‘As such, the second half of 2021 looks more promising across all business segments’
COVID-19 has been the biggest disruption for our industry in recent memory. Despite this, we are cautiously optimistic now vaccinations are being rolled out globally. This time has pushed us to stay resilient, think differently, and look at all plausible avenues to grow stalled business and ultimately thrive.
There is a pent-up desire to travel and we have seen demand increase since Q4, especially in the local leisure segment with more people travelling closer to home. There is increased confidence about health and hygiene protocols being followed universally. While corporate travel remains restricted to essential business only, small events are coming back in a hybrid format. As such, the second half of 2021 looks more promising across all business segments.
Local and limited international leisure has picked up, especially over the end of year holidays. Indian leisure locations like Goa and Rajasthan, Dubai, and the Maldives have seen good occupancy numbers in the last few weeks also.
Among new trends we witness is that residential-style lodging was on a strong growth curve even prior to the pandemic, but this segment will become a much more frequent choice in the coming years for leisure and business travel due to space, privacy, and security that stand-alone properties provide to families and groups of friends. Demand for small, boutique, buy-out friendly properties has also increased.
There is a huge focus on personal space being integral to the new luxury guest experience offering.
Another key trend that is emerging is the rise of sustainable travel. There is more understanding of travel’s impact on the environment and local communities, therefore, destinations providing unique cultural experiences with a clear commitment to local environments and communities are attracting more business. The current crisis has expedited progress in this area. In line with this philosophy, Preferred recently launched Beyond Green. This new hospitality brand debuted with 24 founding member properties that exemplify leadership in sustainable tourism, including The Brando in Tahiti and Linyanti Wildlife Reserve in Botswana. Beyond Green represents Preferred’s commitment to supporting a better future for travel that protects our planet for future generations.
On this long road to recovery, we continue to provide our member hotels with global market intelligence and resources, and continue to drive bookings through the I Prefer Hotel Rewards program, which is the world’s largest points-based loyalty program for independent hotels. Over the past few months, we have made a series of updates to extend greater flexibility and value-based offers to more than 3.7 million I Prefer members globally, providing them with greater incentive to stay at our hotels worldwide.
Our role is also to reassure and provide our loyal guests with the best advice for safer hotel stays. We have included each member hotel’s approach to safety and sanitation across all of our channels, including the brand website. Last summer we announced a global partnership with Bureau Veritas, which our hotels to have their health and sanitisation programs certified by a respected global authority.