Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has officially published the results from its first-annual Hotel Owner Trends Report.
Going by the available details, this report arrives on the back of a multi-month effort, where the hospitality giant conducted two industry-wide surveys of hundreds of hotel owners and property developers.
As for the results, they tread up a long distance to showcase that industry, as a whole, remains confident in its resilience and long-term growth prospects despite the recent challenges.
More on the same would reveal how virtually all surveyed (98%) said they’re currently open to exploring new branded offerings. Beyond that, a large chunk of respondents (55%) also reported a preference of traditional or hard brands, whereas on the other hand, just under half (45%) reported demand soft brand opportunities.
“There’s a lot of noise in the marketplace right now and yet, more than 90% of hotel owners and developers are optimistic about what the next five years hold for them. That’s because they know that in hospitality, they’re playing the long game. Case in point: While most admit to having concerns over current economic volatility, four-out-of-five say they still plan to expand their portfolios over the next five years,” said Amit Sripathi, Chief Development Officer, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
Taking a deeper view of Wyndham’s report, we begin from the way support and leadership access emerged as top two factors owners and developers look for when choosing which brand to join. The stated support is mostly sought across areas like marketing, revenue management and operational expertise.
Next up, well over 80% of hotel owners and developers would go on to put forth the demand for a strong loyalty program, deeming it either very important or critical to a hotel’s success, with nearly two-thirds (62%) of those open to joining a brand or switching brands citing it as a top five factor.
Another detail worth a mention is rooted in the fact that, when looking at expansion, these owners and developers are pursuing a rather versatile set of segments. You see, just over a third (39%) have lifestyle and boutique hotels in their sights, while a similar number (36%) are looking at midscale and upper-midscale.
An estimated 35% of respondents would pick the economy segment.
Turning our attention towards a part of Wyndham’s report where it focused on extended-stays, it reveals how nearly all surveyed (96%) see an opportunity in extended-stay, highlighting it as an investment with great potential.
Having said so, respondents also emphasized a very clear distinction between traditional and extended stays. We get to say so because an estimated three-out-of-five surveyed (59%) recognize that operating in extended-stay means operating in a way that’s different from traditional brands.
Moving on, with historic multi-year infrastructure spend on the rise, 100% of respondents also said they anticipate an increase in new business over the next five years (including those outside of the extended-stay segment) as a result of the many projects.
The report further unpacked the importance of cross-selling and upselling, considering more than 80% of hotel owners and property developers say cross-sell and upsell opportunities are key, and therefore, described them as either critical or very important to their hotel’s success.
Wyndham also touched upon the role of technology. Here, one-in-five (20%) said investing in technology is how they plan to differentiate their hotel from the competition.
Two-thirds (61%) of hotel owners said they have already invested in, or are considering investing in, things like streaming, digital room keys, and self-service kiosks. Alongside them, nearly half (46%) have done or are considering the same when it comes to setting up EV charging stations.
Then, there is a contingent of 90% of hotel owners who revealed they are already leveraging AI in some capacity. Out of that, 70% said are deploying the technology to support operations, and at the same time, more than 60% are using it for guest-facing services.
Rounding up highlights would be the prevalence of guest messaging platforms. In essence, one in one-in-three hotels (33%) were deemed to be already utilizing this technology, with nearly another third (30%) looking to invest in or increase their investment in it.
