Travel & Data Trends

Have you heard? Social and corporate event planners are turning to hotels to make their event dreams a reality. Maybe you are not surprised since you have the trifecta of offerings that many planners want, a variety of event spaces, sleeping rooms, and AV. But are you ready for the growing wish lists now that they can finally turn their event plans into reality?

The U.S. hotel industry reported the highest room rate in July 2022 on a nominal basis. According to the STR data, the key performance indicators for the industry include:

The population in Europe is continuously aging. A declining birth rate combined with a higher life expectancy (women: 83 years; men: 78 years)1) are the main reasons for this development. According to the European Commission, people aged 65+ will represent 30 % of the total population in Europe while they currently represent 20 %2). Besides the increasing challenges in the labour market (the last birth cohorts of baby boomers are retiring within the next few years), we also need to think of attractive and dignified living solutions for seniors. At one point all people must ask themselves how, where and with whom they want to live when they retire. Usually, the answer is quite clear. People want to stay in their apartment or house where – in most cases – they have been living for many years. Nevertheless, many factors can make it challenging for seniors to stay in their familiar environment. Besides the potential need for assistance (with the household, groceries etc.), loneliness – for example, due to divorce or loss of a partner – is a severe issue considered to be a hidden pandemic as per the World Health Organisation.

Let’s begin with a provocative question: “Has ‘Digital Transformation’ actually helped your guests?”

The big picture: The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) shows that inflation remained stubbornly high in August, and overall prices were at roughly the same levels (+0.1%) as July.

As much as the landscape in the hospitality industry changes, some things stay the same when it comes to setting expectations for the average hotel stay. One of those things is the mandate to create a sense of welcome and comfort. Much of this is about an approach to service. The technology and process part of that equation is what tends to change over time.

From the shadows of the Great Depression to more than 15 million educated students in debt, the generational saving vs spending tug-of-war taught us that material things can be taken away. The economic shifts have tended to culturally shift perspectives as well as our spending habits.

The quarter-over-quarter stability we saw in our global search data during Q2, which followed a solid start to the year in Q1, is reassuring. Even more reassuring is the fact we saw stability, and in some cases double-digit growth in searches, amidst a climate of operational challenges for the travel industry, rising costs and market inflation. The bubble created by pent-up, post-COVID demand has certainly not burst and looks to remain intact throughout 2022.

After months of low occupancy and falling average rates due to the pandemic, the Indian hotel industry is finally witnessing renewed growth. The upcycle is clearly underway and is expected to last for the next 4-5 years, as demand is spiraling while supply growth is relatively low, which is a significant difference from the previous upcycles in the industry. This augurs well for the industry because, as shown in the graph below, hotel performance in India is highly sensitive to supply and demand dynamics.

International inbound travel is crucial for the U.S. economy. It generated $239 billion in travel exports in 2019 and, after taking into account U.S. spending abroad, a trade surplus of $53 billion. After many months of near-stagnation from many of our key markets, inbound travel is finally on a solid, yet bumpy, path of return.