The Shape Of Things To Come

From reactive hotel rooms to alternative commutes, we identify the business travel trends you need to know about for the year ahead.

- Jenny Southan

EXPERIENTIAL REWARDS 

Hotel loyalty is moving away from rewards in the form of room upgrades and free stays to money-can’t-buy experiences and hyperpersonal gifts. Small Luxury Hotels of the World, for example, redesigned its loyalty scheme in September, renaming it “Invited” and introducing preferential treatment to elite members in the form of birthday gifts and invitation-only events.

Inter Continental Hotels Group, meanwhile, has joined forces with OpenTable (an online restaurant-reservation service) and Grubhub (online food ordering company) to allow guests to earn and redeem points on meals in restaurants. Global Hotel Alliance’s Discovery programme offers “local experience” rewards for Platinum and Black members, such as seabob snorkelling in the Maldives or scenic cycle rides around Bali. The scheme also applies to Kempinski hotels. The hotel group says: “Whether it’s a rare elephant ride in the jungle, a private tour of a Geneva watch factory usually closed to the public, a traditional Adumu dance with Maasai warriors in Kenya, or a tour of Malta’s presidential palace and gardens, these experiences present the best of local gastronomy, culture and craftsmanship.”

​FACIAL RECOGNITION 

The iPhone X isn’t the only employer of facial recognition as a means of identification and added security. Airports and airlines are increasingly integrating the technology into their biometric boarding and immigration systems to help reduce queues, paperwork and the required staffing levels on checkpoints. While you may be anxious that this undermines your privacy, there is no way to turn the tide, so you may as well accept the benefits of a less stressful journey through the terminal as recompense.