Hotels around the world are using innovative tools to tackle the 60 million worker shortage
While the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, alongside the lingering coronavirus, poses risks to the industry, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) continues to stand by its forecast of an average 55 percent growth in global tourism by 2022, representing 645 million tourist arrivals worldwide. One of the biggest challenges facing the resurgent hotel industry this year is labour shortages, and hotels are looking to offset the impact of these shortages with innovative technology solutions, according to the latest international industry analysis from Moore Global.
„Two years of forced improvisation, development and renewal have not left the global hotel industry without a trace: hotels are now able to face current challenges with a much more efficient business approach and flexibility - says Márton Takács, Global Head of Moore's Global Hotel and Tourism Working Group, which produced the publication. - Measures that were quickly put in place and proven in the panic of the time have now largely become standard and accepted by guests.”
The pandemic that has hit the hospitality sector over the past two years has led to a significant number of employees migrating to other sectors, resulting in the hotel industry faces a shortage of around 60 million workers this year - there is an acute shortage of staff, especially in lower paid, lower level jobs. However, the innovations introduced in the context of the epidemic could help at least partly to offset this problem.
Online check-in, less-than-daily room cleaning and QR code food ordering have become standard procedures even in upper-mid-range hotels, and new innovative tools may follow. In addition to smartphone apps that optimise every aspect of a hotel stay, robots will soon be used for cleaning and serving tasks, and more and more technology will be used by hotels worldwide, from booking to check-in and check-out. In this way, interactions with staff can be focused on the areas of personal service that really matter.
„The hotel industry has entered a very exciting phase after the last two gloomy years, with new opportunities attracting a wide range of investors back into the sector,” continues Márton Takács. - Europe is leading the way in terms of new hotel investment, with 110,000 new hotel rooms set to be delivered across the continent this year, with around 50 per cent of branded developments coming from five major hotel chains, Marriott International, Hilton, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Accor and Radisson Hotels. The majority of these developments are in Western and Southern Europe, so they will have only a limited and indirect impact from events in Ukraine."
There are also clear positive signs in the US hotel markets, where the Average Daily Rate (ADR) rose sharply at the beginning of this year, particularly in beach resorts and luxury destinations. Although many individuals are now spending more generously after a long hiatus, the situation for corporate events and conferences remains unfavourable, with many events continuing to be hosted online or in hybrid formats, and it seems likely that this will continue to be the case in some cases.
In Asia, the hotel market is only just beginning to recover after a long and severe closure period. Malaysia, a popular destination for tourists, is a good example of a gradual reopening: experts predict an occupancy rate of 50% for the year as a whole, a significant improvement but still well below the traditional target of around 65%.
Domestic forecasts
Between 1 January and 30 April 2022 already totalled 8,2 million overnight stays in Hungarian hotels (commercial and private accommodation combined). According to the Hungarian Tourism Agency's forecast, this number will rise to could rise to approximately 37.5 million overnight stays by the end of the year, up from 28.6 million last year. The dynamic growth is also due to a low base due to the restrictions still in place in the first quarter of 2021, but it should be noted that the forecast is for a clear increase in travel volumes despite the current deteriorating international economic environment and the conflict in Ukraine. This volume growth, combined with rapidly rising price levels, will significantly increase the overall the total revenue of the tourism economy this year.
With 80 percent of foreign visitor traffic concentrated in Budapest, air passenger traffic at Liszt Ferenc International Airport is an excellent indicator of the city's tourism performance. served nearly two million air passengers, nearly two-thirds of the absolute record for the same period in 2019. As expected, Budapest's tourism traffic appears to be recovering at a gradual but convincing pace, so the UN World Tourism Organization's expectation that the volume of trips will reach the record level of 2019 in 2024 is a realistic target for Budapest.
The full Moore Global analysis cited in the release is available at the following link: https://www.moore-global.com/intelligence/articles/may-2022/a-bold-new-direction-for-travel
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Moore Global, which started in a London office more than 110 years ago, is now one of the world's leading consulting and audit networks. Present in over 100 countries worldwide, the network has more than 600 independent offices and over 30,000 employees. The group's turnover for the last financial year exceeded $3 billion.
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