5 Hospitality Trends to Watch in 2023

Staying on top of these hospitality trends can attract more guests and strengthen their loyalty.

Now that people feel safe to travel again after the pandemic, new trends in hospitality are shaping what consumers expect from brands in 2023.

“The practice of ‘stay home and stay safe’ is constantly being replaced by ‘revenge’ travel and socializing,” according to Binu Mathews, CEO at IDS Next in an opinion piece for Hospitality Net. Today’s travelers expect more from the hospitality industry than before the pandemic.

“The new sense of freedom is encouraging a majority of people to step out and get the best of what they couldn’t enjoy during the global pandemic,” says Mathews. “This passion for socializing is also fueling new consumer expectations where guests seek convenience and sophistication from their favorite brands.”

Read on for five hospitality trends to watch in 2023.

1. Attribute-based selling

Attribute-based selling (ABS) offers hotel guests the opportunity to select and mix amenities they prefer over basic standard room facilities. For example, a guest may prefer a city view or a walk-in shower without a tub, says Mathews.

“A Skift article states that 85 percent of travelers consider standard hotel rooms with pre-set amenities uncertain,” says Mathews. “In contrast, ABS allows guests to pick their own attributes when booking a hotel room and experience the stay they envisioned.

“Instead of pre-set amenities, which the guest may not even use, ABS enables guests to enjoy facilities that they require for their vacation with the option to pay for only what [they] use.”

2. Adventure and experience travel

Many travelers now seek adventure and experience travel, including sports activities. Hotels located near immersive nature experiences are “well-poised” to benefit from this trend in 2023, says Bob Rauch, president of RAR Hospitality, in a Hospitality Net opinion piece.

3. Sustainable practices

Hoteliers must satisfy socially responsible guests who are committed to sustainability, says Mathew. Sustainable practices include offering plastic key cards and contactless room keys to reduce plastic waste, housekeeping options that don’t require daily linen service and “smart room” features that reduce energy costs.

Technology solutions can also play a part in a hotel’s sustainability efforts.

“Eco-conscious efforts have become cost-effective for big and small hotels alike. Digitized, cloud-based solutions to reduce wastage are already preferred over traditional ones,” says Mathew. “Utilizing technology already on hand, hotels can use mobile devices that track carbon footprints to align their processes with sustainable development goals.”

4. Bleisure travel

With “bleisure travel,” business travelers combine their business trip with leisure travel before or after their stay. To draw more bleisure travelers, hotels need to blend business and leisure amenities for a stay that meets all of bleisure travelers’ needs.

“It’s time for hotels to upgrade and restructure their designs for wider usage than accommodating just leisure and rest,” says Mathew.

“In-room blended amenities can include on-demand equipment and furniture to accommodate the needs of business-work environments. Non-room spaces can include amenities beyond standard facilities, like charging docks, meeting spaces, temporary workstations and more.”

5. Artificial intelligence for a better guest experience

“Between chatbots that enable guests to request early morning wake-up calls and analytics tools that simplify the management of big data sets, hospitality is headed towards a sophisticated and smart future,” says Mathew.

“Satisfying guests, tracking buyer behavior and forecasting trends will keep the industry agile and ready for unprecedented changes.”