We've all heard about how the global economic crisis has affected businesses all over the world, and of course the hospitality industry has also been affected. While the changes may not exactly be of the kind that reshapes continents and causes epic upheavals, they do indicate important trends that could very well continue so long as the world is still reeling from the backlash of the recession.
One way to gauge the changes to the hotel industry is to look at the influential factors that people consider when choosing the hotels they will stay in. Some very important details were revealed in the Ypartnership/Yankelovich 2009 National Travel Monitor survey. A lot of trends can be directly linked to the current condition of the economic landscape.
First among the factors with a significant statistical difference compared to the 2008 figures is value for price. A good 88 percent of the respondents for the 2009 Travel Monitor cited value for price as an extremely influential hotel selection factor. That's up from 82 percent in the 2008 survey.
A couple of other factors managed significant increases in the 2009 survey. Having free breakfasts included in the hotel package was deemed of great importance by 58 percent of the respondents. Only a shade over half of the respondents (51 percent) deemed that as a highly influential factor in their choice of hotel or resort back in 2008.
Consequently, the brand name of a particular hotel or resort mattered less to travelers in 2009. The respondents who think brand name figures highly in their considerations dropped to 44 percent in 2009, from 51 percent in the 2008 Travel Monitor. This is a key indicator, as leisure travelers would tend to look more for convenience and the actual kind of accommodations in the hotel first before considering the name. Reputation helps, but not if it adds a premium to the price tag.
Other factors, such as the location of the hotel and the going rate for rooms were still high on travelers' list of factors, posting similar results as the previous year. Hotel location was at 85 percent, same for both this year and last year. Room rate went up a percent in 2009, with 85 percent of the respondents seeing it as an influential factor. That's why both still rank among the top three factors.
When one looks at the figures, it becomes apparent that travelers now put a high overall priority on getting high value for their money. That's a direct consequence of the recession, as less people put stock in the name of an establishment and look more for reasonable rates with more perks included in their room package.
Look for these trends to continue in the next couple of quarters, as the various hotels all over the world continue to deal with the ripples of one of the worst financial times in the modern era. Many are optimistic that things will start looking up sooner rather than later-something that, hopefully, becomes true.