Today’s
hospitality and tourism industry is a lucrative arena, but it’s also crowded,
so hoteliers must sometimes turn to outside help to gain a
competitive edge. To that end, the global technology firm Sabre
recently partnered with TrendWatching to create a trend report meant
to take today’s providers into tomorrow.
Saber delivers
technology services to more than 32,000 hotel properties globally,
and many of its customers are in places like Dubai or elsewhere in
the GCC/MENA region. Sabre regularly helps hotels with things like
reservations and advertising.
Sabre says its latest
research will “help the travel industry foster a more connected and
personalized travel experience for customers.”
At the
core of the report are four trend identifiers: “Status Seekers,”
“Local Love,” “Infolust” and “Post-Demographic
Consumerism.” Each offers insights into current customer
behavior.
The “Status Seekers” segment links
people’s purchasing choices with their identities:
“With
so many choices available, consuming is as much a statement about ‘who
I am’ as ‘what I have.’ Hotels that can provide an experience in line
with expectations for status will do well.”
“Local Love”
examines travelers’ connections to places, and how authentic local
businesses can win favor over corporate or generic ones. Study
writers give this advice to hotels:
“Hotels
can tap into the increasing selection of local, and better quality,
options to address this need. Hotels can also show empathy and
understanding for individuals, as well as helping travelers to show
theirs.”
In the “Infolust”
section, the study focuses on the need for relevant and actionable
information. The writers point out that consumers already do
most of their business with technology instead of with other people, so
Sabre suggests making investments in technology and mobile solutions
to find better ways to offer services.
The “death of
demographic segmentation” is the focus of “Post-Demographic
Consumerism.” The study describes the trend this way:
“Consumers
can no longer be ‘boxed’ by age, gender, nationality. They define
themselves as they choose, not as society says they are or should be,
and choose products and services with little regard for traditional
demographic conventions.”
Study writers say hotels
should glean different kinds of data mining to market to individuals
rather than demographic segments.
For more, the Gulf News
Journal spoke with Richard Wiegmann, Sabre’s managing director
and chief commercial officer.
“Travel and hospitality continue
to be major enablers of economic growth in the Middle East,”
Wiegmann said. “The travel industry is constantly improving to keep
pace with changing market trends and consumer
preferences.”
Technology, he said, is the crucial next
step.
“Technology is the single greatest opportunity facing
the hospitality industry today,” Wiegmann said. “Developing an
effective distribution strategy is critical, and implementing it
carefully is an even more important step.”
Wiegmann said Sabre
is dedicated to working with its hotel customers to make the most of
the study’s insights.
“We continue our innovation in
hospitality solutions providing our customers a world-class
technology effectiveness, ensuring their stay on the cutting edge of
hospitality technology to win the hearts and minds of today’s
connected travelers,” Wiegmann said.
