Social distancing and sanitisation will become the norm in hotels, says report
Around one-third of global hoteliers believe significant social distancing and enhanced hygiene measures are here to stay, according to a new report from business intelligence company Amadeus.
'Rebuilding Hospitality: Trends in Demand, Data and Technology that are Driving Recovery' also highlights that 20% of operators intend to keep interaction between staff and guests to a minimum, while 21% plan to reduce daily housekeeping for guests in the long-term.
Some 30% of the 688 hoteliers across the world surveyed for the report said that contactless technology to support personalised guest experiences was one of the developments they were most excited about as the world emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The report also shows that worldwide occupancy levels reached 46% in April 2021, up from the low point of 13% in April 2020.
Meanwhile, booking lead time is lengthening, indicating growing consumer confidence to plan ahead. For most of the past year, nearly all reservation across the world were made within seven days of travel. Some 39% of bookings were made on the same day of travel during the first week of 2021, a figure that had reduced to 23% during the week of 25 April.
Francisco Pérez-Lozao Rüter, president of hospitality at Amadeus, said: "One of the key takeaways from our research and report is that technology will play a central role in the recovery of the hospitality industry, as we found globally 41% of hoteliers plan to spend the same or more on IT this year than they did in 2019."
