Today’s hotel guests want an exceptional end-to-end experience from booking to check-out.
From the moment they arrive, at all points of their visit and right up to the point when they leave, they have their own expectations that they want the hotel to meet. Everything needs to be just right for them to want to book a return stay.
It can be a challenge for hoteliers to know where to start, especially when looking at how to use technology to enhance the hotel journey for their guests. The systems used might be old, slow, lacking features or in need of an upgrade. There might be multiple, fragmented systems and processes which are taking up staff time. All of which can get in the way of delivering an amazing guest experience.
The natural place to start is to look at what guests today really want. Ensuring guest experience is always at the heart of decision-making is paramount to a successful hospitality business.
With travel returning to normal levels, hoteliers are seeing an international mix of guests so to help discover exactly what they want from their hotel stay, we surveyed 6,500 consumers, aged 18+ from 19 countries around the world. The survey took place in May 2023 asking a mix of questions about hotel experiences in different channels and preferences for payment methods and technology used in hotels including TV and Wi-Fi services.
The findings of our survey get under the skin of the modern hotel guest, providing useful consumer trends for hoteliers to make decisions about where to invest to improve the guest experience. Here are some of the key ones:
Simple direct booking – Data on the preferred methods and channels used for hotel reservations, with smartphone-based booking clearly on top, but with a need for payment on the hotel’s website.
Convenience is key – A range of flexible payment methods are needed from booking through to check-out, with credit/debit card transactions preferred and digital wallets also popular.
Currency choice – Guests indicated a strong preference to pay in their home currency – not least so they can keep track of what they spend – right across the guest journey, but especially at the booking stage.
Flexible check-in – Our results showed guests were split down the middle on in-person vs self-check-in. Still with an ongoing desire to be checked in by hotel staff, but with the choice for self-check-in options also required, knowing your guest types in key here.
Slick Technology – Guests want to use convenient payment technology throughout their stay, from QR codes to apps. And they want to be connected via reliable and secure Wi-Fi at all times.
Speedy check-out – A hassle-free check-out service that avoids queues and where they can pay easily and quickly is a big factor in building loyalty and ensuring guests return.
Of course, tastes and requirements differ depending on where guests arrive from. This report delves into those regional variations, as well as taking a closer look at a booming audience hoteliers must identify as
‘the guest of the future’: Millennials and Gen Z.
Ultimately, there’s a need to better use technology to join up the different phases of the guest journey, with integrated systems and slick payment interfaces - all vital elements of an exceptional experience.
Today’s hotel guests want an exceptional end-to-end experience from booking to check-out.
From the moment they arrive, at all points of their visit and right up to the point when they leave, they have their own expectations that they want the hotel to meet. Everything needs to be just right for them to want to book a return stay.
It can be a challenge for hoteliers to know where to start, especially when looking at how to use technology to enhance the hotel journey for their guests. The systems used might be old, slow, lacking features or in need of an upgrade. There might be multiple, fragmented systems and processes which are taking up staff time. All of which can get in the way of delivering an amazing guest experience.
The natural place to start is to look at what guests today really want. Ensuring guest experience is always at the heart of decision-making is paramount to a successful hospitality business.
With travel returning to normal levels, hoteliers are seeing an international mix of guests so to help discover exactly what they want from their hotel stay, we surveyed 6,500 consumers, aged 18+ from 19 countries around the world. The survey took place in May 2023 asking a mix of questions about hotel experiences in different channels and preferences for payment methods and technology used in hotels including TV and Wi-Fi services.
The findings of our survey get under the skin of the modern hotel guest, providing useful consumer trends for hoteliers to make decisions about where to invest to improve the guest experience. Here are some of the key ones:
Simple direct booking – Data on the preferred methods and channels used for hotel reservations, with smartphone-based booking clearly on top, but with a need for payment on the hotel’s website.
Convenience is key – A range of flexible payment methods are needed from booking through to check-out, with credit/debit card transactions preferred and digital wallets also popular.
Currency choice – Guests indicated a strong preference to pay in their home currency – not least so they can keep track of what they spend – right across the guest journey, but especially at the booking stage.
Flexible check-in – Our results showed guests were split down the middle on in-person vs self-check-in. Still with an ongoing desire to be checked in by hotel staff, but with the choice for self-check-in options also required, knowing your guest types in key here.
Slick Technology – Guests want to use convenient payment technology throughout their stay, from QR codes to apps. And they want to be connected via reliable and secure Wi-Fi at all times.
Speedy check-out – A hassle-free check-out service that avoids queues and where they can pay easily and quickly is a big factor in building loyalty and ensuring guests return.
Of course, tastes and requirements differ depending on where guests arrive from. This report delves into those regional variations, as well as taking a closer look at a booming audience hoteliers must identify as
‘the guest of the future’: Millennials and Gen Z.
Ultimately, there’s a need to better use technology to join up the different phases of the guest journey, with integrated systems and slick payment interfaces - all vital elements of an exceptional experience.
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