Derek PandoThere is no doubt that the hospitality industry has experienced a rollercoaster of demands over the last few years. Although the global pandemic is behind us, the industry is still navigating the changes it brought along. Consumer behavior is seeing more shifts than ever before, and it’s becoming increasingly challenging to pinpoint what direction trends are going in.
Luckily, there are many resources available for hospitality professionals working towards future-proofing their businesses. Industry reports, hospitality influencers, and other up-to-date resources help paint a broad view of the industry. While these resources may not fully predict the future, they can provide a more nuanced picture of consumer behavior now and what’s to come.
We’ve curated a list of 13 resources for hospitality professionals that may help with strategy planning and operations moving forward:
- EHL Insights: EHL is one of the leading sources for hospitality news and trends year-round. It provides great information to keep you up-to-date on what’s happening in the industry on a daily basis. They focus more on experiential design and digitalization trends that could reshape how hotels operate and engage with guests.
- McKinsey: McKinsey is a major consulting firm that releases a state of hospitality report every year. Their 2024 report, The State of Tourism and Hospitality 2024, highlights key trends driving consumer travel, including domestic vs. international travel, the role of personalization in travel, and other emerging trends that will shape the rest of the year.
- Deloitte: Similar to McKinsey, Deloitte is a major consulting firm that undertakes its own research in different areas of hospitality to understand current trends. Their latest report, The Hospitality Industry Guest of the Future, looks at consumer hospitality trends in the UK, with many of the findings applying to the U.S., such as the role of tech moving forward and shifting demographics within travel.
- Hotel Marketing Podcast: For businesses looking to kickstart marketing operations, particularly digital marketing, Hotel Marketing Podcast is a good resource. It provides a host of resources to help you get started. Their episodes cover digital marketing trends in hospitality, from email to social, as well as practical guidance on creating marketing content to drive growth.
- Unreasonable Hospitality: Written in 2022, Unreasonable Hospitality is an incredible book that will help you think about strategy moving forward. The book looks at the role of service and leadership in hospitality and how to put people at the center of any hospitality business.
- Lodging Leaders: Lodging Leaders is an award-winning podcast that examines current trends and issues facing the hospitality industry. It has covered a variety of topics, including sustainability, investment, and innovations in the industry.
- No Vacancy: No Vacancy News takes a more behind-the-scenes approach to hospitality and sits down with C-Suite leaders across the industry to understand what the modern hotel business looks like. Their content includes podcasts and bite-sized videos on topics ranging from personalization, operations, and exploring legendary hospitality careers.
- Cloudbeds: Cloudbeds hosts a series of webinars for hospitality professionals that may be useful for those seeking more digital marketing inspiration. The topics covered include channel strategies, how to deliver a 5-star guest experience, the power of data, and more to help hospitality businesses with their marketing efforts.
- Checking in with Anthony and Glenn: Led by leading figures from the Travel Channel, Checking In includes conversations with industry experts on topics to empower businesses and careers. Their latest set of podcasts delves into areas such as creating the best guest experience, hotel design, and exploring new hotels and companies entering the business.
- HospitalityON: HospitalityON is one of the more comprehensive hotel industry news articles, and is particularly significant if you’re looking to stay caught up with real-time developments in the industry. HospitaltyON has both a YouTube channel and articles, and there is plenty of content to choose from regarding the latest news in hospitality.
- Skift: Skift is one of the top resources for hospitality and travel news. It provides a wealth of data on new trends and shifts in the industry. Content from Skift covers technological advancements, such as the role of AI, as well as deeper dives into hospitality trends and news, such as the impact of major events (e.g., Olympics, major games) on hotel businesses. Their content includes podcasts, articles, newsletters, and more, so there’s a wide variety to choose from.
- Hotel Management: This site offers news and features on all areas of the hospitality industry, from development and investment to technology and design. It’s an excellent resource for senior industry figures, as it provides more strategic insight into what hospitality businesses are currently doing.
- The Wise Pineapple (Christi Trippin): Christi Trippin is a hospitality guru focusing on leadership content within the hospitality industry. Her book, Yes is the Answer, maps out four key steps leaders can take to build a better team culture, and how to build a brand both employees and customers love.
Relay’s Hospitality Report: What Are Your Industry Peers Doing?
As part of our commitment to the hospitality industry, we’ve leveraged our internal data and survey findings from industry professionals to inform the sector further and ensure we are staying up to date with current trends. Our data has uncovered many exciting trends revolving around guest experience, where hospitality leaders are making investments when it comes to safety and technology, and much more. Our report is free and a valuable resource for anyone interested in data-driven insights into the future of the hospitality industry.
You can read our report here, Relay Hospitality Report 2024.
