Hoteltrends 2024
12 hotel trends you should not miss
Whether privately run or a hotel chain, if you want to leave a lasting impression on your guests, you have to be in tune with the times. In recent years, COVID has made this clear once again. But what is essential for a hotel to be successful even in times of crisis or in areas with low demand? What can hoteliers do and which hotel trends can be integrated quickly? We show why it is so important to know and understand tomorrow's innovations today. To help you ride the wave of success, we give you valuable tips on how to implement these trends for yourself and present 12 important trends in hotels.
How does a hotel trend actually come about?
Every trend is usually a reaction to a specific market situation. Even if many hoteliers would like to simply implement their own visions, demand must also exist. Hotel trends can arise from substantial changes in values or structural change, among other things. Or to put it simply: they develop from the needs of society.
A current example of this is the topic of sustainability. More and more people want to live more consciously. A hotel that focuses on sustainability trends can therefore (re)attract this target group in particular.
There are also other factors that play a role in the emergence of trends. The desire to simplify processes through technology (e.g. when booking and checking in) and speed (e.g. in the form of chatbots in the area of customer support) are very present here.
Why it is essential to know and understand hotel trends
When it comes to trends, the primary focus is on understanding why and, above all, how today's society is changing. After all, guests are just people who have different and sometimes changing needs and desires. It is therefore particularly important for hoteliers to know their target group well in order to establish the hotel trends that are relevant to them. Privately run hotels in particular should also focus on innovative concepts in order to keep up with the chains. After all, guests often know very clearly what they want and hope for from their vacation. In addition to the destination, many travelers are increasingly focusing on the experience: what experiences they want to have and what values the hotel should live by. Oracle, in collaboration with Skift, published a report entitled "Hospitality in 2025" and surveyed more than 600 hoteliers and 5,000 travelers from around the world. The report shows how guests' expectations have changed over time and may continue to change.
What factors are driving hotel trends?
As already mentioned, trends often emerge from social change. The main factors that play an important role in this are:
- Far-reaching changes in the lifestyle of individual groups of people or the collective. For example, knowledge of climate change has led to increased demand in the area of sustainability
- World events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a particular impact on hygiene, safety and health.
12 current trends in hotels that are worthwhile for hoteliers
The 4 most important marketing-related hotel trends
1. inspire and interact to attract guests
Having your own website and a presence on the relevant booking sites has almost been a matter of course for hotels for several years now. However, in the digital age, the trend is increasingly moving towards social media. Small and medium-sized hotels in particular benefit greatly here, as they can establish a real connection with their guests and reach a whole new target group through reels on Instagram or videos on TikTok, for example.
2. rely on low-fruit keywords for more reach
Low-fruit keywords refer to keywords that are searched for relatively infrequently, but therefore also involve less competition. By optimizing your website texts and hotel descriptions on Booking.com and the like, you can often achieve initial results in a very short time and with comparatively little effort. With the right texts, you can catapult your hotel to page 1 on search engines such as Google and Bing, which gives you a clear competitive advantage.
3. use different content formats
In addition to videos in social media and website and blog texts, there are other content formats that you can make use of as a hotelier. For example, how about audio content, a personal and inspiring newsletter or a visual tour as a video or in the form of a photo series? The only important thing is that you also pick up potential guests emotionally and stand out from the crowd of other hotels. So feel free to show insights behind the scenes, share your thoughts or let former guests speak for you.
4. SEA for hotels thanks to microtargeting - even with a small budget.
While large hotels and hotel chains have been relying on paid ads in social media for years, they are also becoming increasingly popular with small and medium-sized hotels. No wonder, because while it is becoming increasingly difficult to generate organic reach, advertisements can be used to target the right people with as little wastage as possible.
The 4 most exciting technology-related trends in the hotel industry
1. digital processes to reduce staff workload by automating tasks and processes, optimizing day-to-day hotel operations and shortening communication channels.
2. no-touch services thanks to contactless technology in the form of contactless check-ins and check-outs, digital room keys and guest folders, contactless payments and mobile guest services.
3. Simplified customer communication around the clock via WhatsApp or chatbots, which enable your guests to get answers to their questions at any time and thus lead to more direct bookings.
4. Improved comfort thanks to smart speakers and voice-controlled hubs for voice control of the TV channel, lighting and/or for setting the room temperature, currently in test phase (Amazon) Alexa - Concierge.
4 other promising hotel concepts
1. co-living and co-working
2. Online and offline hotels
3. Hybrid travel concepts such as workations and bleisure travel, i.e. the combination of business travel and vacation.
4. health, wellness and eco-hotels
New impulses - prospects for the hotel of the future
Of course, there is no crystal ball that provides a clear answer to the question of which trends will continue to grow in popularity. However, many of the following innovations can be integrated into your hotel concept with little effort:
- round-the-clock access to on-demand entertainment,
- the use of analytics and AI in the area of personalization,
- Unbundling in the form of basic offers including bookable options (upselling) instead of inflexible all-inclusive offers,
- smart robots to carry luggage, provide room service, clean rooms or assist with food preparation in the kitchen,
- Augmented reality to make the real world more enjoyable - and above all more memorable - with virtual elements, such as a dedicated app and interactive maps
- Virtual reality to give potential guests a digital tour of your hotel before they arrive.
The TourSol recommendation
Focus on hotel trends that reflect your values. We live in a digital age and this is unlikely to change for the time being. Guests not only want to book online, they also want to check in contactlessly and receive support. But of course in a way that doesn't neglect the personal touch and personal service.
Now you might think that the line is almost too narrow to find the right path here. However, it also depends on who exactly you want to appeal to with your concept. After all, Lena, 23, an individual traveler looking for a place where she can also work from home, discovers and chooses hotels quite differently from Judith, 41, a mother and housewife who urgently wants to switch off for two weeks and is looking for a wellness vacation.
You are not sure which hotel trends suit you and your target group and some of the innovations and terms are completely foreign to you? As an expert in hotel and tourism issues and a service provider, we are always on the trail of new trends and take over the complete yield, revenue and content management for hotels. We advise our customers individually and optimize, among other things, the prices and revenues, and consequently the costs of the businesses, so that you as a hotelier no longer have to worry about these areas and thus have more time available for your role as a host every day.
If you want more turnover, more satisfied guests and simplified processes, then contact us and start into the future with TourSol.
