A recent infographic published by Red Lion Hotels Corporation undertook the difficult task to analyse the shift in mindset of a modern traveller.

As they admit,

In recent years, hotel guests’ expectations have shifted. As generations begin traveling, their preferences become more defined and they want more options.This modern mindset seeks out convenience, innovation and personalization.

However, addressing only this shift would mean that your hospitality is focused only on Millennials, risking to loose out on business from anyone over 35 years of age!

These new expectations are challenging the hospitality industry to rethink the entire guest journey, including pre-stay and post-stay, amenities, services and experiences.

Rethinking might not be enough! What is perhaps more effective is a holistic approach to guest expectations’ management. Now that we “know” what each age group predominantly expects, we can tailor our service to meet such expectations.

screen-shot-2016-09-29-at-11-00-30

The chart above indicates, according to RLHC, what each age group expects out of a hospitality establishment for each part of their stay. The column on the left refers to Baby Boomers (aged 52+), the middle column refers to Generation X guests (aged between 36 and 51) and the right-most column lists the expectations of Millenials (18-35 year olds).

Therefore, unless you are operating an establishment exclusively targeted at one of these age groups, you need to find a great compromise between these expectations.

This will become your Guest Expectations Strategy.