The 10 Biggest Ways Hotels as We Know Them Are Changing
The last decade has turned the hospitality industry inside out, and not just because of technology (although that's certainly played a part). Who travels, how we travel, even what we bring on the go -- it's all changing pretty fast.
Hotels are working hard to keep up. Here are ten ways that's happening.
![Focused service has allowed hotels to expand enormously, often into markets that had few (if any) options before. "They are cheaper hotels to build and operate," he said. "When you think about the cost of putting up an 800 room full service hotel somewhere… you're probably looking at north of $50 million to open the doors. A 500 room Hampton Inn or Holiday Inn Express, that's a lot cheaper to open and operate.""It has allowed hotels to go into smaller markets where a large, full service hotel might not be able to survive," he added. "[For example], there's no full kitchen, so you've eliminated all of the overhead and costs of operating a kitchen. So it's a cheaper operating model, and then they pass that savings along to the traveler in the form of a lower rate."Today it seems like you can find a nonsmoking, queen-sized bed and beige-toned artwork just about anywhere. That's in large part due to the focused service model.](https://www.thestreet.com/.image/c_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cg_face%2Ch_80%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_80/MTY4NjUwNjI2NTczOTM2MjYz/4-hotels-in-more-places.jpg)
10. Less surge pricing
Uber introduced us all to the term "surge pricing," and it may well be the most hated feature of the overwhelmingly popular app. Yet while Uber may have become the face of dynamic pricing, it really just put front and center a long-standing hospitality and service practice. When rooms and seats sell out, prices go through the roof.
At least, it's been a previously long-standing practice.
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According to Scott Brennan, the president of hotel business for Carlson Wagonlit Travel, expanding competition from homestays and inexpensive hotels has made it harder for properties to charge those egregious prices when Kanye comes to town.
"I do think where Airbnb has really impacted the brand is when a city is in a sellout situation for an event," he said. "In the past a hotel would have gone to the highest rate it could charge. You would see something like a budget brand selling a room for $400 or $600 a night during the Super Bowl."
Now, those customers just rent somebody's spare bedroom.
