Building The Hotels Of The Future

As the hotel construction market stays tucked into a pattern of modest yet steady growth, hoteliers are tossing and turning in their quest to differentiate brands and cultivate new generations of lodgers with vastly different tastes and expectations than their predecessors.

Driven by the desire to attract millennial guests and an emerging generation of digital natives, and to offset the popularity of alternative accommodation providers, what may be something of a nightmare scenario for hotel chains is manifesting as sweet dreams for travelers.

At this moment in time, transforming monolithic, mass appeal hotels into spaces that attract travelers who demand more than a reasonably comfortable bed and in-room wi-fi is make or break, as evidenced by the industry’s swerve into boutique offerings.

As a result, the level of innovation in design and construction is reaching new highs. With the adoption of smartphone entry and room control systems, designs that merge nature with the indoors, local food and beverage options that upend the legacy of beige hotel grub, and lobbies with knockout atmospheres, hoteliers are accepting that the promise of a good night’s sleep is simply not enough to keep guests coming back.

THE STATE OF THE STATEROOM

Fueled by a strong economy and increasing consumer confidence, hotel room demand has increased steadily over the past five years, and presently continues apace.

There’s no shortage of new room construction to meet those needs; according to market data from STR, the number of new rooms being built in the U.S. jumped 14.7 percent in 2017 over the prior year. Three franchises represent the largest construction pipelines: Marriott; Hilton; and IHG, parent of Holiday Inn, InterContinental, and Crowne Plaza brands.

The impact of Airbnb, Homeaway, and VRBO on the hospitality industry, while revolutionary, won’t be slowing the build out of new hotels anytime soon. While clearly an engine for change, as a percentage of total market share these nontraditional hospitality players represent only about 3 percent of rooms sold by the night. That figure is expected to increase to 5 percent by 2025.