2021: what awaits us in the hotel industry?

There are people and companies specialized in our hospitality sector that can add a lot of value by helping us a lot to visualize the future of our industry.

In my articles, I bring healthy provocations, what I believe based solely on my hotel experience and all the content I have researched around the world.

Our hotel universe is already undergoing a major change in the purchasing decision power and what is incumbent on us as managers and entrepreneurs in this segment is to prepare us for these changes, which are inevitable.

What can I, Bernal, see in our 2021 segment? Here I will focus on my hunches, which many call hospitality trends.

• Sustainability is the future for our hospitality

What I mean by this is that you need to look ahead to your business, that is, know who will actually use it, buy your hotel.

Your future guest up ahead will want to stay in hotels that offer sustainability and this may seem “absurd” for the moment, but it is one of the trends that will require this framework in your business and you cannot avoid it.

If you want your hotel operation to have at least an occupation that gives you the BEP (balance point). Your future client will “ask” you to support social and environmental issues.

So start showing this to the market, right now. Here I leave a reflection for all of us. What has your hotel/resort impacted in your region, state, world?

You will need to convey that trust to your customer. It may seem like an exaggeration, but your sales team will need to present your product far beyond room size, location, breakfast, etc.

It would be great for your sales team to also know everything your hotel does in terms of sustainability, health, well-being, creating an experience of connection with your values for your guests.

• Thinking and acting small is the same work as thinking and acting globally

It may sound strange, but why can’t I have a sizable % of customers that can go beyond my primary, secondary, home markets?

Could it be that my hotel product is unable to carry out work internationally so that I can receive clients in addition to my daily life?

In a little while, borders reopen, there will be better monitoring for Covid-19 treatment, and people will be thirsty for traveling all over the world.

What I see is that there will be a significant increase in countless markets planning, seeking and carrying out international travel. Hoteliers, you cannot afford to ignore the effects of this globalization.

This has been going on for a long time and increasingly solid. Your sales team should already be looking at these countless markets, as I believe there are international groups willing to travel to Brazil like never before and what are you waiting for to put your visibility strategies to attract these groups, events to your hotel ?

• evolve or die

Those back there turned up their nose at Airbnb are now having to gulp as it grows stronger and stronger in the hospitality industry. On the other hand, you, as a service provider, either improve or die.

Hoteliers had to reinvent themselves and seek best practices in their market. Keywords for the hospitality of the future: creativity, sharing, accessibility, flexibility, experiences, cleanliness, location, being authentic, sustainable.

And that, in my view, is a huge hospitality value that Airbnb often fails to offer.

• Constant reinvention
  

Large hotels, resorts with huge event infrastructures will have their peak normalized and will continue to grow. Many have already reinvented themselves to generate small demands. So keep being “aggressive”.

I believe there will be decent growth in the coming years. Given this healthy perception for the market ahead, I would like to reinforce that hoteliers continue to reinvest in their properties, renew their operations, and become more and more competitive.

However, without forgetting your main investment, which are PEOPLE. Train, train, enable, enable, guide, guide, take the hand and make people understand your mission, vision, values and especially your purpose as a business.

The hospitality of the future will continue to be food and beverage, travel, experiences, tourism, accommodation, entertainment and leisure.

This is our essence and Brazil is very rich and can add a lot of value to this industry more and more.

I strongly believe that, with the professionalization of our industry, it will be more and more an example of hospitality for the whole world. May 2021 come!