Dive Brief:
- According to IDeaS’ recent hospitality leaders survey “Future Forecast: 6 Hotel Technology Predictions for 2024,” tech, including generative AI, will continue to reshape hotel operations in the new year.
- Additionally, with as much as 60% of hotel revenue originating from meetings and events business, more hotels are expected to branch out into this sector, the report found.
- Overall, the survey findings point toward a greater focus on profit optimization, as the investors’ share of revenue has become smaller due to inflation, higher labor costs and ballooning borrowing and debt servicing charges.
Dive Insight:
‘Tis the season for making predictions for the coming year. And in lieu of a crystal ball, IDeaS, a provider of revenue management solutions and consulting services, surveyed hospitality industry leaders to find out what they think 2024 will bring.
From ramping up meetings and events business to using tech for customer service needs, the anticipated trends discussed in IDeaS’ “Future Forecast” center on optimizing profit, not just revenue.
“You don’t need an MBA to understand that revenue is only part of the picture, but in an age of rising operating costs it’s more important than ever for commercial leaders to understand how their strategies and decisions impact both the top- and bottom-line,” said Christian Boerger, principal industry consultant for IDeaS Revenue Solutions, in the report.
As expected, tech will continue to play a big role in 2024, with more organizations embracing cloud-based data platforms as they aim for all of their technology systems to work well together, creating a more “holistic and clearer view of their guests’ total profit potential.”
In addition to streamlining operations, the survey also found that customer service call centers expect to use generative AI, which will serve as a “front-line” filter for guests who need help.
“With the ability to detect key phrases and categorize sentiment, AI can evaluate, escalate and route guests to the right people for tending to more complex problems,” the report reads. “This approach can improve operational efficiency, the speed of issue resolution and overall guest satisfaction.”
Other possible future capabilities for AI include offering personalized recommendations for guests, quickly generating customized content and campaigns based on key guest data and automated staff scheduling.
The report also predicts that as more hotels adopt a connected commercial organization model, the role of revenue manager will change dramatically. “Instead of tinkering with rates and making tactical changes,” according to the report, “they will become much more of a strategist, working closely with their Director of Commercial to guide and lead the overall revenue plan for a hotel.”
