Today, eviivo, a leading hospitality software company known for its property management system, eviivo Suite, and mobile app, eviivo Mobile, releases its annual Top Hospitality And Booking Tech Trends report for 2024.
“Travel is constantly changing every year, yet it always remains a force of good,” says eviivo CEO Michele Fitzpatrick. “Working behind the scenes, travel companies help generate travel trends with tech innovations that ensure travellers continue to have authentic, memorable experiences. We work closely with property owners, suppliers, OTAs and other reputable partners at eviivo with the common goal of exceeding expectations in the travel space, including the short term rental market, which will expand significantly in 2024 as demand for both consumers and property owners increase.”
Major tech advancements, from AI to green tech, will shape hospitality and bookings in 2024, with positive impact for travellers, hoteliers, property hosts and vacation rental managers, as well as online travel agencies (OTAs) and other travel companies that will feel the shift, as well as expected growth.
For eviivo’s annual 7 Significant Travel Trends To Expect for 2024 report, click here.
According to Statista, the online travel market size worldwide reached the $433.2 billion mark in 2021, and it’s expected to reach $690.71 billion by 2026.
Top 5 Hospitality And Booking Tech Trends For 2024
1. Gen AI will become “the new normal”
In 2023, ChatGPT, an OpenAI tool, became a household name and spearheaded the rocketship rise of Generative AI. While “Artificial Intelligence” has been around for decades, “Generative AI” is the evolution (and revolution) of AI; consider it the “next generation” of artificial intelligence. Generative AI technology can take text outputs, images, computer code – you name it – and create unique content to the user, trained to learn data sets and patterns — and only improve by creating new data the more it’s used.
With Generative AI, travellers have an “assistant” when booking trips, travel specialists have tools that make their job easier and property owners, from hoteliers to vacation rental hosts, leverage Gen-AI to reduce redundant work while running their business to gain back more personal time.
eviivo is the first hospitality software company to introduce Gen-AI for independent accommodation in May 2023 with the launch of eviivo Concierge, a virtual concierge for property hosts, hoteliers and vacation rental group managers, who can utilise the tool on their websites. In eviivo’s latest case study with partner Expedia Group, UK’s Brambles of Inveraray is experiencing +8% year-over-year revenue growth and international exposure, enabled by eviivo Suite and the integration of eviivo Concierge.
Generative AI will remain a buzzword — and a standard — in 2024. Expedia.com noted in its 2024 annual report that only 6% of travellers used AI to plan a trip in 2023; 40% would use Gen AI to help find a hotel or vacation rental in 2024.
In November 2023, eviivo partner Airbnb announced its acquisition of AI company GamePlanner.AI to “develop some of the best interfaces and practical applications for AI,” according to CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky.
On 6th December, Google officially launched its long-awaited Gemini, a powerful AI model that can seamlessly understand, operate across and combine text, code, audio, image, video and other types of information, and it will power Google AI apps like the Bard chatbot and Search Generative Experience.
2. “Green tech” is on the rise
The environment and futuristic tech will harmonise in hospitality. In 2024, we’ll see more technology supporting sustainability, which will include the obvious— automation! — though more companies will “walk the talk” to reduce carbon emissions and prioritise the environment, especially with green tech.
“Green tech” is eco-minded solutions that aim to reverse and reduce human impact on the environment, whether the use of LED or alternative energy.
Many hotels, vacation rentals, Airbnbs and other independent accommodation, such as inns and castles, will have a stronger commitment to eco-sensibility, which travellers are preferring, resulting in more bookings and guest satisfaction. Newer properties opening in 2024 will promote “green tech” to attract guests, and online travel agencies are encouraging eco-responsibility, such as Booking.com, that offers a “Travel Sustainable” status badge for properties on their website.
34-acre eviivo Collective retreat Desert Harbor in New Mexico was built using only eco-friendly materials, including concrete piers to minimise footprint of building and maximise integration with the landscape. The eco-retreat is powered completely by the sun, immersed in nature and off the grid (expect unbelievable night sky watching) and also encourages dogs to be off-leash to explore the boundless and unlimited public wilderness.
In Edinburgh, Scotland, eviivo Collective property Rachel’s Farm is well known for its health and wellness and yoga retreats, as well as lavish cottages with new accommodation to open in 2024. It’s the only property in Scotland dedicated to reforestation and offers an immersive reforestation program for guests.
Another eviivo Collective UK property leading the way in sustainability is award-winning off-grid eco lodge The Sanctuary in Cornwall, known for its sustainable zero-carbon living in 12 acres of woodland and wildflower pasture and overlooking the beautiful Fowey Estuary. The property offers ‘Travel Sustainable’ status on Booking.com and holds a Gold rating from Green Tourism.
It’s not just properties dedicated to a greener planet. eviivo and partner Devitech, an innovative environmental company, work together to install EV chargers at hotels, vacation rentals and other properties. The demand for electric vehicles has been high for 2023, so much that places are “racing” to install chargers.
According to eviivo partner Booking.com’s Travel Predictions 2024 trends report, over half (53%) of 27,000 travellers surveyed seek accommodation blending comfort with innovative sustainability features.
3. Faster everything thanks to 5G:
In 2024, 5G connectivity picks up speed (pun intended), offering network speed 1,000 times faster than 4G LTE. While 5G was launched in 2020, it will hit a stride in 2024.
Travellers can expect faster connectivity, including TV and internet speeds, as well as mobile. This has already been proven in remote areas of the world, as well as cruise ships. The number of 5G hot spots also continue to flourish. The growth of 5G will also enable platforms like eviivo to continue to add more advanced features, similar to eviivo Concierge, to benefit customers.
The travel industry sees a boon with faster connectivity, whether its guests booking vacation rentals directly (and quickly) on social media, or allowing immersive experiences (such as virtual reality or high-quality, high-resolution streaming) at major travel trade events and conferences, including eviivo-sponsored Independent Hotel Show in London, with high-speed, low-latency connectivity, which means lower battery consumption and supporting more devices.
5-G is also pivotal for facilitating IoT devices and sensors at events, as well as data analytics.
4. Travel apps making a strong impact in B2B and beyond
When eviivo launched eviivo Mobile, the first of its kind mobile app, in 2022, more than 82% customers downloaded the app in the first two months, and the app won “Mobile App of the Year 2023” by TravelTech Breakthrough Awards. eviivo Mobile offers convenience for property hosts, owners and boutique hoteliers in short-term rentals to successfully run their business anywhere, any time.
Mobile apps will continue to see growth in B2B, due to its convenience and connectivity. Hopper, a mobile app with 100 million users as of June 2023, recently launched Hopper Cloud for the B2B space.
In tourism, 76% of global travellers appreciate travel apps that reduce the stress of trip planning, and 60% of global travellers would use a sustainable travel app where they can unlock rewards, according to Booking.com.
Further, social media influencers have worked with partners to facilitate bookings on various channels. With the rise of affiliate programs and e-commerce marketplaces such as Thatch and TrovaTrip, influencers or anyone for that matter can become a creator to curate and host trips — and get paid a percentage of the booking.
5. The rise of strategic partnerships and tech integrations
Teamwork makes the dreamwork, and more travel companies are leveraging partnerships to be stronger forces and reach broader audiences.
For example, Expedia Group expanded travel partnerships across Europe with Ryanair, Icelandair, Iberia Airlines and Deutsche Hospitality on December 5, encompassing B2B technology, advertising partnerships and supply distribution deals. The partners have access to Expedia’s tech and industry expertise.
Expedia saw 55% revenue growth in Q1 (compared to 2022) with the adoption of partners.
“Our growth in B2B is largely due to the pace at which our tech has been adopted by businesses of all sizes who want to either break into travel or expand their current travel offerings. The demand for this business continues to be strong as evidenced by our new partnerships with Mastercard, SoFi, and some of our biggest hotel partners,” said Peter Kern, vice chairman and CEO, Expedia Group, said in a statement.
Partnerships are key with omnichannel platforms to help bolster APIs, which offer seamless integration for apps, payment systems, OTAs and extranets.
“Partnering with the most reputable travel tech companies, from OTAs such as Expedia, Airbnb and Booking.com, to strategic integrations with top companies such as PriceLabs and Duve, increases the functionality and reliability of our award-winning platform,” says Gwen Merlin, EVP Strategic Solutions and Partnerships, “and also allows our customers to improve booking results.”
eviivo recently partnered with Boostly to help customers design their own independent website for direct bookings with their hotels, vacation rentals, inns and Airbnbs, and GiftUp, which allows customers to buy gift certificates directly through eviivo Suite.
In internal eviivo data, traditional hospitality, such as hotels and B&Bs, have seen a surge in bookings, and vacation rentals are also gaining more popularity than ever before, in part to the exposure on OTAs and improved eviivo Suite integrations.
Tech integrations and partnerships improve scalability and customisation while offering customers more value, options and flexibility.
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