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01Investment Plans
Travel Technology Investment Trends 2024 is uniquely positioned within the hospitality landscape to offer the latest insight into the sector. Of the respondents to the survey, 92% are the final decision makers on IT spend for their hotel or group. Some 18% of the cohort represent a property, 34% a brand and 48% a hotel group or management company, offering insight into each layer of the hospitality sector.
Some 23% of the survey respondents are based in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, 36% in the Americas and 41% in Asia Pacific (APAC).
There was a variety of financial revenues at the organizations surveyed for the report, with 4% of respondents representing hospitality businesses with revenue of less than $4 million, while 23% reported revenue of $400 million or more.
Every respondent to the Travel Technology Investment Trends survey used operational hotel technology, such as property management systems (PMS) or central reservations systems (CRS). At the same time, 67% currently use business intelligence (BI) or reporting products, while 31% plan to introduce these in the next 12 months or more. Only 2% of the group suggested they had no plans to do so.
0%
have no plans to use
business intelligence
0%
currently use
business intelligence
0%
plan to use business intelligence in the next 12 months or more
Strong appetite for technology investment among hoteliers.
What are hospitality leaders looking for in terms of technology investment over the coming 12 months?
Some 94% of IT decision makers are planning investment in technology next year, with 70% planning ‘moderate’ investment ahead of spending seen in 2023. Moreover, nearly a quarter (24%) are planning ‘heavy’ investment as part of their current business strategy. Branded hotels lead the way over individual properties or group hotels in this metric, with 97% planning ‘moderate’ to ‘aggressive’ investment.
Just 6% of decision makers report they plan to be ‘conservative’ in terms of investment over the coming 12 months.
100%
94%
of IT decision makers plan to invest in tech next year
0%
97%
of branded hotels plan ‘moderate’ to ‘aggressive’ investment
Across the industry, hoteliers are planning an average 16% increase in investment in technology over the next 12 months.
Some 65% of the industry plan to expand investment by more than 10%. One in five respondents (21%) indicated that they are planning to invest over 20% more than they did last year. Meanwhile, 41% of groups or management companies plan to spend over 20% more than they did last year over the next 12 months.
The figures compare favorably with other areas of the industry explored by Travel Technology Investment Trends 2024. For example, corporate travel managers plan to invest 13% more in technology than they did in 2023, while Business Travel Agencies, Online Travel Agencies and Leisure Travel Agencies plan similar changes. On average, payments leaders intend to increase investment by 12% over the coming 12 months. Airports, however, intend to increase technology investment by 17%, which is larger than any other area of the travel industry covered by the study.
%
Planning to expand investment by more than 10%
%
Planning to invest over 20% more than they did last year
Improving service speed is a top investment priority.
A wide variety of objectives are driving demand for investment in technology as hoteliers look to better meet the evolving needs of guests over the coming year.
Most pressing is the delivery of better service in busy times, which was selected by nearly half of respondents to the study, rising to 56% among hoteliers representing single property. This suggests those on the frontline of the guest experience feel independent properties need to differentiate through higher service levels wherever they can to compete with larger rivals.
Interestingly, a quarter of respondents at hotel groups and management companies saw improving automation of processes as a priority, ahead of 19% in the whole survey, illustrating a difference in objectives at various management levels.
Only 6% of respondents said they are happy with the way things run as they are currently, falling to only 4% among representatives from groups and management companies.
Which is the most pressing need to improve hotel operations as they run currently?
%
Improve operational efficiencies and service speed in high occupancy
%
Improve automation of processes
%
Improve operational efficiencies and service speed in normal occupancy
%
Improve prioritization of work for staff
“There is a clear sense among hoteliers that technology investment is required to drive up standards at properties around the world.”
Peter Waters
EVP, Hotel IT Solutions
Amadeus
When it comes to business objectives, increasing efficiency was again the top priority among hoteliers, selected by 52% of all respondents and rising to 71% among brands. Moreover, ‘increasing occupancy’, selected by 41% of all those questioned, was a top priority for 56% of those representing a property.
New Demand360+™ data from Amadeus reveals global hotel occupancy averaged 68% in 2023, an 8% increase over 2022. However, even against this positive backdrop, it is vital hoteliers use BI tools to keep a close eye on the data, as traveler expectations and behaviors can quickly change, and market conditions shift.
As driving high occupancy will always be top of mind, hoteliers will always need to establish revenue management strategies (including channel optimization) and increase operational excellence (to lower costs). New technology can help achieve this balance.
Which business objectives are driving technology investments over the coming 12 months?
Increasing efficiencies
Differentiating offering
Increasing
margins
Increasing occupancy
Delivering an improved experience
Reducing
costs
Finally, when asked about the biggest challenges faced in business intelligence, technology and distribution right now, hoteliers feel that data fragmentation (33%), data efficiency (32%) and data integrity (30%) are top of the list.
Data is an invaluable resource for hoteliers everywhere, whatever the size of their business.
It is impossible to think strategically without a 360° view of performance, distribution, travelers, and booking trends in a market. Amadeus has the tools to help hoteliers succeed by leveraging forward-looking demand, agency, and rate data.
Here at Amadeus, we have access to the most comprehensive data sets available across the entire travel landscape, allowing our partners to understand the anticipated volume of travel, plan strategies and more. In leveraging AI tools, we will speed up the ability for our customers to access and action critical insights to grow their businesses even further.”
Michael Yeomans
SVP, Business Intelligence & Data Solutions, Hospitality, Amadeus
