This post discusses the key success factors of the hospitality industry. Covid 19 pandemic has damaged economies and has impacted tourism and the hospitality industry.
However, the foundations of the hospitality industry are strong and it is these factors we aim to discuss in this article. The factors or attributes that ensures sustained success of the hospitality sector.
Now quickly moving to the success factors of the hospitality industry.
Success Factors of the Hospitality Industry
Consumer mindset and enabling technology are going to be key determinants of success in hospitality industry.
Yes, that’s right as according to a piece of research by Deloitte Consulting, Consumer mindset and enabling technology are going to be key determinants of success within the hospitality industry.
The speed of growth of the Hospitality industry has taken the world by storm.
Various Sectors of the Hospitality Industry are taking the hospitality industry forward at an envious pace.
May it be the travel & tourism, hotel industry, Restaurants, Casinos & gaming, Cruise/Airlines etc. the giant flower of the hospitality industry with these beautiful petals is becoming grander and more attractive.
There are a lot of contributors and success factors to the stupendous rate of growth of the hospitality industry.
- The hotels are becoming more developed with greater stress on design and automation.
- The workforce giving the services is now getting the training, education and technology support.
- Technology is playing a key role with social media and integrated marketing strategies creating the difference.
- Digital technology is reinventing marketing strategy for the hospitality industry.
- Augmented reality and virtual reality are becoming mainstream.
- Greater participation of consumer and feedback is driving fresh innovation.
All of these aspects relate to the success of the hospitality industry.
Here we point out a few of the success factors of the hospitality industry giving it the desired traction for tremendous growth.
1. Ever-Expanding Tourism Industry
When we speak about the stupendous growth of the hospitality industry, it is important to mention Travel and Tourism which is the biggest contributor to growth.
As per the growth projections by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the number of tourists arrivals globally was expected to cross 1.5 billion by 2020. This figure took a beating due to the disruption by the COVID 19 pandemic. However, expect tourists to start flocking lovely destinations again from 2022. This figure should be achievable within an year or two.
There is nothing stopping the growth of the tourism industry once the situation normalises. The number of international tourist arrivals has seen a continuous rise over the past many decades.
The social life and the lifestyle of people all over the world are changing. There is a wave of new trends that have caused the growth of the tourism industry.
Higher disposable income, new travel trends, better work-life balance, more female workers, green travels etc. are all contributing to this growth of the tourism industry.
For an exploration of new cities, places, history and ancient times, people are looking forward to making a trip every year.
Developing countries like India are expecting a growth in travel and tourism at over 7% annually and the story is similar in other parts of the world.
2. Customer Insights and Going Online
This one is one of the key success factors in the hotel industry.
Service in the hospitality industry holds the key. Customers are considered to be the King.
Online review sites, travel sites, the web presence of hotels and tourism directories along with technological advancements have helped in better understanding of customers.
With better customer insights, greater is the satisfaction of the patrons thus helping the overall hospitality industry grow at a rapid pace.
More about the customer insights and related studies can be found in our post on Hotel Industry Marketing Strategies.
3. Mobile Devices, Apps, and the Internet
These are the key drivers helping the hospitality industry grow like never before.
We have an app for everything today and we have many apps to aggregate all these apps.
Look at a few of the best Hospitality Apps and top Travel websites to help you with apps and websites specific to the hospitality industry.
All these apps are getting us closer to our favourite destinations, hotels and restaurants.
And, smartphones. They are making travelling and dining extremely easy along with the Internet as the companion.
It is thus sane to say that Mobile devices, apps and the Internet have contributed tremendously to the growth of the hospitality industry.
Everything is available online that has changed the hospitality industry of today.
4. Innovation and Technology in the Hospitality Industry
Siri and Alexa are available in smart rooms. And, Hilton is going to introduce Robot Concierge. Various hotel chains are coming up with excellent technological innovation to help hospitality industry grow at a rapid pace.
The Future of Hospitality Industry will have artificial intelligence dominating the show. Internet of Things (IoT) and several Hotel Management software are already making a big difference.
Now the business is so computerised and technology-heavy that the human error is eliminated and prevented in most of the cases.
This leads to better returns in the business and an overall increase in productivity.
The people have been booking their trips from home and the businesses are managing operations through software allowing team members to focus on priorities.
Technology is set to stay as a major success factor for the hospitality industry even in the future.
5. The highly Versatile and Multi-Talented Workforce
We saved best for the last.
Yes, it will be the human who will act as the success factor for the hospitality industry.
The hospitality industry is dependent on the workforce.
The workforce is now educated, trained and experienced. They are the people with the best ethics and morals and are taking the industry forward.
Top Hospitality Companies are now ensuring that they care for the employees by providing the best perquisites and training for skills enhancements. This has a major spillover effect in gaining competitive advantages.
The hoteliers of today have command over different languages to increase the scope and level of their service.
Service, after all, holds the key to success within the Hospitality Industry.
Conclusion
Here you go, some of the key success factors that would push the growth of the hospitality industry further.
Technology would lead the way. Automation would be crucial and customer insights are going to be the most important factors for success of the industry overall.
Customer are going to rein as king as they have been doing so and service would need to be personalised. VR and AR would help in that cause to enhance customer satisfaction. Robots would handle the automated tasks that requires less human interaction. With all these coming up and rapid improvements, the future looks nothing less than super exciting.
