Globetrender’s new report on Hotel Trends for the Viral Age reveals five key trends that have emerged during the pandemic and will continue to shape the future of hotel hospitality.

Produced in association with Accor, the report explores how the hospitality industry has changed and evolved since the pandemic took hold in 2020, highlighting positive shifts and innovations that will be here both for the short- and long-term.

Of course, there is a lot to talk about but for this report we decided to focus on five distinct trends that most relate to the initiatives and areas of focus that Accor is putting its efforts into.

Despite being one of the world’s biggest hotel groups with more than 5,300 hotels across 40 sub-brands, the company has been incredibly responsive and forward-looking during the health crisis.

One of the measures it is most proud of – and which is an example to the wider hotel industry – was the unveiling in early 2020 of its ALLSAFE, accreditation, which is applied to every property that fulfills a long list of hygiene and cleanliness protocols.

You can read more about these efforts in our interview with Richard Short, Vice President Health and Security for Accor Northern Europe, on page 7 of the report, and in our Accreditation Reassurance trend on page 9.

The other four trends Globetrender has identified exclusively for this report are: Touchless Technology, Health Concierges, Niche Curation and Openings Uplift.

We have also provided a case study on Accor’s Novotel Cambridge North hotel, which is one of the most technologically advanced hotels in the world, being a “digital-first” proposition. Here, guests can use their smartphone as a digital key, to activate lifts and message the front desk instead of calling from a room phone, among many other innovations.

Duncan O’Rourke, Accor’s CEO Northern Europe, says: “Throughout the pandemic we have never stopped looking ahead, adapting to the impact of Covid and planning our recovery. As a result of our rapid response to the pandemic, Accor became the first major hotel group to launch a unique global cleanliness and prevention label – ALLSAFE – representing some of the most stringent cleaning standards and operational procedures in the hospitality world.

“Today, guests want to have a guarantee of health and cleanliness. It is their primary concern and an expected requirement whenever they travel. Accor addressed these concerns and highlighted our highest standards globally via this professional certification.

“We are a dynamic business built on agility and innovation, which was crucial during the pandemic. Like Globetrender, we are constantly looking ahead, monitoring shifts in behaviour and trends to anticipate customer needs. The Covid years were a split focus – managing the impact of the crisis today and planning for the recovery tomorrow. Tomorrow is here, recovery is strong and maintaining our people-centric approach to hospitality remains crucial.”

Jenny Southan, editor, founder and CEO of Globetrender, says: “As the UK’s leading travel trend forecasting agency, we work hard to deliver insights into the future of travel that aren’t available anywhere else. This new collaboration with Accor demonstrates the power of strategic brand partnerships to create genuinely illuminating research for companies to use in their strategy and decision-making.

“We congratulate Accor for responding to the pandemic in such a swift and innovative way by creating its ALLSAFE accreditation to help restore consumer confidence in travelling. The pandemic is still on-going in some parts of the world and Covid-19 may not be the last viral threat we face in our lifetimes so providing a blueprint for enhanced hygiene standards across thousands of hotels globally is a huge achievement and something others can learn from.”

Download Hotel Trends for the Viral Age