When you take a trip, there has to be an attraction drawing you to that particular location. In Orlando, it’s probably the theme parks and resorts. If you’re headed to Phoenix, you might have the Grand Canyon on your sightseeing list. The point is, wherever you travel, you have places to go, things to do, and a hotel room to sleep in at night.
Our hospitality clients are changing the way they build and renovate hotels in an effort to not only attract guests but give them reasons to stay longer inside the hotel. The simple fact is anything that keeps guests on your property can help drive revenue. Here’s some of the trends we’ve seen in hospitality projects to increase revenue and improve the guest experience.
As High-Tech as Home
Picture yourself at home, in your living room. What’s around you? Maybe a smart TV? What about some sort of voice assistant technology like Alexa or Google Home? The comforts of home have evolved to include state-of-the-art technology in almost every aspect of our lives. We’ve gotten very comfortable with our everyday gadgets and when they’re gone — we notice. So, when guests check into a hotel, they want to feel at home and that means not losing the technology they’ve come to expect and depend on. Our clients are including tech in guest rooms like tablets that control the lights, AC system, and TV. Or Smart TV’s that guests can sync their devices to or use to watch a variety of streaming services. The addition or absence of technology in the rooms can make or break the guest experience, especially if your competitors are offering them and you’re not.
A Lagoon Just Outside the Room
The pool at a hotel is a highly attractive amenity. This is especially true in areas like Orlando where it’s sunny all year and guests have an endless selection of pools and water parks to choose from. If your hotel has an impressive pool experience, your guests could be persuaded to spend a day or two poolside on your property. Many of our clients are refreshing their pool areas to feature lazy rivers, expanded kid-friendly water features, and even full-service cabanas or poolside bars — which are both revenue drivers.
A Flair for Food
Hotel guests have become much more conscious diners. They’re interested in tasting local fare as opposed to big chain restaurants. This trend is driving hotels to feature unique or local dining options inside their hotels. We’ve repositioned older restaurants from outdated lobby cafés to finer dining facilities that appeal to today’s guests. Our clients are interested in adding rooftop bars, local restaurant pop ups, even cooking class spaces — anything that appeals to guests and persuades them to enjoy a meal at your hotel.
Room to Meet and Greet
Like the other trends we’ve covered above, our clients are looking to enhance and expand meeting spaces in an effort to be more appealing for companies looking to host an event, conference, or meeting and ultimately contribute to their bottom line. We’ve built new ballrooms, renovated existing conference centers, and added flexible meeting spaces for our clients on recent projects. The benefit to being able to offer updated spaces that can accommodate large groups is the potential to make your hotel a destination — hundreds of guests coming to your hotel for an event, staying in your rooms, eating at your restaurants, and spending the majority of their time on your property.
It’s no secret that a better guest experience will encourage guests to book again, but these trends offer an additional benefit — the ability to offer experiences that make guests want to stay at your hotel for longer during their visit. Projects that expand or renovate these features could be an investment into sustainable revenue generators within your hotel. All the above-mentioned highlights trends within hospitality that can drive revenue after project completion but there are value-saving opportunities available during construction. Click here to read more about how we are using mock-ups on hospitality projects to increase quality and speed to market.
