[Insight] New Trends in Hospitality

Hospitality as we know it is changing dramatically. Already facing changing demographics and behaviors pre-Covid, the pandemic hyper-accelerated these changes to make the future of hospitality a wholly different and somewhat uncertain place to be.

Guido Milner, COO NDA Hospitality

Through NDA Hospitality we seek to both understand and manifest the future of hospitality. NDA Hospitality, lead by veteran hotelier Guido Milner, was founded in 2019 to reinforce hotel design and operations consultancy expertise at NDA Group.

It is this holistic design thinking that compels us to seek solutions from outside our own industry, which bringing on an accomplished hotelier illustrates perfectly. Thus, we are well placed for imagining the future of hospitality – an industry which is a unique marker of societal behaviors and itself must look outside its own industry to thrive.

It is because hotels are so reflective of society that studying the future of hospitality is in fact a study of the future of society itself: how we will live, work, and play, the impacts of technology , and how Millennials and Gen-Z (who, according to Kent State University, already make up more than 50% of all hotel guests) will think and consume.

NDA proposal for Kunming Hotel bring the the distressed heritage building into a modern sustainable future ©NDA Group

We glean insights from Guido Milner as he shares his thoughts and questions about the future of hotels through the lenses of work/life balance, technology, and sustainability.

Work/life balance

“Hotels must anticipate, serve and exceed the expectations of the growing segment of “workation” for whom work and life are increasingly intertwined.”

Remote work is here to stay with 68% of young workers preferring remote work jobs according to a survey done by freelancing company Fiverr. Once meant as ‘work from home’, it now means working from anywhere with a Wi-Fi connection, and increasingly with like-minded people, as we see on beaches and cafes across the world.

Airy lobby hub that connects reception, restaurant, and all day café under a glass dome ©NDA Group

The trend for flexible and community-based workspaces is also influenced by the rise of co-working offices. A report from recruiter Zippia shows that America now has over 6000 co-working offices, up from only 14 in 2007.

In this context then, hotels that offer workspaces and a connected community - for both inhouse guests and nearby residents - should succeed.

This should be a win-win for both hotels and guests. Hotels attract more guests and fill normally empty spaces with a vibrant community whilst also driving traffic toward on-property eateries, shops, exhibitions, and events.

Guests, both inhouse and locals, get the opportunity to mingle, and it’s at the meeting of minds where society benefits, whether for collaboration, business, or simply the experience of making new friends in well-designed spaces.

Yet whilst these communal innovations solve some issues, will hotels of the future be adequate for long workation stays, especially with increased focus on ergonomics and video calls? Will hotels be able to detach themselves from the traditional hospitality formula that has served them well for decades?

Technology

“ Technology accelerates, changes, and improves the way hotels service guests... However, the human factor runs deeply in the DNA of Hospitality, and it needs to be unleashed in a different fashion.”

The gleaming marvels of Sunbay Hotel & Resort, Vietnam © NDA Group

Technology is expected to have an outsized impact on the future of hospitality. The upcoming Wifi 6 with its increased bandwidth will help hotels more successfully integrate Big Data, AI, and IoT, helping raise revenues and augment guest and employee experiences.

Implementing technology has the benefit of accurately predicting guest needs and allowing hotels to make better business decisions, as well as simply making operations easier.

Software like multilingual chatbots helps to bridge language differences, whilst robots can handle arduous tasks like room service and housekeeping. Where human service is replaced, the benchmarks of effectiveness will not only be in quality but also in speed.

The guest experience will change too, with the next generation of hotel guests being digital natives, meaning they’ll confidently adapt to using their phone as a digital tool as functionality increases from merely serving as a portal for information and adjusting room temperatures to ordering food, customising experiences and more.

In theory then, this automation of tasks should free up staff to provide a better guest experience, but can automatic check in and robots truly replace genuine human interaction? And if changes are too broad, what then happens to those guests who aren’t so digitally adept?

Sustainability and Environmentally Friendly Travel

“ The most successful hotels will add value to environment, and instill in guests the importance of nature in our lives.”

Care for the environment is fortunately a defining aspect of Millennials and Gen Z, and it already reflects in their consumer habits and travel plans.

Bai Thung Resort’s design immerses guests in nature whilst minimizing their impact on it

Combine this with the UN’s ESG frameworks, and global support to reduce carbon, and hospitality has the opportunity, and perhaps the duty, to be at the forefront of providing solutions that can inspire people to change their habits into more environment friendly ones.

Imagine a hotel that can be a shining influence in helping people lead more sustainable lives. By showing guests actionable ways to be sustainable, it transforms sustainability from an abstract concept into real tangible impact on the environment.

Reducing carbon footprint will come in the form of greentech such as renewable energy and water recycling, but also in greater use of reclaimed and sustainable materials.

Roof top proposal for a lively and serene green gathering place © NDA Group

In our design work we see soaring demand for biophilic design and experiences. Biophilic design connects indoor and outdoor spaces and purposefully brings nature and light into the built space. Examples of our biophilic work include DIC Star Hotel and CityChamp Dartong Plaza, both linked below.

A simple round glass opening in the bathroom creating an unusual sense of space © NDA Group

Finally, with much hospitality being in the luxury sector, difficult questions are necessarily being asked about the future of luxury. Fortunately, unlike most luxury which is product based, we see authentic experiences to mean luxury in hospitality.

That means authentically connecting travelers to people and place – imagine learning stories from local scholars, tasting food made with local ingredients by local chefs, or being guided by local yogis with their own interpretations.

When the stories of a locality are meaningfully imbued into a guest experience, that richness elevates the experience into luxury.

The Future of Hospitality

“ Break the codes, break the rules, experiment!”

We see then, that forecasting new trends in hospitality requires a deep understanding of how societal behaviours will change, whilst also forcing us to let go of traditional standards of what a hotel ‘should be’. And evidently, there are still many questions to be asked and answered.

NDA Group’s vision is to bring to life distinctive and purpose driven spaces that drive long-term value for the world. In Hotel design, that means, anticipating shifts and creating new ones.

Whilst technology may render traditional interactions obsolete it gives ample opportunity to facilitate more meaningful social interaction. These are the opportunities presented to us by this seismic shift.

Guido and NDA Hospitality point to early adopter hotels as their favourites for 2022:

Sketch of La Felicite complex with its various elements at play

In France, the La Felicite Paris Sully-Morland complex, which is like a neighborourhood in a single architectural project, combines offices, residences, a farmer’s market, F&B, a hostel called The People, and of course the stunning SO Paris by Accor. Also in Paris is the MOB House which is an unexpectedly elegant community led food concept with guestrooms made to work in.

MOB House guestroom with specialised table for video conferencing

In Asia, they see The Standard in Bangkok as the benchmark for breaking codes. Despite the seemingly arbitrary brand name, it is anything but standard, broadcast by its upside down logo, and manifestation of some of the concepts in this article that has earned it a loyal following.

So, as we head into a new era of travel and hotels, we ask you and ourselves, ‘what is the future of hospitality?’, and look forward to making the journey together.