Consumers Seek More Value from Travel and Hospitality

A recent report from PwC suggests that revenue for hotels will continue to go up over the coming months. This is great news for hoteliers who survived the 2020 pandemic and are looking to recoup costs. What’s more, studies also suggest that customers are happy to pay for these increased prices, even at inflated rates. However, Sarah Dandashy, Travel and Hospitality Expert, notes that while consumers may be happy to pay the price, they’re looking for added features and value that makes the cost increases worth it.

Sarah’s Thoughts

“A recent Price Waterhouse Cooper’s research is calling out that there are some potential headwinds around recovery for the hotel sector, and I absolutely agree with that, especially moving into 2023. Let me quickly break down the state of the industry for everybody that’s just tuning in. So, for 2022, of course there’s been inflation across the board, but what we’ve seen are higher numbers than ever. In terms of the hotel industry, that means higher occupancy numbers and higher ADRs, which are average daily rates.

Hotels have been able to charge higher rates than really ever before, which has certainly been very favorable in terms of recovery for the industry. Now, where we are going to be seeing a little bit of dampening or a lessening of the pace of recovery moving into 2023 are, it’s two-fold. One is we’re probably gonna be seeing a little bit of a less of a demand from leisure travelers, but we are in replace of that, we will be seeing more of an uptick in business travelers, but more so I think what will be determining the pace of recovery. It all will revolve around value.

There has been quite a bit of feedback from travel consumers acknowledging the fact that yes, they have had to pay more for their travels, for staying in a hotel, but what they’ve found is a disconnect. They are paying more, but they are getting less experience, so the value for what they’re paying is not quite on par with what they would expect. And I think that more so is going to be the biggest aspect that will be curbing the speed or the rate of recovery for the hotel industry.

Again, it’s not like travelers are travelers understand things cost more. They’re willing to pay more, but they want to still feel like they’re getting a value for what they’re paying. That is going to be the biggest thing that will be hindering the rate of recoveries for hotels. That’s just my 2 cents on it. Really excited to see what 2023 will bring. And there you go.”