The convenience of technology has made it difficult to predict travel distribution for hotels and airlines. The once sturdy chains of hospitality commerce -- threatened by online reservation and booking technologies -- are looking for ways to improve travelers' experience through digital innovation and the classic "home away from home approach."
A lack of modernization threatens even the most luxurious brands of hotels and airlines. According to eMarketer, interviewing Hong Kong-based travel brand thinktank SapientRazorfish's Strategy Chief Seton Vermaak, technology has allowed small companies such as online travel agencies to disrupt established travel distribution.
Vermaak said traditional hospitality commerce must provide more than their usual "miles" for free flights or stays. He recommends even the most luxurious of brands offer something that would make hotel stays or airline flights memorable, such as a free concert ticket happening the same day travelers arrive, fast-tracking concierge services through new technologies or anticipating guests' item or service requests through an advanced system.
Cruise lines -- functioning similar to hotels while similar to airplanes as it transports people -- are adopting advanced technologies to improve the value of their services. Cruise line brand Carnival intends to use a "personalized concierge" system that would allow cabin members to respond to possible guest requests through advanced tech such as sensors and trackers in an instant. Faster service is essential to cruise liners that accommodate hundreds of passengers per voyage.
Should hotels and airlines adopt such advancements, it would not be the final form of hotels and airlines from the future. Luxury hospitality services would go far from just being easily capable of responding to guest requests without their whim. According to Forbes -- in an interview with the Futurist Dr. James Canton -- the future of the hospitality industry would inculcate virtual reality entertainment, gourmet genomics and supersonic travel -- items that are far more advanced than the now-existing robotic butlers in America and Europe's most tech-savvy hotels.
