Rebecca Stone

While other hotel brand companies are focused on merger integrations and becoming asset-light, InterContinental Hotels (IHG) is emerging as a leader in hospitality tech innovation and developing itself into a nimbler, more diversified company. The company's key areas of focus are making it a smarter, better hotel company that is well-positioned no matter what the future looks like.

Hyatt may have previously been considered a sleepy hotel company, but we don’t think the company is going to be quiet anymore. Hyatt is making waves in positioning itself for the future by selling properties and shifting asset-light, by creating stronger partnerships with hotel owners, managers, and employees, and by driving stronger customer loyalty via enhanced wellness offerings.

As we wrap up 2018, our latest Skift Research report dives into what went well this year and what we can expect heading into 2019. Looking ahead, we expect another strong year of economic growth, with a few different puts and takes, which should translate well for the travel industry.

After selling a majority stake in its owned and leased hotel business, AccorHotels is now a lean, mean, acquisition machine. We break down what going asset-light means for AccorHotels and offer ways to measure the success of its M&A strategy, as the company continues on its journey to becoming an all-in-one travel experience platform.

Airbnb continues to revolutionize the accommodation bookings industry while disrupting other sectors like tours and activities, restaurant reservations, and more. As the company heads towards a potential IPO, we tackle some of the key hurdles in its way including increasing regulation, impacts to housing markets, and its evolving role in both hospitality and distribution.

Two years have passed since Marriott’s acquisition of Starwood, but the integration efforts continue on. The success of the Sheraton brand turnaround and the merging of the loyalty programs is critically important and could mean millions of incremental fee revenue for the combined company.

In today’s environment, hoteliers can no longer sit idly by, complacent with the tech systems and hardware that they have been using for decades. Those that focus on tech in terms of the overall customer journey will not only delight guests, but also outpace competitors in sales and ROI.

For all the growth and enhancements we have seen in hotel loyalty programs over the past few years, differing opinions among consumers and hotel owners with regards to the overall value and success of programs remain. Clearly, the road to fostering real consumer loyalty will be a challenging one. Hotel companies should ultimately focus on driving satisfaction and providing the best service so consumers choose their brand over others and recommend it to friends and family.

Optimizing a fragmented and traditionally offline model is obviously going to take time. However, we expect key players in the tours and activities space to increasingly try new strategies not only to increase scale, access to distribution, and consumer reach, but also to enhance in-destination experiences for travelers and locals alike.

The hospitality industry is evolving rapidly, with brands shifting to asset light and consolidating, soft brands and non-branded operators growing steadily, and the distribution landscape becoming increasingly competitive. Nevertheless, hotel owners stand to gain if they focus on acquiring and developing the right real estate, choosing the appropriate franchisors, managers, and partners, running their properties efficiently and effectively, remaining innovative and thoughtful, and maintaining that ever-needed hospitality factor.

There is room for optimism heading into 2018 for the global travel industry. Emerging and developing markets are showing healthy signs of growth, and global consumer and business confidence is high. Policy uncertainty and geopolitical tensions can’t be ignored, but outside of any major shock, we expect travel to benefit from a solid year of macroeconomic growth in 2018.