Hotel CEOs predict top five travel trends for 2022

THE CEOS OF SOME of the world’s leading hotel groups, all members of the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), have made five bold travel predictions for 2022.

Travellers will either go big or stay at home, with supersized holidays to ultra-luxury resorts and trips to major global cities high on the agenda, as well as serial staycations, daycations and work-from-hotel scenarios and a preference for sustainable travel, say hospitality chiefs surveyed by GHA between October

2021 and January 2022. Top findings include:

Supersize my holiday, but sustainably

Almost 73 per cent of CEOs said they were targeting the bucket-list travel crowd with substantial sales and marketing activity. They also flagged up a surge in bookings for villas and suites, dominated by family groups prioritising reunions and vacations with loved-ones post-pandemic by supersizing their holiday. Travellers will continue to prioritise responsible travel options this year, with 59 per cent of CEOs surveyed dedicating sales and marketing efforts to promoting hotel sustainability credentials to planet and community conscious guests.

City slickers return

City travel will make a comeback in 2022, according to 80 per cent of GHA brand CEOs who anticipate guest numbers at urban properties will return to around 75 per cent of 2019 levels this year. According to GHA forward-booking data, the most popular cities for 2022 are Dubai and London, with Rome and Lisbon rising in prominence again.

Domestic bliss beckons

Experience-hungry travellers will continue to explore hotels and destinations on their doorstep in 2022, with 46 per cent of GHA CEOs indicating the daycation market was a sales and marketing priority this year. The ongoing ‘bleisure’ and ‘work-from-anywhere’ trends remain dominant, with 41 per cent of CEOs targeting the remote work and work-from-hotel markets. Drive-to destinations are in strong demand, while extended stays are on the rise, and hotels are responding with attractive packages ranging from day visits for work or play, to longer stints for executives and their families. Tapping into the staycation trend, the reimagined GHA DISCOVERY programme launched recently introduced ‘Live Local’, giving members access to experiences, offers and rewards at GHA properties in their hometown.

Hassle-free payments

Traveller desire for ease of payment will reach an all-time high this year, say GHA CEOs, with more than 68 per cent investing in systems upgrades to provide guests with a seamless experience, particularly at point of sale. At the same time, GHA’s new digital rewards currency, DISCOVERY DOLLARS (D$) – with one D$ valued at the equivalent of US$1 – enables members to earn D$ at any property in the GHA DISCOVERY collection for use on future stays.

Contactless convenience

Tech-savvy and health-conscious travellers, weary of pandemic-related red tape, will value convenience more than ever in 2022, said GHA CEOs, who are investing in technology to make their guests’ lives easier.

The survey revealed more than 68 per cent intended to look at introducing keyless room entry/ room keys in 2022, while 46 per cent were prioritising online check-in and room choices, and 23 per cent were researching opportunities for in-room AI, such as Amazon’s Alexa or similar. Forward-looking CEOs are considering the benefits of the metaverse and virtual reality as part of it – one of the biggest emerging trends set to disrupt the business world in the future – with 50 per cent surveyed keen to use VR for hotel tours.