The hospitality industry continues its transformation under the influence of new digital technologies, changing preferences of tourists and a number of external factors. In our new material, we will look at the main trends.
Interest in traveling in Russia continues to grow at a high rate
The tourist flow within Russia is steadily growing, the demand for air travel and railway destinations has increased, the love of Russians for road trips remains unchanged:
- according to the Federal Air Transport Agency, in the first half of the year, the passenger traffic of Russian companies increased by 21%, that is, by almost a quarter compared to last year, mainly due to the development of domestic flights;
- according to Russian Railways, passenger transportation in the first half of 2023 increased by 6.8% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 570.8 million people;
-as for traveling by car, Avito Auto analysts found out that at least 43% of Russian residents plan to travel around the country by car this summer.
It is worth noting a significant increase in the attendance of popular Russian resorts in 2023. According to Yandex search queries, Dagestan (+244%), Anapa (+41%), Gelendzhik (+35%) were in the top three.
The duration of tourist trips is reduced
Two-week tours to other countries are losing their popularity due to the unstable situation. Instead, more and more tourists want to "just change the situation for a couple of days", without long-distance travel. For example, Road travelers began to travel more often for several days to neighboring cities or natural areas. So, they can travel more regularly than 1-2 times a year and get more new impressions from each season throughout the year. Such trips usually occur spontaneously without lengthy preparation.
As a result, until recently undeservedly deprived of attention regions with a small tourist flow received new travelers. And they need somewhere to stay for a few nights.With the right organization of sales, all this will easily compensate for the loss of the share of foreign tourists, And most likely, due to increased domestic tourism, it will bring even more profit to hotels.
The popularity of direct bookings is growing
After leaving the Russian market of such giants as Booking.com Expedia and Airbnb, the share of direct bookings, according to the Association of Operators of the Entertainment Industry and Sports and Entertainment Events (AIRIS), increased from 25% to 50%. Russian services are gradually increasing their market share, but many travelers are already used to direct bookings on the hotel's website or in social networks.
To get more bookings, it is no longer enough for hotels to rely only on aggregators and third-party services. Every hotel now needs a well-developed website with an installed booking module. For example, the Shelter online booking module is compatible with both the stationary and cloud version of Shelter PMS, it is easily installed on the site and works with all major CMS and popular site designers. The booking module can also be added to the hotel's social media pages. There are no online booking fees, only a fixed amount for using the module.
The load on all hotel staff is increasing
According to forecasts of the Ministry of Economic Development, by the end of the year, the total volume of tourist traffic within Russia should grow by 7.3 million people. Hotel employees are already experiencing an increased workload: from managers at the reception, who must promptly populate large tourist groups and prevent queues from forming, to maids, restaurant employees, event coordinators who perform a wide range of tasks to ensure a comfortable stay for tourists.
Automation of routine processes will help reduce the burden on staff. To speed up the process of settling guests, Shelter can offer integration with the leading manufacturer of passport scanners Regula. Shelter PMS receives data from the scanner, stores it in the guest card and transmits registration information to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The whole process takes only a minute, instead of the standard 5-7 that an employee spends on manual data entry.
And to simplify teamwork and speed up interaction between employees, you can use the integration of Shelter and Teamatix. Teamatix is an application for managing the work of staff. Set tasks for employees online, leave the necessary information and comments for performers, receive notifications if the task is not completed on time. Increase the efficiency of your employees by 30%!
Faster and better communication with the guest is required
The loyalty of guests and the presence of regular customers ensures a stable and, most importantly, predictable income. Standards are increasing, now guests expect hotels not only a standard set of services, but also a more individual approach. It can be provided, for example, by a "Concierge service" integrated with Shelter PMS, a virtual assistant for the hotelier and his guests. The guest has access to online check-in and check-out from a smartphone, communication with the reception, ordering Room Service (service services, maids), a guide to the hotel and other services.
Find out more about the possibilities of Shelter, leave a request