Skift oracle-back-to-hospitality

BACK TO HOSPITALITY:
GETTING SMARTER AND
MORE PROFITABLE IN A
POST-COVID WORLD
+
Presented by

Back to Hospitality: Getting Smarter and More Profitable in a Post-Covid World 2
SKIFT + ORACLE
Introduction
The 2021 Skift and Oracle “Back to Hospitality” Report
Non-Room Revenue
Competing With Short-Term Rentals
Rethinking Operations
Technology Upgrades
Regional Spotlights
Europe
Asia-Pacific
Latin America
6
9
11
17
22
26
30
31
32
33
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABOUT SKIFT
Skift is the largest industry intelligence platform
providing media, insights, and marketing to
key sectors of travel. Skift deciphers and defines
trends for global CEOs and CMOs across the travel
industry through a combination of news, research,
conferences, and marketing services.
ABOUT SKIFTX
SkiftX is Skift’s in-house content studio. SkiftX
produced this report in partnership with Oracle
Hospitality.
ABOUT ORACLE HOSPITALITY
Oracle Hospitality brings over 40 years of experience
in providing technology solutions to independent
hoteliers, global and regional chains, gaming, and
cruise lines. Visit www.oracle.com/Hospitality to
learn more.
MASTHEAD
Vice President, SkiftX / Katherine Townsend
Editorial Director, SkiftX / Lisa Omagari
Research Editor, SkiftX / Jeremy Kressmann
Designer / Joanna Gonzalez

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After a dramatic year for the hospitality ecosystem,
the lead-in to summer 2021 is revealing signs of
recovery. Global travel demand is at its highest since
the beginning of the pandemic, as the industry finds
itself at a promising turning point.
The impacts have been widespread. After a year of
limitations and stay at home orders, consumers are
showing new behaviors: a preference for self-service
and contactless interactions, remote check-ins, short-
term rentals, and greater vacation opportunities that
merge work and leisure together.
With the growing demand comes high competition,
and the battle for guests, labor, room nights, and
revenue is likely to be fierce. How might hotels
succeed in this new landscape and meet the
emerging need? How can they evolve, adjust, and
re-prioritize for greater efficiency and profit in an
industry in flux? And what changes in particular will
be the most crucial?
To gain insight into these questions and a more
precise lay of the land, Skift and Oracle collaborated
on a global research study during spring 2021,
focusing on the current thinking from hoteliers and
guests on the post-Covid hotel experience.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The 2021 ‘Back to Hospitality’ Report is concerned
with how hotels can get smarter and become more
profitable in the post-Covid world. It builds on the
successful research collaboration that began in
2020, and hones in on how the current shifts might
accelerate innovation, ensure resiliency and open up
new business areas in the future.
The report focuses in detail at how non-room revenue
may become a core attribute of the business mix,
various strategies hotels can implement to compete
with an upsurge in short-term rental bookings, how
operations can be re-thought for greater efficiency,
and what kinds of technology upgrades are required
in the pursuit of greater service. The report also shines
a spotlight on the geographical regions of Europe,
Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, contrasting the
differences in their projected growth and approach.
Drawing on insights f rom the expertise and
experience from the report’s participants — over
500 hospitality executives and just under 5000
consumers worldwide — the report is designed to
help better understand the pertinent opportunities
and challenges, helping inform and guide the
industry as it recovers during this pivotal rebound
moment.

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EXECUTIVE LETTER
Nothing is more pressing than accelerating hospitality’s
recovery and welcoming back guests. And we’re
committed to aid that effort.
Oracle Hospitality’s mission is to create technology
solutions that power exceptional guest experiences and
make work simpler and more rewarding for employees.
This outcome is needed now more than ever, as our
industry strives to welcome back world travelers and
meet the new market demands of a post-pandemic
world.
We’ve always stressed the importance of accurate,
relevant data to show the way forward. We believe there
are lessons to be learned from all that we have endured and are eager to help you seize the opportunities
that these new market dynamics will bring. That’s why we commissioned Skift to conduct a global research
study, surveying more than 500 hoteliers and nearly 5,000 consumers to better understand the key factors
transforming our business. The result of that endeavor is Back to Hospitality: Getting Smarter and More
Profitable in a Post-Covid World, and it delves into topics such as non-room revenue generation and short-
term rental competition.
The research findings also underscore the new norm of our industry: the need to achieve more with less.
What makes the seemingly impossible possible is the embrace of technology, especially cloud-based
solutions that orchestrate hospitality’s myriad tasks into a model of efficiency and innovation.
It’s our hope that Oracle’s technology and the insights of this report will serve as inspiration to elevate
operations – and measure the metrics that truly matter: Satisfied guests who appreciate your efforts to
welcome them back.
Alex Alt
SVP and General Manager
Oracle Hospitality

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Get Back
to Hospitality
Guests are ready to travel again. Greet them with
technology that delivers the best guest experience.
oracle.com/hospitality

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INTRODUCTION
2020 was a dramatic shock to the hospitality
ecosystem. As the American Hospitality and
Lodging Association (AHLA) noted in its 2021
state of the industry report, “The hotel industry
experienced the most devastating year on record
in 2020, resulting in historically low occupancy,
massive job loss, and hotel closures across the
country.”
“2020 was the hardest hit year for the travel and
hospitality industry we’ve ever had, and I think,
accentuated by coming off the very strong pace
that we saw both in 2018 and in 2019 globally,” said
Ben Trodd, senior vice president, sales and hotel
marketing at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
But as the industry proceeds into the summer
2021 travel season, optimism is returning. Markets
like the US and UK — where the vaccine rollout is
well under way and Covid-19 cases are falling — are
seeing rebounding travel demand for leisure trips.
According to the Skift Research March 2021
Recovery Index, a proprietary measure of tourism
output launched to track the economic impact
of the pandemic, global travel demand reached a

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score of 53 out of 100 points, its highest level since
Skift started tracking the metric at the start of the
pandemic in April 2020. As the report notes, “March
2021 might go down as a true turning point for the
travel industry.” This sentiment is echoed by recent
comments from hospitality leaders like IHG CEO
Keith Barr in April 2021. “If a market is open for
travel we are seeing surges in leisure demand,” said
Barr.
It is indeed an optimistic moment for hospitality
professionals as their business outlook and balance
sheets once again offer a reason for optimism.
But as the global recovery picks up momentum,
it’s worth asking what lessons the industry has
learned from a devastating year that is hopefully
now behind us. As the famous maxim by Stanford
economist Paul Romer makes clear, “a crisis is a
terrible thing to waste.”
In fact, if the industry pauses to consider the impact
of 2020, the pandemic caused significant changes
in both the consumer and business environment,
changes that will continue to impact hotel business
strategies long after the threat of Covid-19 recedes
from memory.
One example is recent changes in consumer
behavior and travel habits. Thanks to a year of
public health restrictions, stay-at-home measures
and a huge rise in e-commerce ordering, today’s
travelers have new preferences for how they like
to shop and interact with businesses. Consider
the consumer survey data from Skift and Oracle’s
2020 Hospitality Recovery report, which found that
more than 68 percent of travelers expected “self-
service and contactless check-in options” as a key
feature for future hotel stays.
Travelers are also adopting new behaviors for
choosing their accommodations. Consider 2020’s
surge in short-term rental bookings. According to
data collected by Skift Research, short-term rental
occupancy levels in 2020 over-indexed against
occupancy levels for 2019, while hotels were under-
indexed during the same period at just 70 percent
of normal levels.
2020 also saw the introduction of new habits for
how consumers spend their work and leisure time.
A November 2020 analysis by McKinsey, which
estimated that as much as 20 percent of the global
workforce might now consistently work from home,
in comparison to before the pandemic, suggesting
potentially significant readjustments on how those
employees plan their vacations, travel for work, and
select accommodations.
Meanwhile, 2020 also ushered in significant
changes in how hotels operated and served guests.
Skift and Oracle’s 2020 hospitality research found
that 50 percent of hotel executives were exploring
expansions to their food service, takeout, and food
delivery options. Indeed, owing to the decrease in
occupancy caused by the pandemic, properties
around the globe have started exploring new ways to
make up revenue shortfalls over the past 12 months
by getting creative about how to save money and
find new ways to monetize existing assets.
Some of the innovations that came out of 2020
related to hotels evolving or updating the food,
amenities, and services they offered to guests. Some
hotels partnered with co-working spaces to offer
temporary office space. 2020 also saw many hotel
properties experimenting with new F&B models like
takeout or so-called “ghost kitchens,” where a hotel
rents out its kitchen to third-party food businesses
to complete delivery orders.
2020 also accelerated hotels’ efforts to explore new
technology upgrades as they worked to create
new systems to work remotely, run their properties
more efficiently with fewer staff, and better meet
rising guest expectations. Skift and Oracle’s 2020
research found that a majority of hotels were
making or considering changes to their digital
messaging services (79 percent), self-service check-
in procedures (67 percent), and training procedures
for staff (88 percent).

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These types of strategic operational adjustments
are becoming critical at a time when the hospitality
industry faces a growing labor shortage headed into
the busy summer travel season. But with the help of
smarter systems, hotel executives can do more with
less while continuing to provide high levels of service
to guests.
“That’s going to be key when we come out of the
pandemic, to provide better services,” said Dan
Kornick, chief information officer at Loews Hotels.
“That’s what my team is exploring: How can we
automate things more in the backend to be more
cost efficient, whether we centralize them or
automate them? … [and] how do we get to know our
guests better and provide a better experience?”
If these shifts are not internalized by executives as
they think about how to operate and invest post
pandemic, they may face even bigger challenges
than what they saw in 2020. Just consider the
following quote about the growing impact of
operational costs like staffing, cited in Hospitality
Upgrade, as one example:
“The cost of revenue generation will reach record
highs over the next 18 to 24 months as competition
for guests and room nights will be fierce. As a
result, net RevPAR after acquisition costs will be
severely depressed. Hotels which do not implement
fundamental changes to their operating models
may not survive even after travel volume approaches
pre-Covid levels.”
To succeed in this new environment, meet the
needs of post-pandemic guests, and prepare for
an uncertain future, hotels need to evolve how they
do business. But what adjustments should they
prioritize? Where should they invest precious time
and resources to help them run their businesses in a
smarter and more profitable way?

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THE 2021 SKIFT AND ORACLE “BACK TO
HOSPITALITY” REPORT
It’s clear that 2020 ushered in significant changes
in guest expectations and the standard operating
assumptions of hotels. But which of these changes
will be most important as the industry starts to
recover from the pandemic? And how should
hotel executives and owners plan their business
strategies to reset and prepare for the future after
such a chaotic year?
To help answer these questions, Skift and Oracle
partnered in spring 2021 on a global research study
to understand how hoteliers and their guests were
thinking about the hotel experience as travel starts
to return. Building on their successful research
collaboration in 2020, the project surveyed more than
500 hotel executives and nearly 5,000 consumers
worldwide to understand their sentiments around
hospitality in 2021 and the near future.

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Recognizing that a great deal of industry research
has already been created exploring forecasts of hotel
demand, predicting recovery timelines, and assessing
the pandemic’s economic impact on the industry,
Skift and Oracle agreed to focus this year’s research on
how the events of 2020 might accelerate innovation,
ensure future resiliency, and open up new areas of
business growth for hospitality. This resulted in the
following four research topics:
Non-room revenue: After a year in which many
hotels experimented with new service offerings,
the survey explores which new products and
services have the most potential. It also explored
how hotels could more efficiently monetize
and merchandise these aspects of the hotel
experience.
Competing with short-term rentals: 2020 saw
a significant increase in traveler demand for
short-term rental properties. This year’s research
explored the most attractive features and
amenities of short-term rentals, along with which
amenities, features, or marketing strategies hotels
might use in order to better compete moving
forward.
Rethinking operations: The pandemic forced
many hotels to make tough decisions about
their staffing, operations strategy, remote work
plans, and changes to the guest experience. This
year’s survey investigated what hotels learned in
2020 to help run their business better, and which
operational changes from the pandemic period
they plan to continue as travel begins to recover.
Technology upgrades: Technology investment
typically operates on a long-term timeline for
many hotels. But 2020 accelerated a variety
of changes implemented by hospitality IT
departments. The survey looked at the adoption
of technology solutions like cloud-based software,
digital tools that help facilitate collaboration, and
improvements to the guest experience.
To further round out the report research, Skift and
Oracle also analyzed survey responses by geographic
location to identify any regional differences
in business strategy or attitudes among local
consumers and executives. The analysis laid out
below offers a snapshot of the hospitality industry
in transition as it works to evolve for this emerging
future.

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NON-ROOM REVENUE
The business environment of 2020 created new
momentum among hotel executives to rethink their
notions of profitability and revenue diversification.
“Covid has forced everyone to view their assets and
their real estate and try to understand whether
or not there are alternative routes to generate
revenue,” said Laura Brinkmann, VP private equity,
Europe, at Brookfield Asset Management, in a
recent interview.
This has created an opportunity for hotel operators
to look for ways to better monetize (and market)
existing hotel products and services. “There has
never been a better time to offer non-room products
and services to hotel guests,” said Jason Bryant,
CEO of Nor1, Oracle Hospitality. “While it’s not easy
to compare year-over-year in the current global
situation, we saw a marked increase in guest demand
for these offers in the first quarter of 2021 versus the
first quarter of 2020.”
Other hotel executives agree with this sentiment.
“There is an opportunity to reimagine our services and
offerings in the post-Covid world,” said Raul Moronta,
chief commercial officer at Remington Hotels.

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The comments match the responses gathered from
the Skift and Oracle 2021 survey. Seventy-seven
percent of executives agreed or strongly agreed that
their property is exploring new opportunities to add
non-room revenue as a result of the events of 2020.
14%
41%
36%
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Neither agree or disagree
“Since 2020, our hospitality business has been
exploring new opportunities to grow non-room
revenue to supplement business from unsold
rooms.”
Hotel Executives
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
5%
4%
In addition, a significant majority of respondents
believe non-room revenue sources will become
a more important component of their financial
plans moving forward. Forty-three percent of
executives said non-room sources of revenue could
immediately represent as much as a quarter of their
hospitality business this year (right, top). And looking
ahead to the future, 67 percent of executives agreed
or strongly agreed that non-room revenue will
represent a growing share of their annual revenue in
the next five years.
These optimistic assessments are reinforced by
growing demand for non-room products and
services among hotel guests. Sixty-seven percent
of hotel guests said they were “very or somewhat”
interested in buying products and services
beyond their room, a data point that suggests an
opportunity to upsell or cross-sell such items to
guests as part of their stay (next page, top right).
18%
23%
44%
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
“We expect ‘non-room’ sources of revenue will
represent an increasing share of our organization’s
annual revenue in the next five years.”
Hotel Executives
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
11%
4%
In fact, because of the celebratory nature of many
post-pandemic trips, some hoteliers report they
are already seeing significant increases in guest
spending. “After almost a year without travel,
once they arrive here, they want to celebrate,” said
Eduardo Segura, managing director for The Cape,
A Thompson Hotel — a luxury property in Los
Cabos, Mexico. “The income per available room has
increased.”
25%
22%
43%
0-10%
11-25%
26-50%
What percent of your hospitality business
do you predict will come from ‘non-room’
revenue in 2021?
Hotel Executives
51-75%
75% or more
6%
4%

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23%
22%
45%
Very interested
Somewhat interested
Neither interested or
uninterested
Many hotels are now selling various products
and services to guests and non-guests beyond
just rooms. Assuming they fit your needs, how
interested would you be in purchasing these
items from a hotel?
Consumers
Somewhat uninterested
Very uninterested
7%
3%
Even if the novelty of splurging during an initial
post-vaccine trip doesn’t last, survey responses
suggest selling non-room products is an idea with
big potential. Top non-room products and services
consumers have previously purchased from a hotel,
or are open to purchasing in the future (next page),
are food from the restaurant (91 percent), drinks at
the bar (86 percent), package deals (83 percent), or
tours and activities (81 percent).
In response to this demand, more hotels are re-
examining where they might further diversify their
offering (see page 15). Many executive respondents
said they either started offering during the
pandemic or previously offered services such as
extended stays (66 percent), package deals (65
percent), and F&B concepts (57 percent).
There’s also growing potential for hotels to revamp
their strategy for hybrid meetings and temporary
workspace. While hybrid event spaces (43 percent)
and temporary offices (42 percent) did not score
as high among hotels in this year’s survey, both
services scored highest among hotels “considering
offering this in the future.”

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How this trend is playing out at properties around
the world depends a lot on their location, their
category and their guest profile. But conversations
with various executives offer some insights.
“Hotels in some regions have been offering new
programs like ‘Work From Hotel,’” said George
Turner, chief commercial & technology officer, IHG
Hotels & Resorts. “It allows people to work flexibly in
a hotel room or public spaces (where permitted by
local regulations) with amenities like free Wi-Fi, food
Food from a restaurant
Drinks at a hotel bar
Tour or activity
Package deals (room
+ other hotel amenities)
Food takeout or delivery
An extended stay (7+ nights)
A product from a retail store inside
the hotel
A wellness or fitness service
Car rentals
Tickets to an event
(concert, performance)
Booked a room for a portion of a day
Space for a business meeting or
personal event
A subscription membership to
hotel services
Temporary office/coworking space
Never purchased
from a hotel
7%
10%
14%
13%
18%
18%
19%
26%
28%
27%
36%
34%
38%
41%
Open to purchasing
from a hotel
36%
33%
43%
49%
43%
44%
41%
41%
40%
45%
34%
31%
36%
27%
Have purchased this
from a hotel
55%
53%
38%
34%
34%
33%
34%
26%
22%
21%
21%
17%
16%
13%
Have you ever purchased, or would you be open to purchasing, any of the
following products or services from a hotel at your next stay?
Consumers
and beverage discounts, and free printing. These
could be booked for full or half day windows.”
Other properties are looking at new opportunities
to facilitate sales of non-room products to locals.
“You think about things like our world-class spas
and our fitness facilities, our restaurants, our bars,
these were already very much orientated towards
local guests and the local environment,” said
Four Seasons’ Trodd. “So we continue to focus on
communicating those offerings very, very carefully.”

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No plans to offer
15%
13%
21%
24%
11%
28%
11%
28%
20%
20%
28%
41%
Considering offering
this in the future
23%
25%
30%
29%
19%
24%
19%
27%
21%
25%
27%
17%
Started offering
this in 2020
35%
28%
28%
26%
23%
23%
22%
17%
15%
14%
12%
12%
Offered this
pre-pandemic
22%
29%
15%
16%
42%
19%
44%
17%
36%
34%
24%
18%
Does your business currently offer or plan to offer any of the following
products and services targeting hotel guests?
Hotel Executives
Takeout and delivery food options
New food and beverage concepts
(restaurants, bars, takeout kitchens)
Hybrid event services (combination virtual +
physical meetings)
Temporary offices/coworking space
Package deals (room + other hotel amenities)
Book a room for a portion of a day
Extended stay accommodations (7+ nights)
Retail or e-commerce storefronts
Wellness or fitness services
Tours and activities
Subscription hotel memberships
Car rentals
Trodd also mentions that Four Seasons saw strong
interest in 2020 for special takeout versions of its
world-class food offerings. “In Paris at Le Cinq, our
three Michelin-Star restaurant, you were able to
have a multi-course New Year’s Eve menu delivered
to your home,” said Trodd. “That’s something that
we wouldn’t have done in the past. Or if you’re in
Hong Kong and Chef Tak has these just absolutely
beautiful puddings, they were available to celebrate
the Lunar New Year as a takeout product.”
New hybrid meeting and workspace offerings are
another area of growing opportunity, especially
as hotels look for ways to entice groups and
business travelers back when it’s safe to hold larger
gatherings. “We have implemented a couple of
broadcast studios for larger settings,” said Florian
Daniel, chief information officer at Steigenberger
Hotels. “We have [also] equipped rooms for hybrid
meetings where we can have physical travelers
connecting with their offices. So this is indeed a
new product.”
Luckily, existing hotel products like Oracle’s OPERA
Cloud Sales and Event Management make it easy
for hotels to easily integrate unused guest rooms
and temporary spaces into their sales channels to
boost revenue.

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Despite the potential opportunity for non-room
revenue, many hoteliers still consider it a good way
to supplement overall revenue, not replace it. Forty-
three percent of executives said that while non-
room revenue was a promising opportunity, room
revenue was the primary driver of their business.
19%
43%
21%
It’s a promising opportunity, but
room revenue is the main driver
of our hotel business
It’s a promising opportunity but
needs further experimentation
It was a short-term adjustment
to make it through 2020
Which of the following statements best matches
your opinion about the future potential for
selling “non-room” products and services at
your property?
Hotel Executives
It’s a distraction from our main
business, which is renting rooms
It’s a revolutionary change in
how we do business
8%
7%
Other 1%
This seems to imply that non-room revenue will
serve as an excellent diversification strategy as
hotels try to be more resilient in the face of future
business challenges. It also highlights an emerging
shift in hospitality management philosophy toward
the tracking of “total revenue management,” in
which metrics like total revenue per available room
(TRevPAR) better encapsulate the complete guest
revenue generated across all hotel departments on
a per room basis, not just revenue from the room
itself.
“The main advantage of TRevPAR is that it takes into
account revenue from all departments, including
food and beverage sales, meeting space, spas, golf,
parking and even phone/internet services,“ notes
a recent explainer on TRevPAR from hospitality
insights firm STR.
Even if a hotel isn’t ready to immediately reorient
its entire revenue strategy toward non-room
revenue, one way to start experimenting with non-
room revenue is by means of upsell opportunities.
Hotel executives should consider where in the
consumer journey their properties could do
a better job of cross-selling or merchandising
related products and services that fit a guest’s
needs. A perfect opportunity exists at the time of
purchase or at check-in.
Nearly 50 percent of consumers in this year’s
survey said being offered an upgrade or special
offer for non-room services during pre-arrival or
check-in was important.
7%
49%
44%
Yes - I like being given
options to improve my stay
Maybe - it would depend on
the trip and context
No - Doesn’t really make a
difference for me
Is being offered an upgrade or special offer for
non-room services pre-arrival or at check-in
important to you?
Consumers
According to calculations provided by executives
interviewed for this report, these upsells can
ultimately have a noticeable impact on hotel
revenue, profit and average daily rate (ADR). “Our
data scientists have estimated room upgrade
demand at $28 per reservation,” said Nor1’s Bryant.
“If you could satisfy only 50 percent of that demand,
you would increase your average reservation value
by $14, the majority of which is pure profit. For
a property with an ADR of $200 and an average
length of stay of two nights, this would translate into
an ADR increase of approximately four percent.”

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COMPETING WITH SHORT-TERM RENTALS
As the hospitality industry navigates out of the
pandemic, they’ll also need to look for opportunities
to differentiate themselves from competitive
threats like short-term rentals. Thanks to the growth
of short-term rental demand in 2020, the urgency
of a response has increased considerably. “The
advantage that short-term rentals have had [in
2020] is the increased focus on leisure and a high
proportion of long-term stays, which have been
a big chunk of demand,” said Robin Rossmann,
managing director at STR, during a 2020 webinar.
The continued popularity of short-term rental
accommodations was also evident in the responses
from this year’s survey respondents. Sixty percent
of consumers said they planned to stay at a short-
term rental property in the next 12 months.
Still, it’s important to put this demand into context.
While there’s been a clear increase during the
pandemic and into the current recovery phase, it’s
not yet clear if it represents a permanent change, or
a temporary shift. That’s why, in order to effectively

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60%
40%
Yes
No
Do you plan to stay at a short term rental
property in the next 12 months?
Consumers
compete with that growing demand, it’s important
for hotel executives to understand the motivations
of consumers selecting these types of properties,
along with the specific property features and
amenities that influence their choices.
The most important insight from this year’s survey
is that travelers prefer both options differently
depending on their travel circumstances and trip
purpose. “Many of our guests use both the hotels
and private retreats,” said Trodd, referring to Four
Seasons’ hotels and the company’s own private
retreats product. “It’s not an entirely different guest
base.”
That said, when attempting to make a direct
comparison, there are clear differences in amenity
preferences (right, top). Fifty-six percent of
consumers said they picked a short-term rental
because it had more privacy, while another 53
percent said it was because their short-term rental
had a kitchen. Another 48 percent said it was
because it had “bigger space.”
Meanwhile, when asked the same question about
hotels (next page, top left), 60 percent of consumers
mentioned better prices, while over half said hotels
had a “better location.” Another 48 percent said
“upgraded amenities” like an in-room kitchen or an
on-site pool would make them more likely to stay in
a hotel.
How hotels respond to these differences, and with
what kinds of adjustments to their experience,
continues to evolve. Survey responses and executive
interviews suggest hotels are exploring a range of
48%
56%
53%
More privacy
Has a kitchen
Bigger space (more rooms)
26%
36%
35%
More economical
Ability to stay longer
(7+ days)
Better decor (furniture,
decoration, architecture)
Which of the following features is most
important in deciding to stay in a short term
rental instead of a hotel?
Consumers
Better location
Ability to be socially distanced
to minimize risk of COVID-19
46%
44%
Ability to have a more
hygienic/clean environment
Other
41%
2%
responses, including upgraded cleaning procedures,
developing new products, services, and marketing
approaches to blunt the short-term rental appeal,
and physical modifications to their properties.
One of the easiest responses for hotels to counter
the appeal of short-term rentals is with more
cleaning procedures and contactless technology.
The pandemic may be receding in some parts of
the world, but research suggests safety and hygiene
will remain key considerations for travelers for years
to come. “What changed [in travelers’ minds] is, ‘I
don’t know if [short-term rentals] have the proper
hygiene in place, so I’d rather stay at a hotel’,” said
Steigenberger Hotels’ Daniel.
In response, 65 percent of executives are implement-
ing new hygiene and cleaning procedures to better

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compete with short-term rentals. Another 50 per-
cent said they are doubling down on upgrades to
contactless technology (left, bottom).
This enhanced focus on cleaning is in line with
consumer preferences (next page, top). Seventy-
nine percent of consumers said “company
cleanliness guarantees” were very or somewhat
important to their willingness to stay at a hotel
or short-term rental again, while 76 percent of
consumers said “trust in travel companies to offer
safe travel procedures.”
And matching with the growing focus on non-
room revenue, executive respondents in this year’s
survey also noted that introducing new products or
services was another relatively easy solution (next
page, bottom right). Eighty percent of executives
agreed or strongly agreed that their properties
will need to develop new products and services to
allow their guests to better “live like a local.”
Consider the example of boutique hotels that are
now bundling blocks of their rooms as a virtual
short-term rental offering for large groups. The
Hotel Viking in Newport, Rhode Island, for instance,
designated an entire floor of its property as a single
reservation available to a large group or family. The
48%
60%
53%
Better prices
Better location
Upgraded hotel amenities
(in-room kitchen, pools)
32%
39%
32%
More choices of different
types of rooms
More personalized experience
Earning points in a
loyalty program
Which of the following amenities would make
you more likely to stay in a hotel instead of a
short-term rental?
Consumers
Better customer service
More relaxation and less
work (no cooking & cleaning)
44%
42%
Easier to book a room
Other
40%
1%
Is your organization considering any amenity
changes to better compete with short term rentals?
Hotel Executives
65%
50%
44%
44%
32%
31%
4%
New hygiene and cleaning procedures
Upgrading digital or contactless amenities
Longer/discounted rates for longer stays
Promoting exclusive hotel-only amenities
(restaurant, gym, pool)
Adding more live events and social activities
Upgrading concierge services
Other

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Very
unimportant
5%
6%
5%
6%
6%
5%
5%
6%
12%
19%
Somewhat
unimportant
5%
6%
8%
7%
9%
8%
9%
10%
16%
18%
Neither
important/
unimportant
11%
12%
16%
17%
18%
20%
22%
23%
29%
29%
Somewhat
important
27%
31%
36%
34%
34%
36%
36%
38%
29%
21%
Very
important
52%
45%
36%
36%
32%
32%
28%
23%
15%
13%
Of the following options, how important will each be in persuading you to stay at a hotel or
short term rental again? Rank your choices from very unimportant to very important.
Consumers
Company cleanliness guarantees
Trust in travel companies to offer safe
travel procedures
Ability to socially distance from
other travelers
Getting away from home with
my family
Seeing family or friends in other places
Capacity limits at the property
(total # of people)
Promo offers/discounts
from travel brands
Contactless/low touch
experiences (self-serve)
App-based food ordering
Getting away from home
without my family
package comes complete with a spa ‘to-go’ kit and
private cocktail hour to heighten the experience.
“Both of these experiences are private for the
guest,” said Courtney Hoppen, director of revenue
management at Hotel Viking, in the article. “The
spa to-go kit will come with instructions on how to
pamper yourself, and the cocktail hour will be very
similar; a bartender will provide ‘knocktail’ service
and bring a round of beverages up to the room with
instructions on how to shake or stir.”
Another hotel evolving due to competitive threats
is Zoku, a European-based hotel chain which is
planning to transition its European properties in
2021 to a subscription living experience targeting
remote workers. For a monthly price of 2,750 euros,
members get access to Zoku’s properties in Vienna,
15%
39%
41%
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
“In order to better compete with short term
rentals, hotels will need to develop products
and services that help guests to live like a local.”
Hotel Executives
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
4%
1%

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Amsterdam, and Copenhagen, along with a 24/7
workspace and weekly events to help facilitate
socializing with locals and guests.
“I enjoy hotels as international spaces and because
of the on-site amenities like the concierge, bars,
and restaurants,” said Konstantinos Ntoukakis, a
digital nomad quoted in an article describing the
Zoku’s new offering. “When you’re traveling and
working at the same time, you want to know that
things are taken care of. Subscription living has the
opportunity to capitalize on that.”
This year’s survey indicates there may even be
willingness among hoteliers to invest in physical
property upgrades as a response to short-term
rental demand (below, left). For instance, 50 percent
of executives plan to compete by upgrading their
properties’ common space amenities such as
lobbies, workspaces, and restaurants.
Yet another strategy involves rethinking how hotels
price, market, and package their experience. A
recent article for Hotel Recovery offers some ideas,
which focus less on physical changes to the property
and more on changes to marketing, pricing,
34%
50%
38%
Upgrading community space
amenities (lobby, workspaces,
restaurants)
Promoting the hotel’s unique
decor, history or design
Rooms with upgraded kitchens
Is your organization considering any of the
following property or room changes to better
compete with short term rentals?
Hotel Executives
Rooms with bigger layouts and
more bedrooms
Properties located in areas
popular with remote workers
34%
32%
Other 6%
distribution, and merchandising that can impact how
travelers perceive a hotel relative to Airbnb.
“Hoteliers cannot match travelers’ expectations for
privacy, but they can offer their own range of powerful
counter arguments and enticing benefits,” writes the
author. Among the ideas proposed are the following:
Practice attribute-based selling based on popular
amenities offered by Airbnbs in the area.
Offer more value by packaging or bundling
experiences, classes, tours, specialty rooms, and
F&B options.
Introduce new pricing options (weekly or monthly).
Highlight the location and safety of the hotel
versus an Airbnb.
Emphasize the hotel’s amenities (disability access,
reliable Wi-Fi, etc.).
Devise marketing strategies that demonstrate
why the hotel is better.
As an example of this strategy, The Cape in Los Cabos,
Mexico, reports great success promoting the hotel’s
on-site villas as a package deal during the pandemic,
complete with co-working features. “The idea started
from our repeat guests that wanted to come down
here and work from their villa,” said The Cape’s Segura.
“So we opened an opportunity for our rate over 10
days, a very special rate with an upgrade in one of our
villas, because our villas are all equipped with larger
space, a larger terrace, and a full kitchen.”
Each of these nuanced responses highlights the fact
there is no single solution by which hotels can counter
the threat of short-term rental demand. Each property
will need to develop its own response in line with
local cultural nuances, target guest trip preferences,
emerging lifestyle choices related to remote work, and
the relative strength of its on-property offerings.

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RETHINKING OPERATIONS
The previous two sections describe hotel strategies
for boosting non-room revenue and competing
with short-term rentals. But in order for hotels to
compete with these strategies, they cannot simply
assume that the pre-pandemic ways of running their
business will continue unchanged. They will need to
rethink their operations as well.
That’s why many hotels used 2020 and the early
months of 2021 to focus on streamlining their
business operations to prepare for recovery. As noted
in an April 2021 article in Hospitality Upgrade, “... the
Covid-19 recession created the biggest opportunity
for hotels to re-invent operational processes in the
history of the industry.”
“Many of the products and solutions we have
implemented were under development before the
pandemic,” said IHG Hotels & Resorts’ George Turner.
“But the need was accelerated. We had to deliver
timely and cost-effective solutions for our hotels
quicker than ever before.”
These solutions are becoming more important at a
moment when many hotels face a potential labor
shortage that threatens to impede the industry’s
growing recovery.
So what are some of the internal changes hotels
are making in order to run their businesses more
efficiently and profitably, and ensure more satisfied

SKIFT + ORACLE
“We plan to provide additional training or education to our staff to support our plans to
create new non-room revenue opportunities.”
Hotel Executives
45%
36%
13%
4%
2%
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree

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guests, in the years ahead? In this year’s research
and interviews with hotel executives, topics like
staff training, new marketing and distribution
opportunities, and guest interaction strategies
came up frequently.
“We’ve used this time to introduce new
distribution tools, housekeeping tools, and new
employee communication platforms,” said
Steigenberger Hotels’ Daniel. “And many of [our
staff] have been on part-time work, so training has
been difficult. But we’ve used this time to really
rejuvenate our infrastructure.”
One important task is retraining staff, which
includes rehiring furloughed workers, retraining
them, and preparing them as their properties’
offerings evolve. Eighty-one percent of executives
agreed or strongly agreed that some retraining
or education of their staff will be necessary to
support new ways of operating and selling new
products and services after the pandemic (see
previous page).
Another area of upgraded operations is in the
realm of hotel merchandising and distribution.
This involves reevaluating which travelers hotels
target in their marketing, as well as how they sell
to them. As previously noted in the non-room
revenue and short-term rental sections, it may
also involve repackaging what hotels already
offer to make them more appealing to the ever-
changing needs of travelers.
“There’s always a better opportunity to promote
your amenities or what you do differently,” said
Loews Hotels’ Kornick.
For some hotels this takes the form of bundling
and packaging. Fifty-eight percent of executives
said they planned to create new types of bundles,
packages or subscriptions to promote non-room
revenue products and services (top right). Another
54 percent of executives planned to target new
45%
58%
45%
Create new product
packages, bundles, or
subscriptions
Adopt new revenue
management strategies
Integrate with loyalty
program
How will you adjust your company’s distribution
strategy to sell new non-room revenue products
and services?
Hotel Executives
Sell them using new
channels or partners
No change to
distribution plans
45%
16%
Other 1%
52%
58%
54%
Create new product
packages, bundles, or
subscriptions
Target new customer
segments
Re-engage past/loyal guests
Which marketing strategies (if any) will you use
to sell new non-room products and services?
Hotel Executives
Work with partners or third-
parties to cross-promote
Use merchandising to
feature non-room products
51%
30%
No change to our
marketing plans
Other
10%
2%

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customer segments to sell non-room products and
services (previous page, bottom right).
“A big theme … for hospitality companies will be
the improved timing of offers,” said Nor1’s Bryant,
in a 2019 interview. “Hotels are now able to tap
machine learning to know precisely when to send,
say, a special discount for the hotel’s restaurant or
15%
41%
36%
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
“We plan to upgrade or modernize our
technology, hardware, or software systems
to better support the sale, marketing, and
distribution of future non-room revenue
opportunities.”
Hotel Executives
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
6%
2%
an invitation for a late check-out in exchange for a
nominal charge, to a particular type of guest.”
How hotels deliver these offers will vary significantly
by property type and geographic location, but it’s
become increasingly clear that more integration of
various solutions across operations technology and
food and beverage teams is necessary to ensure
that more value is captured. This also extends to
the guest engagement hardware and software
used by hotel staff, where point-of-sale and mobile
devices can make it easier to initiate upselling
opportunities in an organic and contextually
relevant moment.
Yet another area of evolution will involve strategies
for pricing and revenue management. As noted
in the non-room revenue section of this report,
these products and upsells will need to be better
integrated into holistic room-pricing decisions
and cross-property estimates of guest revenue.
One example cited in the non-room section of this
report is TRevPAR, or total revenue per available
room, which better accounts for how revenue from
various departments throughout the hotel impact
room revenue.
A significant minority of hotel executives agree
that this type of holistic revenue strategy is an area
of interest, with 45 percent indicating they plan
to adopt new revenue management strategies
(previous page, top right).
“We’re looking at finding the right pricing strategy
for everything from a pot of coffee to a beer at the
bar,” said one member of the Hospitality Sales &
Marketing Association International’s (HSMAI’s)
Revenue Optimization Advisory Board in a recent
interview on emerging hotel revenue management
strategies. “We need to figure out how to start
incorporating a lot of those plans and trying to find
those revenue channels that are going to drive
demand from everywhere.”
A refresh of hotel sales, marketing, and distribution
software is also likely. Seventy-seven percent of
executives agreed or strongly agreed they plan
to upgrade or modernize their tech, hardware, or
software to better support the sale, marketing,
and distribution of future non-room revenue
opportunities (left).

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TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES
The pandemic reinforced the importance of using
downtime in 2020 to revitalize technology systems,
prepare them for new consumer expectations, and
upgrade their business for the future. “Digitalization
was a big differentiator [in 2020],” said Steigenberger
Hotels’ Daniel. “We introduced a lot of contactless
technologies, that was a key takeaway. And then
obviously how quickly we could roll out the new
[technologies] to our hotels.”
This was evident in this year’s survey, which found a
shift in terms of tech investment owing to Covid-19.
Seventy-six percent of executives agreed or strongly
agreed the pandemic accelerated their adoption of
new hotel technology (next page, top).
But how will that translate into future IT investments?
One area of focus is cloud technology. The hastily
improvised remote working arrangements of 2020
reinforced the importance of having technology
infrastructure in place to facilitate collaboration,
access data wherever it’s needed, and quickly evolve
systems in response to changing business needs.
Seventy-two percent of executives agreed or strongly
agreed they are exploring solutions to allow them
to store data and systems in the cloud (next page,
bottom right).

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Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
41%
35%
14%
7%
2%
“The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated our adoption of new technology at our
hospitality business.”
Hotel Executives
19%
34%
38%
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Neither agree or
disagree
“Our property is exploring or actively reviewing
new hotel tech solutions that will make it easier to
store our data and systems in the cloud.”
Hotel Executives
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
6%
3%
Cloud technology also enables new ways for
hotel management and staff to more efficiently
communicate and share information with colleagues
and across departments.
“We’ve moved everything to the cloud,” said Ahmed
Disokey, vice president of hotel technology at
AccorInvest. “We are trying to be more flexible now
in terms of integration, putting more focus on the
big picture and a shift to [have staff] work remotely
sometimes … we found out that you can still be
productive and are able to deliver results with no
challenges at all.”
Seventy-seven percent of executives agreed or
strongly agreed in the continued value of remote
technology like cloud-based software to help keep
their property running smoothly (next page, bottom
left). Even as staff return to properties at full force, the
benefits of this collaboration framework are unlikely
to go away.
“Cloud-based software is the future, and it is the
only way Four Seasons can deliver IT services to
our employees and hotels worldwide,” said Marco
Trecroce, chief information officer at Four Seasons
Hotels & Resorts. “Four Seasons was an industry
leader in cloud technologies with our first Workday
[enterprise cloud management tool] implementation
back in 2011. Since then, we have implemented a
number of best in class cloud technologies.”
Other hotel executives agree that cloud solutions
will be critical moving forward. “About a year ago,
we moved a hundred percent to the cloud across
probably 30-plus vendors, and shut our data centers
down,” said Loews Hotels’ Kornick. “That has been a

SKIFT + ORACLE
huge help for us in terms of flexibility, product rollout,
staying current, security, payment, whatever we want
to do. It’s a lot easier now.”
Aside from cloud technology, other types of software
innovation are helping hoteliers facilitate easier ways
to share data and coordinate their operations both
internally and with key partners. One example of such
a technology is an “API” (application programming
interface), referring to a category of software that
makes it easier for two different applications to more
easily talk to one another. Oracle Hospitality’s recent
move to make its REST API specifications available
to software partners is one example of the shift.
“We have heard over and over from customers
and partners that they would like to reuse or take
inspiration from our REST API specs. They want
our APIs to become the industry reference and are
asking us to make it possible,” said Laura Calin, vice
president of strategy at Oracle Hospitality. “With
this update, we are making this vision of an open
architecture a reality and taking APIs in hospitality to
a completely new level.”
Collaboration tools aren’t the only area of interest
when it comes to hotel technology. Another area
of focus is technology that helps facilitate guest
engagement. 2020 proved the importance of using
digital engagement tools to facilitate the customer
experience, not just at hotels but across all aspects
of consumer-facing businesses like retail and
restaurants.
Fifty percent of consumers said they expected
hotels to provide contactless payment options as
a change they want to see from hotels moving
forward, while another 35 percent expected self-
service check-in, and 31 percent expected digital
messaging services to avoid contact with staff (next
page, top).
“You need to communicate more now than ever to
your guest,” said The Cape’s Segura. “We needed
to implement better technology to get in contact
with you prior, during, and after your stay. And
when I mention ‘prior,’ that’s to explain all the
protocols and information that is new in the hotel.”
As a result, executives are looking to upgrade
systems like guest messaging, marketing, and
point of sale. Sixty-four percent either upgraded
their guest messaging in 2020 or are considering
upgrading in the future, while 68 percent said the
same about advertising and marketing campaign
management, while a further 58 percent cited
point-of-sale devices (next page, bottom).
Last but not least, an important but often
overlooked aspect of technology upgrades is the
accompanying training for staff to make sure they
can effectively use the new tools effectively.
“Rarely have I found questions being asked about
the skill set required of the individuals using the
technology, how much training will be required and
what organizational processes will need to be put
in place to maintain and manage the technology in
the long run,” said one hotel technology executive
in a recent op-ed.
“In 2020, our staff used remote technology
like cloud-based software more frequently to
help keep our property running smoothly.”
Hotel Executives
14%
40%
37%
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Neither agree
or disagree
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
6%
3%

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Guest messaging
Channel management/distribution
CRM and/or loyalty databases
Point of sale devices
Revenue management
Property management
Reservation systems
No plans to
upgrade
11%
17%
11%
22%
15%
19%
19%
14%
Upgraded this
in 2020
29%
24%
35%
22%
26%
26%
24%
29%
Upgraded this
pre-pandemic
20%
20%
17%
18%
21%
21%
23%
26%
Considering
upgrading in
the future
35%
34%
33%
34%
32%
30%
28%
28%
Which, if any, of the following technology or software systems have you upgraded (or
considered upgrading) to support future hotel business opportunities like non-room revenue?
Marketing and advertising campaign
management
50%
66%
60%
Increased frequency of cleaning and
disinfecting procedures
Guest areas/public spaces arranged
for social distancing
Contactless payment option (no physical
handling of credit cards/money)
27%
35%
31%
Self-service check-in via kiosk
Digital messaging services to avoid
physical contact with staff
More frequent communication
of policies and procedures
Which of the following changes to the hotel experience (if any) do you hope to see from hotels
once you’re willing to travel again?
Consumers
Temperature checks of guests
entering the property
Room keys/locks activated by a
smartphone
48%
38%
Expanded room service options
Temporarily shutting down some high traffic
hotel services (spa, casino, restaurants)
Other
36%
20%
2%
Hotel Executives

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REGIONAL SPOTLIGHTS
Hospitality recovery is not proceeding at the same
rate in all parts of the world. At the time of this
report’s publication, some parts of the world are
moving toward full recovery, while other regions are
still reckoning with numerous challenges as they
work to get the travel industry back on track.
These discrepancies also extend to how various hotel
executives and consumers around the world view the
hotel experience moving forward. As is evident in the
analysis below, different parts of the world illustrate
marked differences in their perception of non-room
revenue opportunities, their interest in short-term
rentals, and their adoption of new operating strategies
and hotel technology.

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EUROPE
Travel demand in the European hotel market is not
trending upward as quickly as in the United States
and United Kingdom. That said, executives in the
region see signs that recovery will happen before the
end of 2021.
“I think we are looking optimistically at the last
couple of months of the year,” said Steigenberger
Hotels’ Daniel. “We will pick up late this year, like
Q4. That’s the current situation here in Germany,
but also in Europe too. Some countries may try out
different opening strategies, so our outlook is to stay
cautiously optimistic.”
Beyond the region’s travel outlook, how did
European hotels diverge from other regions in their
17%
12%
23%
23%
22%
12%
13%
21%
30%
27%
21%
40%
27%
26%
21%
31%
31%
19%
22%
22%
28%
25%
29%
18%
37%
31%
27%
24%
24%
21%
21%
19%
18%
14%
13%
13%
14%
27%
23%
18%
19%
43%
39%
31%
15%
25%
30%
16%
Takeout and delivery food options
New food and beverage concepts
(restaurants, bars, takeout kitchens)
Book a room for a portion of a day
Temporary offices/coworking space
Hybrid event services (combination virtual +
physical meetings)
Extended stay accommodations (7+ nights)
Package deals (room + other hotel amenities)
Wellness or fitness services
Retail or e-commerce storefronts
Subscription hotel memberships
Tours and activities
Car rentals
responses to this year’s research? One good sign is
that European participants demonstrated equally
high interest in non-room revenue opportunities,
although the services they were most interested in
promoting differed from those in other regions.
On the topic of non-room revenue opportunities,
64 percent of European hotel respondents in this
year’s survey either started offering extended hotel
stays of seven days or more in 2020 or offered this
pre-pandemic — a product that was 14 percentage
points higher than the same responses from global
survey respondents. Sixty percent also said they
either started offering package deals in 2020 or
offered this beforehand, a full 10 percentage points
higher than global respondents.
Does your business currently offer or plan to offer any of the following
products and services targeting hotel guests?
Europe Hotel Executives
No plans to offer Considering offering
this in the future
Started offering
this in 2020
Offered this
pre-pandemic

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Interestingly enough, European consumers did not
seem equally enthusiastic about being offered more
upsells or non-room products during their hotel stay.
When asking travelers about the importance of an
upgrade or special offer at check-in, only 41 percent
of European guests said it was very or somewhat
important — nine percentage points lower than
guests worldwide.
Still, it’s important to recognize the low interest
could be a by-product of the strict travel lockdowns
that have impacted the region for much of the past
year. “We’ve been tightly regulated in the last 10, 11
months,” said Daniel. “So there was really not much
room to have any travelers at all here, or to try that
sort of business [model] out.”
On the topic of operations and technology upgrades,
European hotels also ranked their progress as lagging
behind that of their hospitality colleagues globally,
suggesting an opportunity to further accelerate
the adoption of technology in the region. Only 69
percent of European executives said the pandemic
accelerated their adoption of hotel technology —
seven percentage points lower than respondents
globally.
ASIA-PACIFIC
Asia-Pacific was one of the first regions globally to
take aggressive action to combat the pandemic.
But as parts of the United States and Europe start to
reopen by the start of summer 2021, many key Asian
travel markets remain closed for significant travel.
“To be honest I think we all know that the hospitality
industry took a big hit in 2020,” said AccorInvest’s
Disokey, who is based in Singapore. “But in spite of all
the challenges Covid-19 created, it also gave us a lot
of opportunities to think outside of the box.”
In spite of this lower short-term hospitality demand,
the region’s 2021 survey responses suggest
those in the region have been early adopters of
many emerging hotel business and technology
opportunities, with widespread embrace of the
trends described in this report’s preceding sections.
One area of enthusiasm was Asia-Pacific executives’
assessment of the potential of non-room revenue.
Eighty-three percent agreed or strongly agreed their
business has been exploring non-room revenue
opportunities — seven percentage points higher
than globally (below, right). Seventy-five percent
also agreed or strongly agreed that they expect non-
room revenue will make up a growing share of their
organization’s revenue in the next five years, versus
just 66 percent globally.
Asia-Pacific executives were also more enthusiastic
about various non-room products than their global
peers. In line with their European counterparts, 70
percent of Asia-Pacific executives offered extended
stay options before the pandemic or started offering
them in 2020 (versus 50 percent globally). Sixty-seven
percent of executives in the region also said the
same about takeout food options — 17 percentage
points higher than executive respondents in the
global sample.
13%
44%
39%
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Neither agree or
disagree
“Since 2020, our hospitality business has been
exploring new opportunities to grow non-
room revenue to supplement business from
unsold rooms.”
Asia-Pacific Hotel Executives
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
2%
1%

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The growing interest in non-room sales found in the
survey also aligns with comments from executives in
the region, who note they spent the last 12 months
experimenting with new business models to help
bolster revenue at their properties.
“We needed to find a new business model here,” said
Disokey. “Could we do delivery? Could we deliver
food to the customer in their rooms or homes? Could
we open new and innovative packages for the local
residents instead of relying only on travelers and
tourists coming from overseas?”
On the topic of short-term rentals, traveler demand
in the region was lower than in other parts of the
world. Only 54 percent of Asia-Pacific travelers
reported staying in a short-term rental over the last
year versus 59 percent globally, although this again
could have been caused by more restrictive travel
lockdown rules in the region.
Considering the potential adoption of new hotel
operations strategies and technology, Asia-Pacific
consumers also expressed strong interest. Forty-
two percent of Asia-Pacific guests wanted self-serve
options at check-in — six percentage points higher
than those who said the same globally. Thirty-eight
percent of Asian guests also expressed an interest in
guest messaging technology, versus just 30 percent
globally.
LATIN AMERICA
There are signs of good news emerging for the
hospitality industry in Latin America. Executives in
markets like Mexico report a healthy start to 2021,
suggesting a renewed period of tourism growth.
“We’ve seen very fast recovery,” said The Cape’s
Segura. “If we compare this point in 2021 [with years
past], I would say we’re better off than the 2019
results.”
With its close ties to other recovering economies
in North America, Latin American hotel executives
and travelers shared a relatively optimistic picture as

SKIFT + ORACLE
their region looks for ways to innovate and evolve its
hospitality offerings in the near future.
On the topic of non-room revenue, 90 percent of
Latin American hotel executives agreed or strongly
agreed in its potential — 14 percentage points higher
than respondents worldwide. This is backed up by
strong traveler demand as well. Sixty percent of Latin
American travelers say they are open to upgrades or
special offers at the time of check-in, versus just 50
percent of respondents worldwide.
One potential area of opportunity mentioned by local
executives is in-room dining. “The only big change I
would probably say in our three-meal restaurant is
that a lot of people would, instead of going down to
the restaurant, ask for in-room dining,” said Segura.
“This is huge because it’s about 30 percent of what
we had in the past.”
Short-term rentals are another emerging topic of
interest for Latin American hoteliers. The region’s
travelers expressed significant interest in short-term
4%
55%
35%
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Neither agree or
disagree
“Since 2020, our hospitality business has
been exploring new opportunities to grow
non-room revenue to supplement business
from unsold rooms.”
Latin America Hotel Executives
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
2%
4%
rental products over the past year, with 81 percent
of respondents mentioning they had stayed in one
such rental versus 59 percent globally. In response,
89 percent of local executives said they plan to
develop new products and services to compete
with the threat — nine percentage points above
their global peers. It’s important to recognize the
growing popularity of private villa inventory at hotel
resort properties in the region, a factor that may help
explain the popularity of these short-term options.
On the topic of hotel operations and technology,
executives in Latin America expressed overwhelming
enthusiasm, representing a big opportunity for
technology upgrades moving forward. Eighty-eight
percent of Latin American hotel executives said
the pandemic accelerated their adoption of hotel
technology (compared to 76 percent globally).
Executives also said they were interested in exploring
upgrades to their cloud technology, with 89 percent
mentioning they were actively exploring cloud
solutions (versus 72 percent worldwide).

SKIFT + ORACLE
ABOUT SKIFT ABOUT ORACLE
HOSPITALITY
Skift is the largest intelligence platform in travel,
providing media, insights, and marketing to key
sectors of the industry. Through daily news, research,
podcasts, and Skift Global Forum conferences, Skift
deciphers and defines the trends that matter to the
marketers, strategists, and technologists shaping the
industry.
SkiftX is Skift’s in-house content marketing studio,
working collaboratively with partners like Adobe,
Airbnb, Hyatt, Lyft, Mastercard, and many more
on custom projects to engage the world’s largest
audience of travel influencers and decision makers.
Oracle offers suites of integrated applications plus
secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud.
For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL),
please visit oracle.com.
Oracle Hospitality brings more than 40 years of
experience in providing technology solutions to
independent hoteliers, global and regional chains,
gaming, and cruise lines. Our hardware, software,
and services enable customers to act on rich data
insights that deliver personalized guest experiences,
maximize profitability and encourage loyalty. Cloud-
based, mobile-enabled, with open APIs, Oracle’s
OPERA Cloud property management and distribution,
Simphony point-of-sale, reporting and analytics, and
Nor1 upsell solutions accelerate innovation, increase
revenue, lower IT cost, and maximize operating
efficiency. Our Hospitality Resource Center features an
array of information to navigate challenges and seize
opportunities in an altered marketplace. To learn more,
please visit www.oracle.com/Hospitality.
Visit skiftx.com to learn more or email skiftx@skift.com.

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