Worldwide: IHM’s editorial team (George Sell, editor-in-chief; Paul Stevens, editor – short-term rentals; and Eloise Hanson, editor – hospitality) provides a glimpse into 2025 trends for the travel, hospitality and real estate sectors.
A is for All-inclusive
In the living sector, all-inclusive living has traditionally been the preserve of PBSA, where students play an all-in fee which includes rent, utilities and in some cases meals too. This model is unlikely to change in the near future, and it has been echoed by the new breed of coliving operators such as Folk, Kosy Living and Gravity, which all offer all-inclusive billing.
This type of offer was seen as increasingly attractive in recent periods of energy price inflation as it gives consumers some stability and a better ability to budget. Both the PBSA and coliving offers are predominantly aimed at younger residents who are often on a tight budget. But interestingly, developer and operator Vita Group has launched an all-inclusive offer at the other end of the price spectrum – uhaus is a BTR brand which includes gas, electric, water and WiFi bills, as well as housekeeping in residents’ mostly rent. Apartments are cleaned every two weeks with an option to book and pay for upgraded housekeeping services too such as ironing and laundry, appliance deep cleans and more frequent visits.
The uhaus service proposition is described as an ‘Everything Included’ offering which is “much closer to a luxury hotel rather than a residential brand”. “The aim was to create a product which holistically responds to post pandemic living, where our homes became so much more than the place we sleep. uhaus delivers a level of service for its residents which hasn’t been delivered in UK residential before. It’s all conducive to living a more fulfilled lifestyle where you don’t have to sweat the small stuff like cleaning and laundry, and you can get on with enjoying the things which you love, that could be working or working out or it could even be going out whilst you’re staying in!, It’s living designed around the needs’ of the resident, equipped to make their life easier and create a harmonious place to live,” said Vita Group’s Russell Hayes. Could it be the first of many such offers? (GS)
B is for B Corp
We saw a marked increase in the number of hospitality companies achieving B Corp certification in 2024. According to the B Corp website and at the time of writing, there are currently 79 accommodation businesses with the certification, including recent additions such as Meadowlands Hotel (December 2024), Sapphire Holidays (October 2024), Mollie’s Motels (September 2024), and more.
B Corp certifies an entire company, assessing its social and environmental performance across all areas of its operations. A company must hit a minimum score of 80 out of 200 on the B Impact Assessment (BIA) in order to be eligible for certification, and will need to recertify every three years to demonstrate ongoing improvement. B Lab, which develops the BIA and issues the B Corp certification, is in the process of updating its standards and requirements.
Due to the hospitality industry being inherently people-centric, B Corp’s emphasis on stakeholder consideration (workers, community, environment, and customers) aligns closely with these values. As the demand for ethical and sustainable travel options gains momentum, B Corp is poised for significant growth in the hospitality sector. (EH)
C is for CSRD
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is a new European Union regulation that aims to standardise ESG reporting for companies. It came into force on 5 January 2023 and has replaced and significantly expanded the scope and requirements of the previous Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD). The CSRD is now applicable to a broader set of large companies as well as listed SMEs, including some non-EU companies if they generate over €150 million on the European market.
The first reports, published in accordance with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), are due to be released this year for the 2024 financial year. It marks the beginning of a phased introduction of the new CSRD regulation (between 2025 and 2029), with larger companies that were already subject to the NFRD required to report first.
The majority of hospitality and operational real estate businesses are likely to meet at least two of the three criteria for phase two (eg. balance sheet total of more than €20 million; net turnover of more than €40 million; more than 250 employees). This means they will need to start collecting data in 2025 and publish their first CSRD reports in 2026. SMEs listed on regulated European markets and which meet two of the three criteria for phase three (eg. balance sheet total of more than €4 million; net turnover of more than €8 million; average of 50 or more employees) will fall subject to the CSRD in 2026, with all listed SMEs in the EU required to comply by 2028 at the latest.
Given the substantial environmental and social footprints of the hospitality and real estate industries, the CSRD reporting requirements will push many companies to measure, manage, and reduce impact. (EH)
D is for Dynamic pricing
Dynamic pricing [or surge pricing] hit the headlines after Oasis fans were made to pay inflated prices for the band’s upcoming tour. However, those of us in the industry [e.g. operators] have used the practice for some time to adjust room rates or prices according to real-time market conditions. On one hand, prices go up during peak periods to capitalise on holidays or local events, and on the other, operators lower them to maximise revenue by optimising occupancy rates.
But anyone thinking that this is just a short-term fad should think again. Music concerts, football matches [e.g. in Spain] and pubs are already employing the strategy to stay ahead of heightened consumer demand and this will only become more prevalent as the year progresses. As businesses rely more heavily on real-time data analysis to adjust prices, it will be of little surprise if event ticketing, retail, energy providers or food delivery lean more into dynamic pricing to track alongside competitor activity, or if operators factor weather conditions [heatwaves] into their pricing strategies. Ethical considerations and regulatory oversight will come to the fore in managing consumer perception and a potential negative public backlash. (PS)
E is for Easy payments
As technology increasingly enables us to do things faster, paying for goods and services is an area where the ability to rapidly process, and if necessary refund, payments is becoming the norm. ‘Frictionless’ is the buzzword, and as well as saving time, the right digital payment platforms can also improve data security and provide vital insights into consumer purchasing behaviours and preferences.
The number of cashless transactions will increase nearly 50 per cent globally, from 1.5 trillion in 2024 to 2.3 trillion in 2027, according to Statistica. Brian Shniderman of Accenture says: “When businesses make paying easy, they’re more likely to see higher customer loyalty, fewer abandoned carts and new growth opportunities.”
The ubiquity of the smartphone has seen mobile payments emerge as a preferred payment method, particularly among younger consumers. In 2024, according to Euromonitor International data, the mobile payments transaction value grew by 12 per cent year-on-year, reaching US$ 8,146 billion across 47 researched markets.
Despite the convenience of frictionless payments, there are some potential disadvantages. They are more vulnerable to some privacy and security risks than other payment methods because they collect and transmit sensitive data using technologies such as near-field communication, radio frequency identification and biometrics.
Companies trading in numerous markets may also face a daunting range of varying international compliance measures. But the momentum is undeniable, and having the best products and services is no longer enough for success, businesses need to provide the most convenient way for customers to pay for them too. (GS)
F is for FHL tax regime to end
The abolition of the furnished holiday lettings [FHL] tax regime was a huge story in the UK in 2024 but the nationwide legislation will not come into effect until this April. Until that point, landlords who offer short-term lets have been able to benefit from tax advantages over those who provide standard residential properties, such as income tax reliefs for costs incurred from furnishing properties and the ability to reduce capital gains tax.
The scrapping of tax relief for holiday lets was first announced by the previous Conservative government in last year’s Spring Budget. At the time, former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt pledged to restore a healthier balance between the availability of short-term rentals and long-term rentals in local communities, adding that the FHL tax regime had created a “distortion” in housing supply. Even with the change in government since then, the Labour administration is also committing to ending the tax regime.
Groups and associations lobbying for the self-catering sector, including the STAA, PASC UK and the ASSC, have called for a delay to the regime changes, suggesting that it will have a detrimental impact on rural and coastal communities and drive people away from the market altogether. (PS)
G is for Gamification
Gamification refers to the application of game-design elements and principles in non-game contexts. For example, a company might use leaderboards, supported by a points-based system, to encourage employees to hit their sales targets. Gamification is used to improve engagement and productivity, and has many applications within hospitality and real estate.
Contactless services and mobile technology adoption has allowed operators to streamline the guest experience whilst also opening new avenues for personalised guest interactions and enhanced loyalty. By tailoring experiences according to travellers’ preferences, a hotel will increase the likelihood of repeat bookings and improve its brand awareness. The advance of AI will supercharge gamification efforts, such as providing real-time feedback on user behaviour to adapt offers and rewards.
For other asset classes such as coliving or PBSA, similar resident apps with social features can help foster a sense of community. Badges for participating in community events, rewards for referring new residents, leaderboard fitness competitions and more can encourage interaction, whereas sustainability initiatives set through gamified challenges can help operationally to reduce utility costs.
Where employees are involved, gamification can help with onboarding and training to performance management and internal communication. Interactive training tutorials and VR simulations, or dashboards to track progress towards individual or team goals, support skill development and motivation. Ongoing labour challenges highlights the need for innovative strategies to attract, retain, and engage talent, making gamification a valuable tool for creating an appealing and productive work environment. (EH)
H is for Housebuilders
2025 is going to be a big year for the UK’s housebuilders, and they are hitting the headlines on several fronts. Perhaps most crucially, they are crucial to the Labour government’s highly ambitious target of 1.5 million new homes delivered during the current parliament. The latest signs are not good.
Housebuilding activity was down in December for the third consecutive month, and by the fast rate since June 2024. The latest S&P PMI survey found that housebuilders are being held back by the high cost of borrowing, weak consumer confidence and patchy demand from buyers. “With the fundamentals of housebuilding seemingly stacked against them, many residential developers are holding fire and no amount of relaxation in the planning rules will get the new homes Britain needs built,” it said.
There are other clouds on the horizon – the UK’s competition watchdog, the CMA, is extending its investigation into potential market collusion by housebuilders. An update by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Friday (10 January) revealed it was looking further into whether seven firms “may have exchanged competitively sensitive information”. It will now take until May 2025 to gather additional evidence and analyse its findings.
On a more positive note, the surge in SFR investment has led to much more partership activity for housebuilders who are delivering family homes for BTR investors up and down the country. In Q3 2024, SFR represented a record 50.4 per cent of total BTR investment according to Savills. (GS)
I is for Influencer-led travel
Instead of perusing travel brochures or endlessly scrolling through social media, leisure travellers are finding new sources of inspiration by following content creators and influencers and replicating their trips. Their power will be realised as social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram move towards adding e-commerce functionality, thereby allowing these creators to sell travel and generate commissions directly through their posts.
Changing digital habits and preferences are transforming these platforms into places where people can share real-life experiences which can feel more trustworthy than traditional reviews or uncurated search engine results. With Google’s own data highlighting that Gen Z social media users are opting for TikTok over Google, it is clear that accommodation providers and destinations must be ready to embrace these consumer behavioural shifts in order to entice the next generation of guests.
Home-sharing giant Airbnb is itself championing influencer-led travel with its new ‘Icons’ category, where stars from music, sport, film and more host “extraordinary” experiences in unique locations, letting guests “step into worlds you’ve only ever dreamed of”. This trend ultimately depends on retaining the trust of consumers and content creators represent the new broadcasters and bloggers with unimaginable influence. (PS)
J is for JOMO
First there was FOMO [the fear of missing out] and now there is JOMO [the joy of missing out]. Despite common belief, FOMO was actually coined back in 2004 but its use spread due to the popularity of social media platforms in the 2010s and the growing desire for shared enriching experiences.
Now though, Expedia Group is shifting the attention from FOMO to JOMO with its 2025 ‘Unpack’ trends. According to Vrbo data, 62 per cent of surveyed consumers say that JOMO travel reduces stress and anxiety, and nearly half believe that it allows them to better reconnect with loved ones.
This comes as interest in wellness tourism is expected to peak again in 2025 at a value of $1.3 trillion, according to The Global Wellness Institute. As travellers prioritise their mental and health wellbeing, accommodation / retreat providers will be keen to cash in on the lucrative opportunity to offer innovative, personalised and sustainable experiences as a remedy for the stress in our daily lives.
Everything from beach houses to secluded lodges and mountain chalets can harness this JOMO demand – a stark contrast to the outcry of ‘overcrowding’ and ‘overtourism’ emanating from many cities today. (PS)
K is for KNX
KNX is an abbreviation of “Konnex”or “connects” and refers to the global standard for home and building automation. In 1999, the European Installation Bus Association (EIBA), the European Home Systems Association (EHSA), and the BatiBUS Club International (BCI) founded the KNX Association, which develops and promotes the KNX standard. Today, there are more than 130,500 KNX partners in 188 countries, with more than 500 manufacturers building control units ranging from lighting, heating, blinds, ventilation, security, household appliances, and more.
IoT has created a fertile ground for KNX. As more devices become interconnected, KNX provides a reliable platform for managing and controlling a broad range of equipment within buildings. It supports the desire for user convenience while driving operational efficiencies, and the flexibility of setup allows for greater personalisation. The need for data to meet CSRD sustainability reporting requirements will further fuel demand for KNX.
The ability to automate operations can significantly improve the satisfaction and comfort levels of guests and residents, as well as optimise energy usage and reduce utility costs. KNX is a key technology for the future of smart buildings, set for continued growth and adoption in the years to come. (EH)
L is for Leadership changes
2020 dramatically altered the world as we then knew it, presenting historically unique economic and social challenges. Senior leaders at the time faced tremendous pressure to navigate an unpredictable and constantly shifting landscape while being responsible for the mental health and wellbeing of teams. Fatigue, coupled with the reality that five years on different forces are now at play, has resulted in the need for fresh perspectives and leaders with a different skill set.
There has been a lot of movement in the hospitality industry over the past year or so. Ace Hotels, The Doyle Collection, Kempinski, and Corinthia Hotels are among some of the groups which have appointed new CEOs, on top of the vast number of recent managerial positions at property level. It marks a change in strategy and vision for these hotel companies; a trend I expect to continue now that we’ve entered a new year. January and February are held to be two of the best months for career changes, largely due to the reallocation of hiring budgets prompting job openings for applicants.
Donald Trump is also due to be (re)inaugurated on Monday 20th January, marking a decisive shift in national policy for the United States; check out T is for Tariffs further along our A-Z for an overview of the expected regulatory changes and potential impact on business. (EH)
M is for Mareterra
Dubbed “the world’s most expensive real estate development”, Mareterra is the latest ambitious construction project to pique attention. Recently opened in December, Mareterra translates literally as ‘Sea and Land’, given its location in Monaco’s Larvotto Bay and on land reclaimed from the Mediterranean Sea.
The brainchild of Denis Valodé, Renzo Piano, and Michel Desvigne, Mareterra has been 20 years in the making. Originally scheduled for 2014 completion, the Principality project is valued at $200 million with homes, villas and apartments priced at $100,000 per square metre, and other amenities including shops, restaurants, parking spaces, a promenade, swimming pool, gym, concierge and security.
Despite local marine biologists accusing the development of “massacring” the marine biodiversity, those leading the Mareterra project are framing it as a new definition of luxury urban living and an “eco-district” that prioritises “a number of measures pertaining to the ecosystem, sustainability and responsible development of the site”.
As our cities become increasingly congested, more destinations are finding radical real estate solutions to increase accommodation supply. Mareterra is not the first mega development to be built on reclaimed resources [e.g. Cat Ba Central Bay in Vietnam] and the trend will drive further concern for environmental campaigners. (PS)
N is for NPPF
One of the key pledges in Labour’s 2024 election manifesto was sweeping reform of the planning system. In December the government published its updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), and while the construction industry didn’t immediately pop the champagne, it was broadly welcomed.
Perhaps the most important plank of the reforms was the swift reinstatement of housing delivery targets for local authorities, which were scrapped in late 2023 by the then Levelling UP secretary Michael Gove. These legally binding targets will focus on areas with the greatest need and potential for growth, aiming to tackle both the housing affordability crisis and the number of people on social housing waiting lists (currently 1.3 million households) or in temporary accommodation.
As well as an increased focus on brownfield development, a new classification – greybelt – previously developed land in the green belt – was introduced. Any development in the greenbelt will be subject to stringent requirements, including the need for infrastructure such as schools, healthcare, and transport, alongside a high proportion of social and affordable housing.
The government is also pushing for a greater focus on social housing in new housing developments. Local authorities and developers will be encouraged and empowered to build more genuinely affordable homes to meet local needs. Will all this be enough to build more than 300,000 per year? I don’t think so. (GS)
O is for Outdoor lodging
In previous years publishing our A-Z, we’ve featured yurts, glamping, immersive retreats, and more. These examples fall under the broader category of outdoor accommodation; a growing segment of hospitality that, in recent years, has diversified as a result of hotel companies developing pipelines which cater to new traveller demands.
In the last 12 months, Marriott has signed a founding deal with Postcard Cabins and Trailbornto create an outdoor hospitality brand; Hilton added tents, cabins, and airstream trailers to its portfolio via a partnership with AutoCamp; World of Hyatt formed an alliance with outdoor resort brand Under Canvas; Ennismore partnered with glamping provider Our Habitas, and more. Having evolved from holiday parks, these outdoor lodging brands span different segments (and price points) as well as diverse products. The widening appeal of outdoor lodging, now backed by major hospitality players, promises continued growth for the sector.
Outdoor lodging is also seeing innovation in the services and experiences offered. Many properties now provide curated activities such as star gazing, foraging, fly-fishing and more. Successful cultural programming will attract larger groups and corporates too, driving further investment and expansion into the market. (EH)
P is for Pubs with rooms
Pubs with hotel rooms have been on the rise in recent years. In 2023, a report by CGA and Stay in a Pub, supported by Visit Britain and Visit England, showed that 59 per cent of operators were expecting growth in accommodation revenue and 62 per cent were planning room refurbishments over the next 12 months. 60 per cent of customers who had stayed in a pub in the last 24 months also said that they prefer it over other accommodation for similar spend and location.
Investment activity has remained steady; over the past seven years, Liberation Group has grown to more than 400 rooms following the acquisitions of pubs under SA Brain, Wadworth, and Cirrus Inns. More recently, the company rebranded to Butcombe Group with plans to expand its portfolio to 700 rooms. KSL acquired Home Grown Hotels in 2022, the parent company of The Pig which opened its latest property in the Cotswolds (complete with a pub opposite) in September 2024. The Inn Collection Group has been executing a rapid “buy and develop” strategy with a current portfolio of 32 properties located across northern England and Wales, and Heartwood Collection is targeting more than 60 sites by the end of 2027.
Greene King has also entered the market with its launch of Everly Hotels Collection, having debuted in summer 2024 with the opening of The White Horses in Rottingdean, Brighton. It marks the first in a “pipeline of multiple sites across the UK” with Everly’s website teasing the Wiltshire countryside as “coming soon”. It’s clearly not time to call last orders on the growth of pubs with rooms. (EH)
Q is for Quiet quitting
First referenced in Urban Dictionary in 2022 after Covid, ‘quiet quitting’ is again under the spotlight and it could have ramifications for the hospitality sector. Even more so because rumours persist of a ‘Great Resignation 2.0’ among Gen Z and millennials as a growing number of employees weigh up their career options – a recent study by LinkedIn and Microsoft indicates that more workers worldwide want to change jobs than they did four years ago.
While some younger members of the workforce may be switching off from a return to a five-day office working week, this is creating opportunities for veteran workers who also want to quit their jobs by citing burnout.
Hotel chain Hilton is banking on the ‘quiet quitting’ trend by targeting over-50s to fill job vacancies in London – some of which are being vacated by Gen Z and millennial employees. According to Hilton’s own research, F&B, front office, housekeeping, culinary, engineering and events have the largest number of new roles available.
With a reliable work ethic and a desire to learn new skills later on in their careers, an older generation of workers could be the answer to staff shortages in the hospitality industry. (PS)
R is for REIT or wrong?
An interesting divergence in the world of BTR real estate investment trusts became apparent last year, one which will play out in 2025.
In August, a group of shareholders owning nearly 20 per cent of PRS REIT, which owns more than 5,000 BTR homes across the UK, called for the removal of chair Stephen Smith and a strategic review of the business. PRS REIT plc is the UK’s first quoted real estate investment trust to focus on new-build family homes for the private rental market. It floated in 2017, when it raised £560 million by selling new shares, and subsequently launched further capital raises in 2018 and 2021.
The shareholder rebellion was quelled by the appointment of requisitioning shareholders Christopher Mills and Robert Naylor as non-executive directors to its board. Then in November it appointed Singer Capital Markets Advisory LLP to oversee a possible sale of the business. The company said the sale process had been launched following “feedback from a number of shareholders regarding the options available to the company to maximise value”.
A turbulent few months to put it mildly. But that hasn’t deterred Grainger, one of the UK’s biggest residential landlords, from deciding to convert its business into a REIT. The switch will happen at the end of the company’s current financial year in October 2025 and will give the company a generous tax break as well as benefiting investors who will, as per REIT rules, see at least 90 per cent of its taxable income as dividends. (GS)
S is for Search engine shifts
For years, Google has dominated the search engine landscape – to the extent that the company has faced antitrust lawsuits in the US for “holding an illegal monopoly on online search and advertising”. However, that might be about to change as new players come forward and it could transform how we search and curate trips.
In 2025, hyper-personalised recommendations will be possible at scale due to AI’s ability to analyse user data [e.g. past bookings and reviews], while travellers will engage in natural, conversational searches rather than using filters or rigid keywords to fulfil more complex or niche preferences.
Search will also become more distributed across devices and interfaces, which will enable nascent search engines such as Perplexity, ChatGPT Search and BING [fuelled by OpenAI’s partnership with Microsoft] to muscle in on Google’s largely unspoilt turf. Our search capabilities will be revolutionised as a result, leading to the combination of text, image and voice inputs, increasing accessibility and opening up new ways to discover accommodation.
Likewise, large language models [LLMs] will reshape the digital landscape by understanding and generating human-like responses to queries, driving enhanced visibility for travel and hospitality brands and delivering them to their target audiences. (PS)
T is for Tariffs
Tariffs form a central part of Trump’s economic vision. The incoming US president aims to incentivise American companies to relocate manufacturing from abroad to the US through imposing tariffs – a tax on imported or exported goods. At the end of November 2024, Trump announced plans to levy 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and Mexico with an additional 10 per cent tariff on China.
According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the US is the world’s largest importer. In 2022, the top three suppliers of goods to the US were China ($536.3 billion), Mexico ($454.8 billion), Canada ($436.6 billion). The World Bank has since issued a warning that a blanket 10 per cent tariff would “reduce the level of US GDP by 0.4 per cent, while retaliation from trading partners would increase the total negative impact to 0.9 per cent”. Global trade in goods and services expanded by 2.7 per cent in 2024 and is expected to reach an average of about 3.1 per cent in 2025-26, though to remain below pre-pandemic averages.
Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation, predicts that consumers could lose spending power of between $46 and $78 billion across essentials such as “apparel, footwear, home appliances, toys, and travel goods”. This presents a double-edged sword for hospitality and living operators, which rely heavily on consumer discretionary spending. Imported materials used in construction and renovation could drive up costs for new developments and refurbishments, leading to increased operating expenses. Should costs be passed on to consumers this will further squeeze household budgets. (EH)
U is for Use it or lose it
This is actually a concept that the editorial team here at IHM is taking the credit for coining! There was a period around mid to late November last year when we were really struggling to get hold of people on the phone and lots of our emails were being returned with OOO messages. It soon transpired from speaking to other people that they were having a similar experience.
Employers in the UK are obliged to offer statutory holiday pay (28 days per year) but if not all of these are taken, most employers do not allow staff to ‘roll over’ their days into the following year. Use it or lose it, basically.
So while we are used to large numbers of people being away over the summer, at Christmas and in school holidays, we think that there is a growing trend for people to realise they have a chunk of holiday left and to book a fairly spontaneous break. Possibly for some winter sun, maybe a staycation, possibly to catch up with family or friends but anything rather than lose those valuable days.
2024 research by NatWest Premier found that 45 per cent of British workers don’t use their full entitlement. In a study of more than 2,000 people at a range of different levels of income, the main reason cited, at 27 per cent, was that taking annual leave was too expensive. Others say they don’t have the time to plan a holiday. We think that is changing as an increasing emphasis on mental health and workplace wellbeing means that time away from work is seen as more important than ever. (GS)
V is for Visa changes
Nine years after the UK voted to leave the European Union, a new online travel authorisation is on the way for UK citizens to enter the EU after Brexit.
An ‘ETIAS visa waiver’ [European Travel Information and Authorisation System] will require UK citizens to apply for the authorisation to be able to visit the passport-free Schengen Area in Europe, even for short stays. And even though UK travellers do not currently need a visa, the ETIAS visa waiver will be a mandatory form of pre-travel registration that is designed to strengthen border security, working similarly to the ESTA system in the United States.
Expected to be implemented by mid-2025, the ETIAS visa waiver will be mandatory for all UK citizens travelling to the Schengen Area for stays of up to 90 days. To apply, travellers will go to the ETIAS system online and provide their personal details and passport information.
Once approved, the ETIAS will be linked to one’s passport and be valid for up to three years, allowing for multiple entries into the Schengen Area from the UK. Costing £6, the introduction of the visa waiver was already delayed from 2024. (PS)
W is for Wages
Cost management will be one of, if not the most pressing challenge faced by UK employers this year. In October 2024, the Labour Government issued its first Budget in 14 years, which aims to raise taxes by £40 billion in total – the largest tax-raising Budget in UK history in cash terms. Notable policy changes include increases to National and Minimum Wage, as well as National Insurance contributions.
A survey by Best Western Hotel Group (BWH Hotels) UK found that independent hoteliers face cost increases up to £750,000 as a result of the Autumn Budget. Six out of 10 report an increase of more than 20 per cent, and more than one-third of hoteliers expect costs to rise by more than £100,000. 50 per cent of hoteliers in the BWH survey attribute rising costs to the increases in employers’ National Insurance, while 32 per cent attribute it to increases in the National Living and Minimum Wage.
Hospitality is plagued by staff turnover, and despite efforts by some groups to support staff above and beyond wage thresholds, the incoming changes to payrolling (April 2025) will exacerbate the issue. Hand Picked Hotels has already made temporary cuts to staff hourswhich the company attributes to the combination of Covid and “government-imposed costs year after year”. Though difficult, this period may force employers to become more resilient and resourceful in managing the most valuable asset of any business – human capital. (EH)
X is for X to Bluesky migration
Amidst Elon Musk’s chaotic and controversial leadership of X, a Twitter research initiative called Bluesky is threatening to clip the wings of the platform whose former logo was an iconic blue bird. Incidentally, X was our selection for last year’s A-Z after the outspoken Tesla CEO bought the site and rebranded it in 2023, and we watched on to see if his vision for an “everything” app would come to fruition. However, Musk’s treatment of staff and forthright opinions, including accusations of antisemitism, led to OTAs suspending their advertising on the new iteration of Twitter.
Now, with people and media organisations deleting their X accounts over the rise in bot posting and offensive posts, more users are migrating over to Bluesky, which calls itself “social media as it should be”.
Founded in 2019 and established as an independent company in 2021, the social app’s development accelerated after Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. Bluesky now has north of 26 million users and time will tell if travel and hospitality brands migrate too in favour of X. Bluesky should also be wary of the decline of Threads and Clubhouse, which tried to reinvent the wheel and take market share away from X. (PS)
Y is for Youth travel
Youth travel is one of the fastest evolving sectors of travel and hospitality, and brands who are keen to tap in to this demographic need to keep up to speed with the way Gen Z and soon, Gen Alpha, access travel content and make buying decisions.
Tik Tok is a particularly important channel – incredibly, research from Tourism Australia found that nearly half of British adults (47 per cent) are using TikTok to plan trips. The combination of snappy short-form content and a ruthlessly efficient algorithm which populates timelines with related content after a search regarding a particular location or activity has been made, is a potent one.
The type of accommodation aimed at younger travellers is changing too. A planned 650-bed ‘micro-room’ hostel in London’s Soho made a raft of indignant headlines when it was granted planning consent in 2023 including the memorable statement that “the rooms are the size of a first class aeroplane seat”. Each room will contain only a bed, with communal showering and toilet facilities available, as well as vending machines serving alcohol.
It wouldn’t be my cup of tea but young travellers have always been willing to put up with less than luxurious surroundings in order to be in the heart of the destinations they really want to visit at an affordable price point. The Insta and Tik Tok content they produce in Soho will be worth the lack of square footage. (GS)
Z is for ZZzzz travel
People are exhausted, they are stressed and they increasingly want to use their travel time to pay back some borrowing from the sleep bank. Accommodation providers are adapting their offer to address what has been called sleep tourism 2.0.
Jess Petitt, chief trends officer at Hilton says: “We found that over half the world – and two-thirds of Americans – sleep better in hotels. The reasons may vary, but when it comes to our sleep experience, we are looking at the entire ecosystem, from the products used in-room like mattresses to wellness treatments that enhance sleep.” Hilton brands are responding by adding in-room amenities such as air purifiers, aromatherapy, blackout curtains and more.
The new incarnation of sleep tourism has moved on from the oft-derided token pillow menu and moved on to ‘sleep retreats’ with focused activities to improve guests’ rest, including sleep coaching and monitoring, video polysomnography (a diagnostic test that measures brain waves, breathing, heart rate, and other vital signs while you sleep), massage and guided meditation.
Sleep retreats provide an opportunity to reset sleep patterns and learn new techniques, which can then be implemented at home for lasting benefits. A 2024 study found that individuals with shorter or poorer quality sleep on average had significantly flatter diurnal cortisol slope, which is indicative of a dysregulated stress-response system. This highlights the importance of good sleep in regulating the stress-response system and maintaining optimal health.
The days of needing a holiday to get over your holiday could soon be over! (GS)
