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Last week Hilton released an informative report that everyone should read, “Emerging Trends and the Redefined Traveler,” which reveals the surprising ways the pandemic changed people and predicts changes in traveler behaviors for 2022. What we didn’t expect was how the pandemic also changed the way we speak. hertelier highlights the five key terms from the report you need in your vocabulary ASAP.
Biophilia: design that satisfies humans’ innate desire to connect with nature. How is this achieved in hotels? By incorporating the sights, sounds, and smells of nature indoors. Think: green walls, plants, sounds or views of water, natural light, and nature-focused artwork. Not just for hotels, a recent article in the FT “Forget skyscrapers: nature inspires next generation of New York offices” cites “biophilia” as the “new frontier in office amenities — beyond foosball tables, cycle lockers, and yoga studios — that forward-thinking companies are deploying as they compete for young talent.”
Bleisure: the blending of business and leisure travel. According to Hilton, “the emergence of remote work will create a new segment of customer travel that will expand upon the traditional corporate travel schedule blending weekdays and weekends into ‘workcations’ in ways we haven’t seen before.” Hilton thinks this will increase the demand for all-suite and extended stay properties. While “bleisure” feels like a term that came out of the pandemic, an article in 2018 from Conde Nast Traveler, funnily enough, entitled, “The Made-Up Travel Words We Love to Hate,” former Merriam-Webster dictionary editor, Kory Stamper, credits the origination of the term to the U.K. newspaper The Independent in 2010, from a think piece begging tourism marketers to stop dreaming up awkward words. How “fittingly meta.”
Great Resignation: everyone is quitting. According to research, 55% of the workforce in America plan to look for work in the next 12 months (Bankrate, August 2021). Fun fact: The term was coined by Professor Anthony Klotz, associate professor of Management at Mays Business School, Texas A&M University in an interview earlier this year with BloombergBusinessweek. The pandemic has been a time of reflection, people have shifted their loyalty from “external to internal, looking at jobs that best serve their lives and not the other way around,” according to the Hilton report. People are changing jobs or careers because they want the freedom to work remotely, eliminating the need to commute; flexible working hours to accommodate a better work-life balance; better remuneration or benefits; improved opportunities for advancement; or a safer or more equitable working environment. What does this mean for hotels? The rise of the aforementioned “bleisure” trend as well as an overall “re-assessment of loyalty,” caused them to make changes to the Hilton Honors program allowing for more upgrades, retention of elite status, and other perks consumers value.
WFH (Work From Hotel): the use of hotels as remote offices daily, weekly, even monthly but not necessarily overnight. See “bleisure” above, though don’t be confused, as this is a category in and of itself, as it refers to people renting out hotel spaces as flexible offices competing with companies like WeWork. Hilton has already started offering “WorkSpaces by Hilton” a work-from-hotel day-rate solution for both corporate customers and individuals seeking private office space (away from home) to increase efficiency in their workday.
Workcation: akin to “bleisure,” the blending of weekdays and weekends from locations that inspire and allow productivity and relaxation.
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