With global market performance now back in full swing for much of the hospitality industry, it can be easy to assume that business is back to normal with the pandemic now behind us. Although for those who aim to stay on top of industry trends, the more accurate observation is that while guest bookings have returned to the industry in force, traveler preferences, needs and expectations have undoubtedly been impacted by the pandemic and continue to evolve in new and potentially promising direction...

The hotel industry is constantly evolving, and with the rapid advancement of technology, security measures are also undergoing significant transformations. As potential safety risks continue to increase in both number and ingenuity, industry solution providers are on the front lines of developing new technologies while improving older ones in order to provide hoteliers and their guests with a vital edge over would-be intruders.

Since being introduced to hospitality-based businesses, mobile key technology has become a symbol that for much of the industry, represents the ultimate in enhanced guest convenience and instant service. Countless major hotel brands and independent properties alike have endeavored to incorporate the solution into their own operations in order to cater to the two thirds of guests now seeking the ability to gain guestroom access using personal devices as a secure digital key.

Staff shortages may be the hotel industry’s most discussed challenge in recent months, but the topic can also be viewed as part of a larger issue where businesses overall are having to do more with less. With other concerns such as rising inflation and interest rates joining the staffing woes of hoteliers, many industry businesses are finding that keeping up with ever-increasing guest expectations is a struggle seemingly beyond reach.

After facing two years of uncertainty thanks in large part to COVID-19, hoteliers in 2022 were finally able to return to some sense of normalcy and begin to see market conditions improve. Yet far from being a matter of simple luck, the pandemic if anything demonstrated the industry’s ability to come together and innovate in order to overcome challenges brought on by the pandemic.

Since their initial emergence within the hospitality sector, IoT-based devices and services have been hailed as a game-changing opportunity to enhance efficiency and guest experiences. Articles, case studies and white papers are widely available and routinely published that detail how such solutions can instantly personalize offerings, ensure speedier service and slash business costs.

With each year’s HITEC, hotel owners and operators make an annual journey to the industry’s largest technology conference in order to discover the latest innovations promising to deliver a more profitable and competitive business. For June 2022, however, HITEC Orlando represents an especially crucial opportunity for hotel businesses to make up for lost revenue as guests make their return to the industry following the darker days of the pandemic. According to a recent survey, more than 76 percent...

The hospitality industry is certainly no stranger to security risks. Statistics in fact indicate that more than 53,000 crimes take place within hotel guestrooms. At the same time, however, hoteliers are also having to remain vigilant against the growing threat of cybercrime. An issue that has resulted in at least 16 billion records containing sensitive data being lost to theft since 2019, cyber-attacks can cause untold damage to a hotel’s reputation and can lead to a significant increase in liab...