Trending
As we move through 2025, hotels around the world continue to grapple with escalating operational costs. From rising utility bills and supply chain disruptions to evolving guest expectations, the hospitality industry is under increasing pressure to balance profitability with delivering exceptional guest experiences.
To navigate these challenges, hotels must embrace innovative technologies and leverage revenue-generation to allow managers to cut costs whilst also continuing to deliver exceptional guest experiences. Embracing artificial intelligence (AI), adding extra-value services and all-inclusive upgrades, as well as optimising F&B offerings are just a few ways hotel brands can navigate the increasing operational costs going into 2025.
It comes as no surprise that AI continues to be an emerging trend in travel across a range of functions, such as marketing optimisation, loyalty programmes, and financial insights and forecasting. It is a helpful tool that can ensure hoteliers feel confident that they’re creating personalised offers and targeting the right guests with the right messages at the right time.
The technology can analyse vast volumes of data to predict customer preferences and therefore optimise marketing campaigns. At Super 8 by Wyndham Durham, AI is used to send tailored promotions to loyal guests and create dynamic ads based on past booking behaviour. Guests are able to check-in and check-out from their mobile, as well as tip, access rewards, and use a chatbot to quickly answer any questions they may have. AI can ensure that marketing budgets are spent efficiently, driving higher conversion rates and engagement in the brand.
At Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, we have our own guest engagement platform designed to help owners increase revenue and offer personalised guest experiences – Wyndam Connect. Currently available in North America, we plan to continue rolling it out globally as we have already started seeing great results. Features include AI-generated messaging to guests before, during, and after their stays; effortless upsells; mobile tipping; and the ‘Reconcile Now tool’, which automatically reconciles OTA fees for owners, generating significant monthly savings.
AI-driven financial software can also provide hotels with actionable insights that help managers track cash flow, expenses and revenue streams. By making these processes automatic, hotel managers can identify areas of the business where costs could be trimmed which will improve the efficiency and reliability of their profit management.
With travellers seeking greater value for their money, hotels can increase profitability by offering tailored services that enhance guest experiences while driving incremental revenue.
One growing trend is pet-friendly travel. With pet ownership surging, catering to travelers with pets offers lucrative opportunities. Hotels offering pet-friendly amenities—such as in-room beds, treats, and dog-sitting services—can command premium room rates and boost ancillary income. The pet travel market is projected to double in value over the next decade, making it a profitable niche to tap into.
Room upgrades at discounted rates during booking or check-in also provide easy upselling opportunities with minimal operational strain. Additional revenue drivers include offering early check-in and late check-out for a small fee—an attractive option for travellers with irregular schedules.
All-inclusive travel is another high-growth segment. Post-pandemic travellers are prioritising convenience and value, fuelling demand for all-inclusive packages. Hotels should capitalise on this trend by promoting package deals at the time of booking, capturing a larger share of travel budgets and boosting occupancy rates.
Hotel F&B outlets are often underutilised, but they present a significant opportunity for revenue generation—especially when it comes to attracting locals.
Embracing local cuisine and offering regionally inspired menus is one of the simplest ways to attract local customers. Using producers, farmers and distilleries from the region not only supports the economy of the community but also gives the restaurant a unique offering that draws in both hotel guests and locals looking for authentic dining experiences in the area.
Ramada by Wyndham Tbilisi Old City offers three on-site restaurants, one of which is The Fragment Dining Club, the first dining club in Georgia, serving traditional cuisine, wine and local draft beers. With its beautiful interiors and cosy atmosphere, the restaurant hosts live music events and chic dinner parties from Thursday-Sunday every week, popular with both guests and locals.
There tends to be a focus on meeting and event spaces in hotels to host groups and to mark celebrations, but there is often a missed opportunity in F&B outlets as these can easily become a hub for destination community events such as wine tastings, cooking classes or live music nights. While creating a buzz around the brand, optimising onsite F&B options will attract more footfall to hotel restaurants and generate additional income.
Sustainability is no longer optional—it’s an expectation. As travellers become increasingly conscious of their environmental impact, hotels must align with this shift by investing in sustainable practices. While eco-friendly initiatives may involve upfront costs, they often lead to long-term savings and enhanced brand loyalty.
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is committed to sustainability through its Wyndham Green programme, which assesses franchised and managed hotels based on their environmental impact. Focused on five key areas—climate change, energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, and biodiversity—the programme provides a structured approach for hotels to improve their green credentials.
Dolce by Wyndham La Hulpe Brussels is a property within our portfolio that really stands out. As a Wyndham Green Level 4 hotel, it has introduced a series of initiatives to limit its impact on the environment, for example, 50% of its electricity is produced from sustainable sources and there are now 32 charging points for electric vehicles. Since 2008, the hotel has collaborated with ‘Les Jeunes Jardiniers’, a social company using mechanical techniques instead of pesticides to create and maintain the green areas surrounding the hotel.
Erik Jansen, General Manager/Managing Director at Dolce by Wyndham La Hulpe says, “‘Reducing red meat is also part of our sustainable action plan as it generates a huge carbon footprint, and we’re looking to do this gradually to ensure that our guests remain satisfied with our catering offer. We understand that our green initiatives are not guaranteed to be cost-cutting, as some generate their own expenses, but we believe it is incredibly important that we’re leading the way in our sustainability efforts and bringing the local community on that journey with us.”
In 2024, Wyndham launched several sustainability-driven tools, including the Wyndham Green Calculator for cost-saving analysis, the EMEA Greenhouse Gas Emissions Dashboard for CO2 tracking, and the ADC Sustainable Hospitality Guide to ensure construction materials align with environmental standards.
Many hotels are also implementing local sustainability initiatives. Wyndham Grand Istanbul Europe operates its own organic farm, reducing food waste while offering guests farm-to-table dining. Meanwhile, Ramada by Wyndham Downtown Dubai has introduced a monthly Earth Hour, encouraging guests to participate in energy conservation efforts. These initiatives not only support global sustainability goals but also enrich the guest experience by fostering a sense of community and purpose.
With rising costs and evolving guest expectations, hotels must remain agile and forward-thinking. By integrating AI into marketing and financial operations, embracing high-value upselling strategies, optimising F&B experiences, and committing to sustainability, hoteliers can enhance both profitability and guest satisfaction.
As the industry moves through 2025 and beyond, those who successfully adapt to these emerging travel trends will not only weather economic pressures but also emerge stronger, more efficient, and more profitable.
As we move through 2025, hotels around the world continue to grapple with escalating operational costs. From rising utility bills and supply chain disruptions to evolving guest expectations, the hospitality industry is under increasing pressure to balance profitability with delivering exceptional guest experiences.
To navigate these challenges, hotels must embrace innovative technologies and leverage revenue-generation to allow managers to cut costs whilst also continuing to deliver exceptional guest experiences. Embracing artificial intelligence (AI), adding extra-value services and all-inclusive upgrades, as well as optimising F&B offerings are just a few ways hotel brands can navigate the increasing operational costs going into 2025.
It comes as no surprise that AI continues to be an emerging trend in travel across a range of functions, such as marketing optimisation, loyalty programmes, and financial insights and forecasting. It is a helpful tool that can ensure hoteliers feel confident that they’re creating personalised offers and targeting the right guests with the right messages at the right time.
The technology can analyse vast volumes of data to predict customer preferences and therefore optimise marketing campaigns. At Super 8 by Wyndham Durham, AI is used to send tailored promotions to loyal guests and create dynamic ads based on past booking behaviour. Guests are able to check-in and check-out from their mobile, as well as tip, access rewards, and use a chatbot to quickly answer any questions they may have. AI can ensure that marketing budgets are spent efficiently, driving higher conversion rates and engagement in the brand.
At Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, we have our own guest engagement platform designed to help owners increase revenue and offer personalised guest experiences – Wyndam Connect. Currently available in North America, we plan to continue rolling it out globally as we have already started seeing great results. Features include AI-generated messaging to guests before, during, and after their stays; effortless upsells; mobile tipping; and the ‘Reconcile Now tool’, which automatically reconciles OTA fees for owners, generating significant monthly savings.
AI-driven financial software can also provide hotels with actionable insights that help managers track cash flow, expenses and revenue streams. By making these processes automatic, hotel managers can identify areas of the business where costs could be trimmed which will improve the efficiency and reliability of their profit management.
With travellers seeking greater value for their money, hotels can increase profitability by offering tailored services that enhance guest experiences while driving incremental revenue.
One growing trend is pet-friendly travel. With pet ownership surging, catering to travelers with pets offers lucrative opportunities. Hotels offering pet-friendly amenities—such as in-room beds, treats, and dog-sitting services—can command premium room rates and boost ancillary income. The pet travel market is projected to double in value over the next decade, making it a profitable niche to tap into.
Room upgrades at discounted rates during booking or check-in also provide easy upselling opportunities with minimal operational strain. Additional revenue drivers include offering early check-in and late check-out for a small fee—an attractive option for travellers with irregular schedules.
All-inclusive travel is another high-growth segment. Post-pandemic travellers are prioritising convenience and value, fuelling demand for all-inclusive packages. Hotels should capitalise on this trend by promoting package deals at the time of booking, capturing a larger share of travel budgets and boosting occupancy rates.
Hotel F&B outlets are often underutilised, but they present a significant opportunity for revenue generation—especially when it comes to attracting locals.
Embracing local cuisine and offering regionally inspired menus is one of the simplest ways to attract local customers. Using producers, farmers and distilleries from the region not only supports the economy of the community but also gives the restaurant a unique offering that draws in both hotel guests and locals looking for authentic dining experiences in the area.
Ramada by Wyndham Tbilisi Old City offers three on-site restaurants, one of which is The Fragment Dining Club, the first dining club in Georgia, serving traditional cuisine, wine and local draft beers. With its beautiful interiors and cosy atmosphere, the restaurant hosts live music events and chic dinner parties from Thursday-Sunday every week, popular with both guests and locals.
There tends to be a focus on meeting and event spaces in hotels to host groups and to mark celebrations, but there is often a missed opportunity in F&B outlets as these can easily become a hub for destination community events such as wine tastings, cooking classes or live music nights. While creating a buzz around the brand, optimising onsite F&B options will attract more footfall to hotel restaurants and generate additional income.
Sustainability is no longer optional—it’s an expectation. As travellers become increasingly conscious of their environmental impact, hotels must align with this shift by investing in sustainable practices. While eco-friendly initiatives may involve upfront costs, they often lead to long-term savings and enhanced brand loyalty.
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is committed to sustainability through its Wyndham Green programme, which assesses franchised and managed hotels based on their environmental impact. Focused on five key areas—climate change, energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, and biodiversity—the programme provides a structured approach for hotels to improve their green credentials.
Dolce by Wyndham La Hulpe Brussels is a property within our portfolio that really stands out. As a Wyndham Green Level 4 hotel, it has introduced a series of initiatives to limit its impact on the environment, for example, 50% of its electricity is produced from sustainable sources and there are now 32 charging points for electric vehicles. Since 2008, the hotel has collaborated with ‘Les Jeunes Jardiniers’, a social company using mechanical techniques instead of pesticides to create and maintain the green areas surrounding the hotel.
Erik Jansen, General Manager/Managing Director at Dolce by Wyndham La Hulpe says, “‘Reducing red meat is also part of our sustainable action plan as it generates a huge carbon footprint, and we’re looking to do this gradually to ensure that our guests remain satisfied with our catering offer. We understand that our green initiatives are not guaranteed to be cost-cutting, as some generate their own expenses, but we believe it is incredibly important that we’re leading the way in our sustainability efforts and bringing the local community on that journey with us.”
In 2024, Wyndham launched several sustainability-driven tools, including the Wyndham Green Calculator for cost-saving analysis, the EMEA Greenhouse Gas Emissions Dashboard for CO2 tracking, and the ADC Sustainable Hospitality Guide to ensure construction materials align with environmental standards.
Many hotels are also implementing local sustainability initiatives. Wyndham Grand Istanbul Europe operates its own organic farm, reducing food waste while offering guests farm-to-table dining. Meanwhile, Ramada by Wyndham Downtown Dubai has introduced a monthly Earth Hour, encouraging guests to participate in energy conservation efforts. These initiatives not only support global sustainability goals but also enrich the guest experience by fostering a sense of community and purpose.
With rising costs and evolving guest expectations, hotels must remain agile and forward-thinking. By integrating AI into marketing and financial operations, embracing high-value upselling strategies, optimising F&B experiences, and committing to sustainability, hoteliers can enhance both profitability and guest satisfaction.
As the industry moves through 2025 and beyond, those who successfully adapt to these emerging travel trends will not only weather economic pressures but also emerge stronger, more efficient, and more profitable.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making
The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using ‘Content here, content here’, making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for ‘lorem ipsum’ will uncover many web sites still in their infancy.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution
Copyright BlazeThemes. 2023
