Gabrielle Dunbar

As we near the end of the first month of 2025, we're looking ahead to understand the key trends influencing the hospitality industry for the year ahead. One such trend that stood out at a recent Skift Megatrends event was "hyper- personalisation and capturing revenue beyond room facilities." The report highlighted a significant shift among affluent travellers, who are increasingly fatigued by conspicuous consumption in hospitality. 

These "post-luxury" consumers are unmoved by personal butlers, gold-plated fixtures, and over-the-top amenities. Instead, they seek understated, thoughtful, and deeply personal experiences. This aligns perfectly with another key trend: hotels are finding innovative ways to monetise every aspect of the guest experience, moving beyond traditional room-centric revenue models. 

When today’s traveller arrives in a new city or destination, they don’t just want to see the sights - they want to experience them. Today’s hospitality market is driven by a need for experiential travel, with customers looking for brands that offer personalised, tailored experiences. 

The aim of hyper-personalisation is to treat each guest as a market of one. It’s about recognising unique preferences and seamlessly making them happen. Having the right data and analytics means that your guest isn’t just a leisure traveller - they’re a history buff who loves high-end cuisine and sailing. With modern AI and machine learning tools, it’s possible to automate these insights, and integrate them into hospitality systems, from your mobile app to the front desk. 

Technology can turn guest data insights into automated processes that allocate your guest a room with an unforgettable view of the city’s historical district, and provide in-app offers to dine at the city’s best restaurant, or enjoy a discount on sailing the harbour at sunset.  

Tailored dining experiences 

Whether it’s on-site restaurants or in-room service, offering personalised dining experiences can be a great way to drive new revenue and increase guest satisfaction. 

AI-powered recommendation engines can analyse guest preferences, allowing for dietary restrictions and previous stays, along with data from CRM systems that track guest feedback. This means brands could identify guests who are celebrating a special occasion and offer a great dining recommendation, or order a vegan breakfast for guests who have specific dietary requirements. Today’s hospitality tech can integrate data and take things a step further, creating custom menus within kitchen management systems at in-house restaurants, or suggesting special offers and ideal dining times at local restaurants. 

The experiences might be delivered by tech, but they’re about providing guests with a thoughtful, personal touch that recognises their individual tastes and preferences. 

Real time customised itineraries 

If you want guests to feel welcomed as individuals then offering personalised recommendations for local attractions, experiences and sights is a great place to start. Many brands already use guests’ booking history to identify and recommend future hotels and experiences. 

For example, Airbnb will prioritise experiences and properties that match a guest’s previous search history. If a guest has previously looked for pet-friendly properties, then Airbnb will prioritise pet-friendly properties in future searches, along with recommended experiences that welcome guests and their four-legged friends. Hotel site Trivago uses AI combined with data from users’ social media likes to recommend travel destinations that match the guests’ interests, hobbies and preferences. 

Using AI and geolocation data means that hospitality providers can also offer real-time information, recommendations and discounts that are tailored to each user. This type of service can be combined with smart loyalty programmes that offer rewards and discounts that are tailored to each guest - combined with predictive analytics and real-time tracking this can provide invaluable insight into guest activities and preferences. It’s an approach that’s adopted by brands like IHG Hotels & Resorts, which is building a gen-AI powered travel planner that guests can use to build personalized travel itineraries within the company’s mobile app. 

Hyper personalised in-hotel services 

Hyper personalisation doesn’t just mean experiences outside your premises. 

NFC technology means that guests can jump the line at the front desk and use their smartphone to check in, unlock their room and order extra towels. AI chatbots can be integrated into mobile apps to provide quick answers to common queries, and route requests to relevant staff. 

These apps can also be integrated with loyalty programmes to offer bonus, personalised experiences to guests - like a favourite dessert on their birthday, or a complimentary spa treatment to thank them for another stay.  

For hospitality brands, the benefits of hyper-personalisation are clear - higher guest satisfaction and increased revenue per guest, through upselling opportunities. Moreover, automating these processes can streamline operations and free up staff time to focus on higher quality interactions when guests do need in-person support.  

Brands that can balance human interaction with transparent adoption of personalisation technology will find themselves being remembered by guests for all the right reasons. 

Ready to amplify your hospitality tech brand's innovation story? Get in touch to discuss at letstalk@championcomms.com