Hospitality Trends 2022

Overview

This lecture covers current hospitality trends, focusing on hotel brands, design innovations, and evolving guest expectations in 2022.

Major hotel groups include IHG, Marriott, Hilton, Wyndham, and Accor.
Parent companies now manage multiple brands, from economy to luxury.
Soft brands (e.g., Marriott’s Autograph Collection, Hyatt Centric) offer boutique experiences under large chain umbrellas.
Lifestyle brands like Margaritaville target specific demographics (e.g., 55+ living communities).
New boutique brands (e.g., The Graduate, Ace Hotels, Thompson) target niche markets or locations.

Boutique hotels offer luxury and unique decor with fewer rooms.
Brands are emphasizing personalized, memorable, and localized guest experiences.
Design trends include communal lobbies, coworking spaces, art displays, and nature-inspired elements.
Technology: digital guidebooks, app-based room controls, and in-room streaming options.
Check-in processes are increasingly digital or combined with social activities (e.g., bar check-ins at Moxie).

Guests prioritize cleanliness, security, seamless communication, and high-speed Wi-Fi.
Experience, lifestyle, and value for money drive booking decisions.
"Bleisure" travel (business + leisure) is rising, with guests extending work trips for leisure activities.
Hyper-personalization through recognition of previous visits and tailored amenities is expected.

Eco-friendly practices are widespread: energy saving, composting, recycling, reduced water and waste.
Hotels promote natural lighting, sustainable materials, and green spaces—bringing the outside in.
Health-focused amenities include gyms in rooms, healthy snacks, and spa-like bathrooms.

Increasing use of smart rooms, mobile check-ins, mood lighting, and wireless charging.
Experiments with fully automated ("robot") hotels have had mixed results.
In-room streaming and customizable entertainment options are standard.

Multi-generational and kid-friendly room designs with bunk beds and connecting rooms.
Nature as a luxury: common spaces emphasize biophilic design for comfort and mental well-being.
Some spaces now offer unplugged zones for digital detox.
Local food, authentic experiences, and adaptive hospitality cater to diverse guest needs.

Soft Brand — A boutique or lifestyle hotel brand affiliated with a major hotel group.
Bleisure — The blending of business and leisure travel in one trip.
Home-tel — Accommodation blending hotel amenities with home-like features for longer stays.
Biophilic Design — Design approach that incorporates nature to promote well-being.