14
| Hospitality Today | Feb/Mar 14
IHG Hotel
Trends
Report
Global & local is not
enough - hotel brands
must be ‘personal’ too
A new ‘Hotel trends’ report (21 Jan) by
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)
suggests that to win guest loyalty, hotels
now need to deliver a global, local and
personalised experience. The research
also shows that personalised brand
experiences which resonate with the
local culture are particularly important
for the fast-growing number of travellers
from emerging markets.
These ‘three dimensions’, accelerated
by the rapid rise of technology-enabled
personalisation in recent years, is
changing the experience guests expect
when they travel, say IHG. Hotel brands
that are able to become truly “3D” – by
delivering localised and personalised
experiences through trusted global brands
- will build the trust that is needed to
sustain lasting relationships with guests
and outperform in the future.
Richard Solomons (below left),
IHG Chief Executive said:
“This report marks a step-change in the
thinking that has dominated the travel and
hospitality industry over the last two decades.
Hotel brands have traditionally concentrated
on being 2D - how to be both global and local.
“But our research shows that the rise of
personalisation means brands must be
3D in order to build both trust and lasting
relationships with guests and to win in a
highly competitive global market.
“That is why we have developed our ground-
breaking HUALUXE Hotels & Resorts and
EVEN Hotels concepts, and why we are
focused on supporting technology-enabled
personalisation across our brand family.”