic times it’s getting increasingly difficult for employees to hold their smile. Amidst all the doom and gloom I thought I’d take a more lighthearted approach to identifying some of the trends emerging in the hotel industry.

1. Everything learned in revenue management training has gone out the window. Hysteria rules the day as hotels drop rates, get indignant when competitors drop rates in response, and then panic and drop rates even further. All inventory is now treated as distressed inventory, erasing years of brand-equity-building and training travelers to look for the best deals on third-party websites. It will take years to recover from these rate wars, and the only winner is the traveler.

2. Travelers are becoming more demanding and less forgiving. Acutely aware of the hotel industry’s desperation to fill rooms, travelers are demanding even deeper discounts and more value add-ons while at the same time refusing to tolerate the cuts to services hotels have been forced to implement to stay afloat, posting nasty comments on TripAdvisor like “Save your money! This hotel has gone to hell!!”

3. Service levels are nose-diving. The labor shortage crisis of 2008, when hoteliers blamed poor service levels on lack of employee resources, has given way to the job shortage crisis of 2009, in which hoteliers now blame poor service levels on tight labor budgets. Managers have been forced to cover frontline shifts to save labor costs, thereby revealing they have no clue how their department operates, resulting in a deluge of missed wakeup calls, accounting errors and guests checked into occupied rooms.

4. Eco-friendly initiatives are being tossed into the recycling bin. Faced with the grim realization that going green costs money, hotels are instead opting for programs that guilt the guest into making the sacrifices, such as the now-ubiquitous optional towel and sheet replacement program. Having discovered that guests will tolerate plastic recycling bins and off-white tissue paper, hotels will begin to phase out those cute little bottles of shampoo, blackberry jam and Dijon mustard in favor of “eco-friendly” (cheap) bulk offerings.

5. Automation and do-it-yourself options are replacing costly employees. Hotel managers, faced with the horror of having to deal with guests themselves, are considering previously unthinkable initiatives like automated check-in kiosks. New labor-saving programs will include make-your-own-bed-and-breakfast packages, do-it-yourself luggage carts, and computers standing in for concierges. Meanwhile, all gratuitous positions created during the halcyon days like “tanning concierge”, “dream butler” and “pillow consultant” have been summarily retired.

6. The trend toward offering more healthful food choices in restaurants, room service and mini-bars is being reversed. Hotels have discovered that cheeseburgers, Coke and Kit Kats sell better and are more profitable.

7. Lifestyle hotels are popping everywhere though travelers still have no idea what they are. Customization will be taken a step further, with such options as the daily repainting of rooms to match the guest’s wardrobe, smart lighting that adjusts according to the guest’s mood, and hotels designed exclusively for germophobes, anarchists and narcissists. Meanwhile, lifestyle hotels continue to confuse guests with cutesy names for traditional positions like “comfort consultant” for housekeeper, “personal nutritionist” for waitress and “ambassador to happiness” for front desk agent.

8. Complimentary amenities are mysteriously vanishing. “Amenity Creep”, the one-upmanship game hotels played during prosperous times by adding superfluous items like lip balm, wrinkle cream and nose-hair trimmers, has given way to “Amenity Retreat”, in which all but essential items are being removed and guests will soon be charged for non-essential items like blankets, soap and hot water. Dog-friendly hotels are also being phased out as hotels realize that dogs are not hotel-friendly.

9. The boutique-hotel-as-nightclub trend will spread to traditional hotels like Ritz Carlton, Fairmont and Four Seasons. Lobbies will morph into late-night clubs, with Bach concertos replaced by techno grooves from in-house DJs. Traditional doormen in Beefeater-style uniforms will be supplanted by lobby hostesses in booty shorts, and the mantra “It’s my pleasure, sir” will surrender to “Hey, no problem, man.”

10. Standalone hotels will become a thing of the past. Mixed-use developments, in which hotels are housed in the same complex as condos, retail outlets and office space and condo owners shoulder the burden of costly hotel construction by paying for access to services they will never use, will expand to include hospitals, churches and crematoriums to ensure guests never check out.