We can never underestimate the power of data, particularly when it comes to understanding customers. One of my top predictions for this year, as published in a January Hospitality Upgrade article, was that research about consumer behavior will be more valuable than ever. And as things continue to change on almost a daily basis, keeping a pulse on what our guests might do next is crucial in determining marketing plans and developing key sales and revenue strategies.
Amir Eylon, president and CEO at Longwoods International, recently presented a webinar to HSMAI members reporting on traveler sentiment research that can be used as a guidepost to move forward. In addition to stressing the importance of hospitality professionals being aware of and analyzing the latest data, he touched on multiple travel insights we should know about, including:
- People are traveling in larger group sizes, with more family members and friends.
- There is an increase in trip length, as well as spontaneous travel — yet short trips shouldn’t be completely ignored.
- Road trips continue to dominate travel interest, with more travelers venturing to the great outdoors, though interest in urban areas is rebounding.
- Leisure and day-trip travel continue to strengthen, while business travel is still slowly coming along.
Keeping these behaviors in mind as we continue to develop our strategic plans will be key in determining future success. If you want to dive into additional trends to look out for this year, in this issue’s HSMAI section, Jennifer Hill spotlights trends for 2022 and beyond. In addition, Caryl Helsel goes into guest journey mapping; Michael Goldrich discusses where artificial intelligence fits into the hospitality industry; Kelly McGuire, Tucker Sholtes, and Paresh Bhandari explain robotic process automation in the real world; and John Burns talks getting rid of silos between marketing and IT.
HSMAI will be back in person this summer to talk more about the outlook for travel and other important topics during Commercial Strategy Week June 28-29 in Orlando. We hope to see you there.
Robert A. Gilbert
President and CEO
Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI)
