Phocuswright Europe 2022: Hot topics about hospitality

Hotels are currently battling fires on many fronts.

It seems that recovery from the pandemic is not enough, the global conflict, new and established competitors for customers and the need for automation – all this fuels these fires.

Despite the challenges, the hotel industry is doing well. The volume of business travel is constantly increasing and the CEOs of giants such as Accor and Marriott, at least on the surface, seem optimistic.

Marriott has just welcomed its best quarter for direct digital bookings, while Accor announced a first-quarter profit of € 701 million, down 23% from the same quarter in 2019.

Many believe that now is the perfect time to invest in technology to meet the demands of guests who are increasingly online and expect a quick and efficient experience from search and booking to actual stay.

Newer technology-based concepts such as Selina and Sonder will not be ashamed to relocate and move businesses away from the traditional hotel sector with the contactless home experience they offer, especially to younger cohorts.

And the need for technology and automation is even more important in times of huge labor shortages.

There are gains in cost and efficiency if hotels accept the need to do more with fewer resources and overcome the attitude that it’s all about human touch.

Some experts believe that if we speed up five years, the hotel industry will not need half of the people it hired before the pandemic.

S Focuswright Europe 2022 The theme of Fast Forward – a very sustainable future, this is a good time to learn from others and plan and build for a better and stronger future in the hospitality industry.

During the Center Stage session in Phocuswright Europe, representatives of three of the continent’s prominent hotel groups – Brenda Colin, Executive Vice President, Europe, Preferred Hotels & Resorts; Giovanni Manzi, Chief Executive Officer, BWH Hotel Group Italia; and Fernando Vives, Chief Commercial Officer, NH Hotel Group – will discuss the current hospitality landscape with Giancarlo Carniani, General Manager of ToFlorence Hotels and Market Analyst, Phocuswright, Italy.

Click here to register for the event.