It is with no surprise that the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019 are dominated with the best ever and wildest predictions for the upcoming year. So much so that it feels like we are getting drawn into a state of confusion again. Of course, if you have read my post (see bottom of post) you can see my individual view on where things are going. BUT: that is only one voice amongst many.

I was curious: should I skim through all predictions, bring them together, rate them or would there be a better way of getting a consensus amongst the community. Is there another year where everyone gets into a "confused state" - possibly because of too many people screaming different things - or if there is one horse ahead of all others in the race in the mind of many?

Just before the festive break, I posted a small survey on LinkedIn to get some insights and here are the results from 261 respondents across the globe:

— Source: LodgIQ™— Source: LodgIQ™
— Source: LodgIQ™

Now what do those stats tell us?

You can argue that is shows the state of the industry or where we need development urgently. Or is it possibly time for us to finally say goodbye to excel and move into a more tech savvy environment? Or perhaps is it regionally driven and therefore the results cannot be taken at a global level?

All valid questions when looking at the data first (we are kind of in the EDA part of Analysis right now. Yes, Analysis, not touching Analytics in this post today). Let's look a little deeper:

— Source: LodgIQ™— Source: LodgIQ™
— Source: LodgIQ™

I applied a heatmap per category, i.e. highest within a region to lowest within one region to see where the overall differences are in the top spot; per region. I then boxed the top items to make it even more obvious. We are seeing commonalities yet also regional specifications and also compared to the overall some variances. What is also notable is the common spread in the Americas region vs. other regions being clustered around some key areas of tech development.

When looking for a conclusion I might just say that falls in line with the general way the industry is behaving from a technology perspective - highly niche with some common areas connecting them. Some regions are more advanced in analytics, others are still battling with the analysis part and yet others prefer mobile over desktop.

What is encouraging to see though is the Top 5 featuring analytical tools, encompassing trends such as Voice and also highlight the importance of the OTA's in the eco system bringing valuable tools to the table. The question then becomes: are we still trying to conquer Analysis or are we shaping up for a year where analytics become widely adopted.

A 2018 Lodging Technology Study showed that 1 in 3 hotels will prioritize systems with predictive analytics capabilities.

— Source: LodgIQ™— Source: LodgIQ™
— Source: LodgIQ™

As an industry, we have a chance to step up in 2019 and make travel the dominant sector for new tech application and setting the trends. We re working in a weird and wonderful, complex yet basic at some level and that your guests in your part of the world will be visitors in mine very soon. This allows us to turn a siloed industry into a transparent global one and see technologies from other parts of the world (and don't forget: you kinda need to know what guests from other parts are using in order to play in their sandpit).

My motto for 2019: Find that inner childlike curiosity, the entrepreneur inside of you and take your business to the next level by embracing all tools highlighted in the top 5 in some form of another...Happy 2019

PS: if you want to have the full results as csv, please email me at [email protected]. Also, feel free to read more 2019 predictions around Revenue Management, Virtual Assistants, the new generation of workers or the birth of a new socializing.

About LodgIQ

LodgIQ™ is a leading commercial strategy platform for the hospitality industry, transforming data integration and decision-making for hotel commercial teams. Our platform consolidates Revenue, Sales, and Marketing data, providing insights into market trends and consumer behaviors for strategic, data-driven decisions. Evolving from an AI-enabled Revenue Management System, LodgIQ offers a real-time, comprehensive view of key metrics, enhancing room rate adjustments, marketing campaigns, and sales strategies. Committed to optimizing operations and maximizing revenue, LodgIQ is the essential tool for unified commercial strategies in hospitality.  Currently working with over 550 hotels LodgIQ"s products combine sophisticated machine learning with an intuitive and powerful user interface delivering advanced recommendations and actionable analytics. LodgIQ is headquartered in Silicon Valley, with offices in New York City, Phoenix, and Bangalore. For more information, visit lodgiq.com. 

Fabian Bartnick
VP, Asia Pacific
+60 12 2706 897
LodgIQ™