With time, hotels have evolved. As soon as customers get to their accommodation, they want what they have had previously: A satisfactory night’s sleep and good customer service. Previously, most people sought a place to rest while travelling; now, they seek to experience the world during their journey. More and more travellers are looking for vacations that provide a complete experience, and as a result, an increasing number of hotels are now offering opportunities for experiential lodging, no matter what type of trip they provide. All these hotels intend to provide a variety of different experiences during vacations for travellers with all types of preferences.
What are experiential stays?
Many hotels offer guests much more than just a place to sleep through experiential stays. Experiential stays provide a unique and immersive experience to guests by participating in activities that also encompass cultural, natural, and recreational experiences and that will be available during their stay.
Experiential hotels provide their guests with the opportunity to feel what it is like to stay in their surroundings. Guests can stay in a treehouse, historical estate, or wilderness lodge instead of just staying in a regular hotel room, and they will also have the chance to experience food-related activities, such as cooking with local chefs, as well as participate in walks through the historical village, try yoga classes, etc.
In other words, experiential stays allow individuals to create personal memories while travelling instead of simply having the “normal” experience of going to another place.
Experiential Stays on the Rise
Because of the way people are choosing to travel today, experiential lodging is becoming more upscale and increasing in prevalence. People are increasingly willing to spend their money on experiences over physical goods. For both the Millennials and Generation Z (the younger generation), the creation of memories is of greater importance than the acquisition of goods. More tourists are making travel choices based on the kinds of experiences they can have while on their trips (cultural experiences, adventure experiences, or outdoor experiences).
The growth of social media has played a role in this trend as well, as the opportunities to create beautiful, visual experiences have increased significantly recently. Most tourists have noticed that the average hotel room contains few unique or exciting elements, whereas unique destinations (e.g., mountain glass cabins or beach villas) offer them an abundance of photo opportunities.
Creating an Experience through Emotions
Travellers have developed a deeper emotional and physical connection with the destination they are visiting through their experience-based stays. Travellers no longer just see. In the past, many people looked at where they were travelling to geographically, but lately they are seeing the destination as being part of a community, based on how they are individually connected to other people by way of local culture, as well as how they are collectively connected to an entire group of people around the world.
The stay-focused experiences provide an opportunity for not just experiencing local culture but also for sharing stories through the experiences and spaces of local culture, history, and how local people live. Emotional connections through experiences will help guests bond with your brand and affect how they remember and share their experiences and loyalty.
The experience economy is the new norm; everyone is part of this economy, and there are now more people spending more money on experience-oriented services/products in comparison to the services/products.
Today’s guest is looking for way more than just a roof over their heads when you’re hosting them at your property; they want entertainment, interaction, and personalised service. Your hotel is now much more than a normal place to sleep; it has become a destination in itself.
These changes we’re seeing currently are not going to disappear; this shift is a significant change in how people value what they do for leisure and travel.
Changing the perception of hotel stays and how people experience travel
Many desire an experiential stay and want to have the ability to personalise their trip. They do this through their ability to customise what types of activities they will participate in (e.g., food), what types of wellness programmes they will be a part of, etc., to create their own travel experience.
A guest who books an experience-based overnight stay with an operator previously explained has the opportunity to enjoy connecting with nature through many different outdoor activities, while also experiencing the benefits of other wellness activities such as yoga, meditation, hiking, and/or involving themselves in farm retreats and other retreats for individuals with mental health and wellness issues.
Higher Value for You
Travellers today (the current generation) look for value in your property by seeking both a fair price (actual monetary value) and enriching experiences (value received from experiential accommodations).
When visitors enjoy experiences while at an experimental facility/system, they often have very high expectations of both the level of service provided during their stay and the quality of their overall stay.
Changes occurred due to the Boom of experiential stays.
The boom of experiential stays will create many changes within the hospitality industry:
- Redesigning spaces within hotels to create experience zones.
- Local communities and artisans are partnering with properties to offer guests experiences.
- Increased need for new business models such as boutique hotel experiences and themed hotel experiences.
- Using technology to personalise experiences for each guest,
As a result, hospitality brands are competing, in addition to price and luxury, based on the quality of experience.
The Future is Experiential Stays
Experiential lodging is not just a trend currently, but it also exemplifies the direction of hospitality in the years to come. Increasingly, travellers today want to be provided with an experience while they’re at a certain locality as opposed to just visiting it, in addition to wanting to ‘feel’ the location, experience the local area, and create fond memories of their travels.
The purpose of experiential stays is to build connections, create lasting memories, and help travellers grow as individuals. Moving forward, the most successful hospitality companies will be those who understand that “people may forget your accommodation, but they will never forget your experience.”
written by :Mehardeep Singh, General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Rubystone Hospitality
