Key aspects of the guest experience hoteliers want to digitalize worldwide 2021

The increasing speed of technological innovation in all industries has been a catalyst for the digitalization of the hospitality industry. In early 2021, hoteliers in Asia, Europe, and North America, were surveyed on which aspects of the guest journey they were looking to digitize later that year. The majority of respondents, 70 percent, stated that they were looking to digitize hotel information for their guests. Meanwhile, 57 percent of respondents stated that they were looking to digitize the check-in/check-out process.

How many hospitality companies are looking to digitalize?

The share of travel and hospitality companies with an individual or team directly responsible for digital transformation worldwide varied in 2020. When executives in the industry were surveyed on whether their organization had an individual or team directly responsible for digital transformation, 27 percent of respondents stated that their organization had a cross-functional team for digital transformation. Meanwhile, 16 percent of respondents, respectively, stated that they either had a third-party partner, such as a consultant or agency, or no one responsible for digital transformation.

How confident are hospitality companies in their ability to digitalize?

In 2020, executives in the global travel and hospitality industry were asked about their ability to deliver on digital objectives given the state of their company's budget. The majority of respondents, 39 percent, stated that they were somewhat confident about their company's ability to meet digital objectives given the state of their budget. Meanwhile, 12 percent of respondents stated that they were quite concerned. As a consequence, the confidence level of travel and hospitality companies to deliver on their digital objectives worldwide depended at least in part on the company’s budget.