What are the emerging trends and technologies that hospitality entrepreneurs should watch out for and adopt?

1 Smart and sustainable solutions

One of the major trends that hospitality entrepreneurs should pay attention to is the growing demand for smart and sustainable solutions that can improve the environmental and social impact of their businesses. Customers are increasingly looking for hotels, restaurants, and other hospitality venues that use renewable energy sources, reduce waste and emissions, and support local communities and causes. Technology can play a vital role in enabling these solutions, such as smart sensors, lighting, and thermostats that can optimize energy consumption, biodegradable packaging and composting systems that can minimize waste, and blockchain and digital platforms that can facilitate transparency and traceability.

3 Health and wellness

A third trend that hospitality entrepreneurs should capitalize on is the increasing focus on health and wellness among customers. Customers are more conscious of their physical and mental well-being, and seek hospitality services and products that can enhance their health and wellness goals. Technology can assist hospitality entrepreneurs in offering health and wellness solutions, such as wearable devices and mobile apps that can monitor and track health indicators, online platforms and communities that can provide access to wellness experts and resources, and smart furniture and equipment that can adjust to the customer's comfort and posture.

4 Co-creation and collaboration

A fourth trend that hospitality entrepreneurs should embrace is the growing opportunity for co-creation and collaboration with customers, partners, and stakeholders. Customers want to be more involved in the creation and delivery of the hospitality value proposition, and share their feedback, ideas, and opinions. Partners and stakeholders want to be more engaged in the innovation and development process, and contribute their expertise, resources, and networks. Technology can enable hospitality entrepreneurs to foster co-creation and collaboration, such as social media and online platforms that can facilitate customer feedback and participation, cloud computing and open innovation that can allow partner and stakeholder integration, and crowdsourcing and crowdfunding that can generate customer and community support.

5 Diversity and inclusion

A fifth trend that hospitality entrepreneurs should adopt is the increasing importance of diversity and inclusion in the hospitality industry. Customers, partners, and stakeholders are more diverse than ever, and expect hospitality businesses to respect, celebrate, and accommodate their different backgrounds, cultures, identities, and perspectives. Technology can help hospitality entrepreneurs promote diversity and inclusion, such as translation and interpretation tools that can overcome language barriers, digital accessibility and assistive devices that can cater to different abilities and needs, and cultural intelligence and sensitivity training that can enhance cross-cultural understanding and communication.

6 Agility and resilience

A sixth trend that hospitality entrepreneurs should watch out for is the need for agility and resilience in the face of uncertainty and disruption. The hospitality industry is constantly exposed to external shocks and challenges, such as natural disasters, pandemics, political instability, and economic crises. Technology can help hospitality entrepreneurs build agility and resilience, such as data analytics and forecasting that can anticipate and respond to market changes, automation and robotics that can optimize and streamline operations, and cybersecurity and backup systems that can protect and recover data and assets.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?