Smart Meetings July 2022 Digital Issue - 70

* * * FEATURE STORY
HIT REFRESH
O
New and Renovated Hotels Debut
Trend-Focused Solutions
ne of the biggest trends to come out of
the Covid-19 pandemic was an increased
focus on " bleisure, " the combination of
business and leisure.
Travelers, experiencing pent up travel needs,
newly set free on business trips and finally allowed
to travel maskless naturally wanted to extend their
time away from home. Why waste the opportunity
to enjoy a few extra days at the recently renovated
Caribe Royale Resort, for instance, which is also
located in the heart of Orlando's attractions when
you're already at a conference in their newly refurbished
convention center?
Look at recent studies such as the EHL (The
École hôtelière de Lausanne) " Trends Shaping the
Hospitality Industry in 2022 " and you'll see the rise
in bleisure travel at the center of them.
Deloitte also recently published a travel trend
piece that highlighted the rise of " laptop luggers "
as a major travel driver. People who travel for fun
are bringing work with them and people who travel
for business are adding on vacation time and taking
breathers outside their home zone.
These trends are increasingly shaping the way new
and renovated hotels look and work for meetings and
meeting planners. Other trends EHL calls out include
digitization, personalization, holistic hospitality, experience
economy, sustainability and virtual reality.
" For what's next in hotels, we are seeing two
trends, " says Peter Caputo, US hospitality leader with
Deloitte. " First, a growing focus on sustainability
with both new and old hotels implementing smart
technologies to quickly move towards sustainability
goals. For example, in-room technology such
as occupancy sensors, leak detectors and electric
monitoring to aid in carbon footprint reduction. For
meeting planners, this is key for businesses working
to meet their own sustainability goals. "
Second, hotels are offering better amenities,
such as credits for spa services or restaurants to
entice business travelers to extend trips for leisure.
Deloitte's research shows that environments that
allow for productivity during vacation are appealing
to most leisure travelers, not just the one-in-five
planning to work during vacation.
Moving forward, expect hotels to provide better
office amenities to address this, such as converting
square footage into meeting rooms for those wanting
to work outside their hotel room and delivering
upgraded internet services with better online security,
predicted Caputo. " As business travel continues to
come back, these trends will help meeting planners
deliver better experiences for attendees, " he said.
Jan Freitag, national director of hospitality analytics,
Costar Group agrees that bleisure is a trend that
will shape the way new and renovated hotels look
and feel.
" Working on vacation (= bleisure) is the new
norm, " he says. Rooms need to " work " for both the
leisure and the business traveler because this is often
the same person, on the same trip. "
Freitag sees other trends. " With fewer people back
in the office, building culture and team cohesion
will be top of mind for executives. This will lead to
more smaller meetings, likely in hotels, so hotels
need to program around small meetings with plenty
of breakout space, off-site team-building options
and just more space to hang out so teams can meet
informally. "
Freitag also notes that customers love outdoor
space. Hotels will add new outdoor terraces and rooftops
to allow for mingling outside, he predicts.
" F&B matters more than ever. Hotels are trying
to activate more spaces with bars and are capitalizing
on a more local clientele with their F&B, " he
says.
Louise Bang, regional vice president of sales
and distribution for Marriott International in the
Caribbean and Latin America also sees bleisure and
outdoor spaces playing in important role in new
properties and renovations. " With 22 new hotels and
resorts planned for 2022 in Marriott's Caribbean and
Latin America region, we are actively adding to our
Marriott International portfolio, " she says.
BY GRETCHEN KELLY
70
APRIL 2022 * SMARTMEETINGS . COM
JULY 2022 * SMARTMEETINGS . COM
Smart Meetings July 2022 Digital Issue

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