“2024 will be nothing like years past,” says eviivo CEO Michele Fitzpatrick. “We’re out of the shadow of the pandemic, and those who work in hospitality have more optimism about their businesses as the industry rapidly grows. We’re also seeing notable shifts with guests’ preferences that will determine how businesses operate in the new year, and of course, increased demand for advanced technology that will set a standard for future generations of travellers.”
According to Statista, the online travel market size worldwide reached the $433.2 billion mark in 2021, and it’s expected to reach $690.71 billion by 2026.
7 Significant Travel Trends To Expect For 2024
1. Gen AI will become more than a “new normal”
While biometrics, cloud technologies, advanced search engines and “contactless” continue to improve every year, 2024 will be Gen AI’s moment. As indicated in eviivo’s 5 Top Hospitality and Booking Tech Trends 2024 report, Generative Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI) will become standard in travel. The buzz around ChatGPT, an OpenAI tool, in 2023, opened doors for companies to utilise and thrive with Gen AI. While “Artificial Intelligence” has been around for decades, “Generative AI” is the evolution (and revolution) of AI; consider it the “next generation” of artificial intelligence. Generative AI technology can take text outputs, images, computer code – you name it – and create unique content to the user, trained to learn data sets and patterns — and only improve by creating new data the more it’s used. With Generative AI, travellers have an “assistant” when booking trips, travel specialists have tools that make their job easier and property owners, from hoteliers to vacation rental hosts, leverage Gen-AI to reduce redundant work while running their business to gain back more personal time. eviivo is the first hospitality software company to introduce Gen-AI for independent accommodation in May 2023 with the launch of eviivo Concierge, a virtual concierge for property hosts, hoteliers and vacation rental group managers, who can utilise the tool on their websites. In eviivo’s latest case study with partner Expedia Group, UK’s Brambles of Inveraray is experiencing +8% year-over-year revenue growth and international exposure, enabled by eviivo Suite and the integration of eviivo Concierge. The rise of Gen AI will be like a rocket ship. In fact, Expedia.com noted in its 2024 annual report that only 6% of travellers used AI to plan a trip in 2023; 40% would use Gen AI to help find a hotel or vacation rental in 2024. In November 2023, eviivo partner Airbnb announced its acquisition of AI company GamePlanner.AI to “develop some of the best interfaces and practical applications for AI,” according to CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky. On December 6, Google officially launched its long-awaited Gemini, a powerful AI model that can seamlessly understand, operate across and combine text, code, audio, image, video and other types of information, and it will power Google AI apps like the Bard chatbot and Search Generative Experience.
2. Travellers will visit Spain – and permanently move there
Spain, ranked “Best of the Best 2023” destinations by TripAdvisor, dominated “Best Places to Travel” in 2024 lists, from Travel + Leisure and Frommers to Condé Nast Traveller and Lonely Planet. While Mallorca ranked high on lists, home to eviivo Collective renowned resort Cala Domingos, unassuming destinations are emerging such as Cuenca — though Malaga is on everyone’s radar, not only for tourism, but for living. Four cities in Spain ranked Top 10 inThe World’s 20 Best Cities to Live, a report by Forbes in November 2023, with three cities in the top three, Malaga taking the crown: Malaga (No. 1); Alicante (No. 2); and Valencia (No. 3). InterNations, an expat community website with over 5 million members, last week released its 2023 Expat City Rankings. Malaga was ranked the No. 1 palace to live for expats. “Malaga is flourishing as one of the fastest growing cities to live and work,” says Philip Commuelo, eviivo Regional Director, Spain, in eviivo’s Malaga headquarters. “Malaga is also becoming the tech capital of Spain, with tech giants like Google and Oracle moving in, like San Francisco’s Silicon Valley. It doesn’t hurt that Malaga is a seaside city that sprawls with stunning beaches.” eviivo Collective property Gibralfaro Centro, owned by Áridos El Pinar S.A, who helped literally build Malaga with his company Aripisa, including the airport, bridges, the port and motorways, has seen nearly full-occupancy year-round at his Malaga properties due to people working remotely who eventually move into their own place. Up the coast, Barcelona ranked No 8 in Resonance’s annual “The World’s 10 Best Cities of 2024” which includes “livability” as criteria with methodology a combination of core statistics from 400 global cities and user-generated ratings and reviews.
3. “Immersive sustainability” is high in demand
Sustainability is never a “trend” in travel but a “must,” and the travel industry has been making greater strides to play their part, from being more carton neutral to eviivo partner Booking.com offering properties “Sustainability” badges for approved listings. According to Booking.com’s Travel Predictions 2024 trends report, over half (53%) of 27,000 travellers surveyed seek accommodation that have “wow factor” innovative sustainability features. Travel companies are prioritising sustainability since the demand is ever high. Hilton reported 74% travellers find it important to minimise their environmental footprint, while Marriott’s forecast reported 77% of respondents want to visit environmentally friendly destinations. In 2024, we’ll see a stronger effort of properties offering activities that give back to nature – but also allow guests to immerse in its initiatives. Across the world, many oceanside properties have increased programs where guests can collaborate with locals to create marine reserves. 34-acre eviivo Collective retreat Desert Harbor in New Mexico was built using only eco-friendly materials, including concrete piers to minimise footprint of building and maximise integration with the landscape. The eco-retreat is powered completely by the sun and off the grid (expect unbelievable night sky watching) and is one of few properties in the world that encourages dogs to be off-leash to explore the boundless and unlimited public wilderness and tap into their canine ancestry. In Edinburgh, Scotland, eviivo Collective property Rachel’s Farm is well known for its health and wellness and yoga retreats, as well as lavish cottages with new accommodation to open in 2024. It’s the only property in Scotland dedicated to reforestation and offers an immersive reforestation program for guests. It’s not just properties dedicated to a greener planet. eviivo and partner Devitech, an innovative environmental company, work together to install EV chargers at hotels, vacation rentals and other properties. The demand for electric vehicles has been high for 2023, so much that places are “racing” to install chargers.
4. Amenities matter – and they will determine bookings
Hoteliers and property owners offer unique and compelling amenities to stand out in a competitive landscape — and they’ll go above and beyond in 2024. Recently opened eviivo Collective property 7744 Ranch is an upscale glamping resort where all six accommodations are $2-3 million, bi-level trailers formerly owned by celebrities like Vin Diesel, Jennifer Lopez and Simon Cowell. Best of all – all the trailers are equipped with all the furnishings and decor the respective celebrity used inside (including beds). Kenny Hawskworth, owner of Barnston Group based out of Liverpool, UK, leaves a variety of high-end fitness bars in his Airbnb due to his enthusiasm for good health and well being. Over the holidays, he spent hundreds on embellishing his properties with Christmas trees and decorations. With amenity programming, developers are going extra lengths, investing in wow-factor concepts that capture the imagination and place the destination on the map, according to HospitalityNet.
5. More spontaneous trips will keep travel on its toes
Months-long travel planning will soon begin to fade as spontaneous trips become more popular, demonstrated in bookings. “Out of the 26,000 property owners and hoteliers that use our platform, a significant number have seen spikes in last minute bookings, in addition to guests who book weeks and months in advance,” says Fitzpatrick. “In 2024, we’re confident spontaneous bookings will become more common.” Forbes indicated “last minute trips are hot” right now, with travel app Hopper revealing spontaneous trips are on the rise for 2024, with Spain being the most spontaneous destination. In the US, 67% Americans reported the best trips are spontaneous, and Italy saw “last minute trips” grow by 400% compared to last year. Why spontaneous travel? According to Skyscanner, it increases happiness.
6. Vacation rental bookings reach great heights and compete with large-chain hotels
The growth in vacation rentals is indisputable. According to Statista, the vacation rental market worldwide is projected to grow by 3.33% resulting in a market volume of $107.7 billion by 2027. The pandemic contributed to the vacation rental market’s growth. While hotel bookings saw the largest decrease (77%), vacation rentals fared better with two or more bedroom vacation rentals running higher occupancy (46% decrease), according to Hotel Tech Report. The report also indicates by 2025, nearly one in five people will have stayed in a vacation rental versus one in eight people in 2021. “With vacation rentals, guests have the luxury of more space, privacy and amenities that aren’t offered in a traditional hotel, such as kitchens, laundry and private swimming pools with backyards,” says Fitzpatrick. Vacation rentals are even becoming more notable and competitive to hotels and resorts, such as eviivo Collective property Chalet Les Cerises in the French Alps, ranked among the best ski chalets to book in Europe by House & Garden UK. It’s not to say traditional hospitality, such as hotels and B&Bs, are taking a backseat. In fact, bookings are experiencing significant growth post Covid as well. “We’re seeing that travellers don’t feel isolation is a priority anymore, and people like going back to full service hospitality,” says Fitzpatrick.
7. Music and sports tourism will have the spotlight for 2024
Sports and music will be on many travellers’ radars for 2024 thanks to the number of once-in-a-lifetime events and the rising trend of “music tour” tourism. In 2024, the Olympic Games will be held in Paris, France, the first time the city has hosted in 100 years (1924), marking its centennial-hosted games. While most large-chain hotels are already sold out or seeing astronomical rates, independent accommodation is seeing some of the highest bookings, including properties within hours drive of the City of Love. The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship will return to Germany after being held there in 2020. In the US, Super Bowl LVII will take place for the first time in Las Vegas, Nevada at the brand-new Allegiant Stadium, coined as “The Greatest Arena on Earth.” Costing a whopping $2 billion, Allegiant Stadium is the second most expensive stadium in the world (SoFi Stadium, home to L.A. Rams in Inglewood, California, cost $5.5 billion). For the first time, the US PGA Tourwill return to a calendar-year season in 2024, the first time in a decade, with 39 regular season events and eight events in the post-playoff fall series kicking off at The Sentry in Maui, Hawaii. It’s not just sports that are in the spotlight. Travelling for music festivals and live concerts saw a significant rise in 2023 (thank you, Taylor Swift), and it will be more common in 2024. In fact, according to Expedia.com, “tour tourism” -live music tourism- will reach new heights after hordes of people travelled on planes, trains and road trips for major concert tours like Taylor Swift and Beyonce in 2023. Nearly 70% of travellers are likely to travel to a concert outside their hometown while 40% will travel for a concert to visit a new place, according to the report. The Libertineswill go on one of their first tours in the beginning of 2024 as they promote their new album “All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade.” On the album cover is the band’s boutique hotel, The Albion Rooms, an eviivo Collective property. According to CNBC, travellers are splurging on travel to see their favourite artists, which can be upward of $1,330 for a Taylor Swift concert trip. 58% Gen Z plan to attend a concert/festival in the next year, and 60% travellers would consider a concert overseas in 2024, according to Skyscanner.
Tags: Michele Fitzpatrick, eviivo
