NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Hotel guests and their motivations are different than they were three years ago, but some things never change — notably the importance of location in a hotel search and the value of stays.
In a data presentation at the Hotel Data Conference, Chris Klauda, senior director of market insights at STR, said the mindset of modern hotel guests has shifted and continues to shift due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite guests seemingly willing to pay increasingly higher rates, Klauda said consumer desire to travel remains negative, even less so for domestic guests than international.
The good news is that a survey of 1,168 global travelers in July showed propensity to travel domestically in the next year has increased by 29%, and the desire to travel internationally is up 27%, from the previous survey conducted in May.
“Cost is a concern, COVID-19 is not, and hotel use has fallen against alternative accommodations but is again slowly returning,” Klauda said.
There has been a significant increase in trips taken in 2022 compared with 2021, she said.
She added “10% of travelers are unlikely ever to come back.”
New barriers to travel are behind some of that negative sentiment.
“Reasons cited by travelers include the cost of travel, both for hotels and airlines,” she said.
Sixty-one percent of those questioned in July said travel costs were their major worry, a 2% increase from May.
Worry Abounds
Other worries cited include cancellations, disruptions and the increased cost of living, Klauda said.
She said concerns over COVID-19 are diminishing, with only 43% of those questioned referring to the pandemic. Some of that concern is shifting to inflationary pressure on pricing.
Klauda said all of these concerns are changing the nature of trips, not just the nature of the trip-taker.
“City breaks have only now started to be a little more popular, even an idea at all, with countryside and outdoor getaways remaining the most popular,” she said.
She added one bright spot is that there are signs international travel is beginning to return, with 44% of those questioned saying they would be likely taking an international trip in the foreseeable future, compared to 65% saying they would be likely taken a domestic one.
She added in terms of booking decisions, the importance of the quality of accommodation has fallen.
“The pandemic has not changed most travelers’ accommodations preference, as many were simply not traveling at all. Full-service hotels provide more experiences, and there has been no loss from independent assets,” Klauda said.
Guest preference has risen for alternative accommodations to hotels, she added.
Environmental credentials remain at the bottom in terms of guests’ concerns, although 2% more of those surveyed said it was a concern than those surveyed in May.
“Largely, in luxury, guests want good [food and beverage], reviews and cleanliness; for those booking mid-scale hotels, Wi-Fi, cancellation policies and breakfast are the standouts, while for guests choosing economy hotels, value remains the biggest factor,” she said.
Expectations of future rate increases do weigh on guests’ minds, she added, “but increasingly over the past two decades, travel is being regarded as a birthright.”