New Technology Trends in Hospitality That Can Reshape Your Business
Technology within the hospitality industry is constantly evolving; with the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and beyond, hospitality professionals may struggle to keep up with all of the trends customers are beginning to expect. How can your venue stay on the frontlines of technological advancement? We’re here to help.
Here are eight growing hospitality industry technology trends, each of which can boost your guest satisfaction, return on investment, and more. The utility of these trends extends beyond any one type of hospitality venue — potentially providing immense value to hotels, convention centers, stadiums, arenas, and more.
- Increased Sustainability Focus
- In-Person and Cyber-Security
- Social Media Integration
- Hybrid Event Access
- Mobile Technology Adaptation
- Focus on Personalization
- Streamlined, Efficient Automation
- Intuitive Contactless Solutions
1) Increased Sustainability Focus
More & more consumers have begun claiming sustainability as a key factor when making a purchasing decision. A 2022 NielsenIQ study found that 78% of US consumers claim that a sustainable lifestyle is important to them, while products making ESG-related claims averaged 28 percent cumulative growth over the past five-year period versus 20 percent for products that made no such claims.
The hospitality industry is no exception to this rule; increasing sustainability efforts is an important technology trend across the hospitality industry. Take, for example, the sustainability in stadiums & arenas. From automated facilities management through plastic reduction strategies, stadiums around the country are implementing sustainability technology that can both increase customer trust and their bottom line.
2) In-Person and Cyber-Security
The world is becoming increasingly dangerous on both digital and physical fronts. A 2023 SpiderLabs report found that 31% of hospitality organizations have reported a data breach in their company’s history, with 89% of those having been affected more than once in a year. Meanwhile, the FBI found that the number of active shooter incidents has increased 60% from 2019 (30 incidents) to 2023 (48 incidents). Guests and fans have a right to be concerned — especially within the crowded areas that frequently feature within hospitality businesses.
Technology plays a pivotal role in many types of security for convention centers, hotels, and stadiums, making both physical and cyber-security technology important trends within the hospitality industry. Some important technology to note includes:
- IoT-enabled sensors in sensitive areas guests aren’t supposed to access.
- Face-tracking software that can track assailants and pinpoint where security personnel need to dispatch within your venue.
- 24/7 network support to immediately counterattack ransomware, phishing, and malware.
- Consistent software and network updates to protect against the latest forms of cybersecurity threats.
3) Social Media Integration
Social media has become a dominant medium for hospitality marketing. According to Search Engine Journal, in 2023, there were over 5.17 billion social media users worldwide, representing 63.7% of the global population and close to 95% of all internet users. Without social media integration, hospitality businesses are missing out on a significant means of reaching consumers and converting sales — especially to younger generations such as Generation Z.
Creating engaging social media campaigns for hotels, stadiums, and convention centers involves internal content building, encouraging guests to tag your venue, and offering giveaways for users that engage with posts. Combining these three strategies can integrate social media as a tentpole of your marketing strategy.
4) Hybrid Event Access
Events at modern hospitality venues don’t need to be burdened to a single geographic location; hybrid events can extend the outreach and impact of tour events to a global scale. There’s a massive market for hybrid events — in November 2022, Brand Essence Research valued the 2020 global virtual events market at USD 75.21 billion, and expressed expectations that it reach USD 366.5 billion by 2027.
While all kinds of hospitality venues can benefit from hybrid events, conference centers are at the forefront of hybrid event experiences. Many conference centers opt to host hybrid conference events that combine high-quality conference webcasting integration, dedicated hybrid platforms, and high-bandwidth conference internet access to build events that blow away in-person & virtual attendees alike.
5) Mobile Technology Adaptation
Smartphones are a dominant technology within the United States; Statista found the United States smartphone penetration rate to be around 96 percent as of 2024, meaning nearly every consumer you serve has smartphone access. In turn, integrating essential functions of your hospitality business within smartphone technology can streamline and optimize guest experiences.
Many stadiums and arenas are at the forefront of mobile technology adoption. Online food ordering & delivery apps allow fans to order and receive food without leaving their seats, letting them absorb every section of the on-field action. Meanwhile, mobile ticketing integration helps fans never forget their tickets at home — helping to ensure avoidance of potential game day disasters at the stadium gates.
6) Focus on Personalization
Personalization makes customers feel valued, which can lead to higher sales rates; a 2021 McKinsey & Company report found companies that excel at personalization generate 40 percent more revenue from new consumer shopping behaviors than average players. In an industry as intimate as hospitality, a greater focus on personalisation can pay even greater dividends.
Take hotels, for example. Hotel personalization can convert directly into higher revenue via amenities such as:
- Managed WiFi portals integrating guest names and previous WiFi preferences into splash pages and log-ins.
- In-room entertainment platforms catering entertainment options and additional advertisements for amenities.
- Specific, targeted guest messaging via email, text, and other platforms to plug additional upsells.
7) Streamlined, Efficient Automation
Automation is optimizing workflow across varied pieces of technology in the hospitality industry. Zipdo made the prediction that the global hospitality robotics market would witness a 17.1% growth rate between 2021 and 2026 — not to mention advancements in automation for reservations, check-in, check-out, messaging, and pricing.
A key to hospitality automation is a focus on minimizing routine processes that consume time that can be better allocated for more specialized tasks. By automating manual data input, dynamic pricing, facilities management, and more, hospitality professionals can focus on what they do best — catering to guest needs.
8) Intuitive Contactless Solutions
While they once seemed far-fetched, contactless solutions have increasingly become the norm for consumers. For the first time ever, McKinsey & Company’s 2023 Digital Payments Consumer Survey found that more than nine out of ten consumers say they have used some form of digital payment over the course of the year — signaling a massive shift in acceptance for contactless technology.
Contactless technology can serve versatile purposes within the hospitality industry, including:
- Contactless payments for venues of all types.
- Contactless check-in or check-out for hotel guests.
- Contactless, digital room keys in hotels and convention center meeting rooms.
- Contactless mobile ticketing for arenas, stadiums, and outdoor venues.
Support Transformative Hospitality Technology Trends With Hospitality Network HSIA
Whether you implement one or all of these trends within your venue, leveraging technology to improve experiences and operational efficiency can return substantial dividends for diverse hospitality properties. All of these trends, however, are only as powerful as the infrastructure that supports them; without effective network access, solutions designed to improve experiences may serve to hamper them.
As a trusted provider of high-speed internet for hotels, stadiums, and convention centers, Hospitality Network can build WiFi networks that support the most important technology trends — both now and in the future. Request a consultation with our team to discover how our responsive, intuitive networks can jumpstart your venue’s technological revolution.
