The Custard team was on the ground at the Hotel Leadership Conference this month gathering insightful content from the many exciting sessions across the two-day event. Here, the team share their top takeaways and insights.
Artificial Intelligence – Daniel Otway, Content Writer
Artificial Intelligence was a theme that was echoed across both days of the conference and one thing became clear throughout – the power of AI behind the scenes to better improve the guest experience will be just as important, if not more important, than AI being used front of house.
AI examples such as robots are new and exciting and a great way to bring something new to your hotel – but in a few years’ time when this sort of technology becomes more normalised, how will you be using AI to continue to surprise and delight your guests?
AI that is used to consolidate customer data to allow staff to better personalise experiences for guests, or AI that can automate the more repetitive tasks of roles to give staff more time to interact with guests directly – that’s where the real power of the technology lies for hotels.
Workforce Trends – Chloe Smyth, Senior Account Executive
I particularly enjoyed Simon Maguire’s presentation on workforce trends, which delved into the current, emerging and expected trends in the hospitality workforce.
Flexibility and hybrid working remain a top priority for workers, as does the focus on new technology and skills – 69% of CEO’s believe generative AI will require most of their workforce to develop new skills within the next three years.
I was also surprised to find that 51% of HR leaders say their workforce planning is limited to headcount planning. We need to start treating the employee experience like the customer experience and use employee data like you would your customer data, using it to better understand what your workers want and value.
Travel Trends – Mike Smith, Account Manager
How our guests are travelling is an important part of hospitality, so it was great to have the opportunity to hear about the latest travel trends from the speakers at the conference.
Guests are expecting and demanding more from their time away, so it is all about where hotels can offer that extra bit of value. This means more than just a tacked-on loyalty scheme – it’s about making a stay linger with them long after the holiday is over.
The growing trend of alternative destinations also proved interesting, with 73% of travellers now looking for ‘out of comfort zone’ travel that pushes them to the limit. Technology will also play a vital role, with 46% of travellers saying they’re more likely to travel to destinations that they wouldn’t have previously considered after experiencing them virtually.
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