Gaurav Sinha's top trends in hospitality in 2015

Insignia founder & CEO Gaurav Sinha predicts the key trends in the industry this year...

1. Mobile-embedded engagement

From initial awareness to advocacy, mobile technology will play a significant role in how guests will engage with hospitality brands. Wearable technology and mobile phones will create seamless experiences for guests, from searching for hotels, booking a room, checking in with their phones upon arrival and accessing their rooms, to ordering room service and uploading their playlists on completely integrated mobile-embedded technology platforms.

2. Flashpacking, cotels and poshtels

A new breed of traveller will seek higher value and simpler experiences, resulting in hybrid hotel concepts that offer no-frills simplicity, but elegantly designed rooms. This will result in the emergence of new independent lifestyle brands that will create a new generation of hospitality experiences.

3. The independent restaurant renaissance

Guests will seek more from restaurants and pursue ‘bigger stories’ and ‘bigger hearts’. The demise of formulaic all-day-dining restaurants has already commenced and hotels will start embracing the virtues of leasing space to independent operators who can create more authentic experiences that connect to the social fabric of a city.

4. Designer sustainability

Well-curated, authentic and impactful sustainability will evolve with third-party consultants playing an even more critical role in bringing consumers’ voices, opinions and needs to the boardroom. From eco-friendly policies to talent management, sustainability, stamina, retention, social responsibility and community engagement will be topical discussions across many organisations.

5. Earned media versus social conversations

PR agencies will need to re-invent themselves as digital outreach, online visibility and social media engagement blur traditional borders and we see the emergence of PR 2.0, a whole new discipline where social conversations
will rise above the influence of traditional editorial coverage.

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6. ‘Sharing economy’ to create new business

We will continue to see the evolution of sharing and crowd-sourced business models. Uber, AirBnB, Zeel and other proven brands will see new entrants who will disrupt convention. Don’t be surprised to see therapists turn into spa brands, peer-to-peer dining experiences challenging celebrity chefs, and holiday homes that offer ‘connected’ social experiences competing with hotels.

7. Business travellers will go green

The executive floor proposition will evolve into the green floor as business travellers seek more authentic impact, from corporate carbon offsetting credits, ‘smart rooms’ that don’t consume excess electricity and fair-trade products, to name a few principled perks.

8. The reinvention of loyalty rewards

Loyalty programmes will need to evolve as loyal customers seek broader and more bespoke benefits, and demand more from hotels. This alternate currency of points, rewards and recognition will impact yield management principles and progressive hoteliers will recognise the importance of intelligent enrollment to consistent initiatives that retain and reward guests.

9. Online travel agents to broaden relevance

OTAs will diversify their services with the introduction of new products, including branded cruises and even their own hotel concepts.

10. The rise of ethical travellers

Tomorrow’s travellers will seek more ‘principled brands’ who connect to their aspirations, values and needs and have a clear purpose that transcends profits. Your food-wastage programme, fair-trade initiatives, community empowerment and support towards local suppliers and artisanal brands will have more impact than the obvious glossy promises one expects from luxury hospitality.