As hotel booking technology continues to advance, the next widescale trend to emerge in hotel reservations and hospitality marketing may be attribute-based reservations.
Traditionally hoteliers have built room pools based on a single characteristic, such as bed type. This has largely been the extend of attribute offerings due to limits in reservation technology; however, with new investments in res engines and blockchain, the reservation system of the near-future will be able to offer extensive customization to guests.
Instead of selecting just a king bed room with the hotels standard amenities, guests may be able to specify a king room, near the elevator, with a four-piece bathroom, a sunrise view, an elliptical machine and a large club chair. Clearly this represents an extensive revenue opportunity for hoteliers, as well, to package unique room features and amenities to create more personal experiences for guests.
Beyond direct customization revenue, the broader opportunity to hotels will come from direct channel maximization, just as airlines have done with seat selection. Customization offered exclusively through branded hotel websites and apps would be a significant marketshare play against OTAs and room-sharing services such as AirBNB.