2023 is set to be another bumper year for the staycation, with 81% of British hotel guests looking to stay at a UK hotel in 2023, as financial pressures deter international travel and habits formed during the pandemic continue to draw consumers to making their holiday plans within the UK rather than travelling abroad.

But what are guests looking for when booking accommodation? How are they finding it? And what do they expect during their stay?

In our latest GO Technology research report, produced in partnership with hospitality insights firm CGA by NielsenIQ, we surveyed 2,000 hotel  guests who have stayed in UK hotels and accommodation in the past six months to find the answers!

Download the full report to discover:

• How far reviews go when influencing guests’ decisions
• The trustworthiness of different booking methods
• Top discovery tools guests use to find accommodation to book
• Guest demand for F&B facilities and room service
• The tech solutions guests want to see to make their stay seamless

From cash, to card, to ‘just walk out’ technology, consumers have more payment methods available to them than ever before when it comes to settling the bill.

With the desire for a quick, convenient journey high on the list of priorities for many customers visiting hospitality venues, cash has increasingly taken a back seat compared to card payments; and with newer technologies such as digital wallets and wearables gaining popularity amongst younger consumers, hospitality operators must ensure they’re keeping up with the times to ensure they don’t miss out on business from these new-tech adopters.

In the latest report in our GO Technology consumer research series, conducted together with CGA by NielsenIQ and in partnership with payments provider PayPal, we explore how consumers prefer to pay for food and drink when visiting hospitality venues, the differing trends between sectors and demographics, and the technology innovations driving change within the payment space.

Why should I download this report?

• Discover key insights into how consumers prefer to pay when visiting hospitality venues, including they use.
• Uncover five key cash, card and mobile spending trends.
• Learn how payment behaviours differ between sectors.
• Discover the new payment technologies gaining popularity amongst consumers.

Download the full report to discover these insights and more!

Personalisation is becoming increasingly more important for hospitality venues to get right. Our recent GO Technology research report into consumer views on personalisation in hospitality revealed that 80% of consumers are now interested in some form of personalisation from the pubs, bars and restaurants they visit, presenting hospitality with a variety of opportunities to drive further engagement and loyalty from their customers.

But how do these expectations differ between different groups of consumers? Are there any points of similarity? As with differences between the genders, interest in personalisation can vary widely with age.

Our findings highlighted some notable differences in both interest in receiving personalised experiences, and what forms they’d like these personalised experiences to take, particularly between the younger generation (18-24) and older consumers (55+).

The research also discovered how different generations prefer to share data with the brands they engage with, providing some useful food for thought for savvy operators looking to enhance their customer journey with personalisation!

Discover the differences in expectations from personalisation between generations.

Personalisation is becoming increasingly more important for hospitality venues to get right. Our recent GO Technology research report into consumer views on personalisation in hospitality revealed that 80% of consumers are now interested in some form of personalisation from the pubs, bars and restaurants they visit, presenting hospitality with a variety of opportunities to drive further engagement and loyalty from their customers.

As with age, our findings highlighted some key differences in approaches to personalisation between genders. So, are women more likely to engage with personalisation than men?

Our research discovered some notable differences, in particular the difference in engagement with personalisation in both men and women, and what types of personalised experiences they are more likely to make use of.

The findings also included interesting differences in willingness to share data with brands, meaning a different approach may need to be taken for data collection methods.

Discover the differences in engagement with personalisation between the genders.

In today’s hyper-connected, always-on world, going online for many consumers is their first (and only) port of call when searching for pubs, bars and restaurants to visit.

Social media has evolved from a place to keep in contact with friends and family, to an environment where people can also follow and engage with their favourite brands, and search engines have overwhelmingly become the place consumers to go find information about products and services. In more recent years, these platforms have also become the go-to place for customers to make bookings.

But how do customers use social media platforms and search engines to find hospitality venues? What are they looking for? How do they want to book? And more importantly, where is their behaviour headed in the future?

In our latest GO Technology research report, produced in association with hospitality insights company, CGA, and social bookings experts Mozrest, we discovered how 5,000 consumers are using social media and search engines. Download the report to discover how they’re engaging with their favourite hospitality brands on these platforms and the massive opportunities for savvy operators and marketers to leverage Google and social media to boost bookings and generate more revenue – not just now, but in the future.

Why should I download this report?

You’ll discover…

• Key social media statistics for 2022 that affect the UK hospitality industry
• How to leverage direct bookings through Facebook, Instagram and Google Reservations
• How people are searching for venues using Google and virtual assistants like Alexa
• The importance of social media channels used by 18 to 24-year-olds such as Snapchat and TikTok
• Ideas for how to use social media to increase table bookings

Download the full report to discover the future of bookings.

Our recent research among teenagers and their attitudes towards technology and hospitality shows how teens are using social media, and how operators will need to consider their own use of social media if they are to engage with this demographic.

Social media is central to the way teenagers communicate. With 95% of teens now owning a smartphone, and 52% admitting to being ‘always online’, it won’t come as a surprise to hear that social media plays a dominant role in daily life for many.

Having a Facebook account that gets updated once a month isn’t going to cut it. Teenagers live on social – 68% of teenagers ‘always use social media’ –  and are likely to find you there first. Our research found that 42% visited a venue after seeing it online, so your reach, engagement and the impression (as well as impressions) you make, are only going to grow in importance.

With 42% of the ‘always online’ group admitting to visiting a venue because they’ve seen it on social media, and 25% visiting because it would look good on their own platforms, ensuring that you’re maintaining an attractive presence across your social media platforms will be integral to enticing this demographic through your doors.

For more insights into teenagers’ thoughts on hospitality and technology, download the full report Face-to-Face Time: The teenage take on hospitality and technology.

Teenagers are extremely comfortable when it comes to technology. That we all know.

However, our recent research among teenagers and their attitudes towards technology and hospitality revealed some surprising truths.

Whilst these digital natives are dab-hands at digital communication, they also crave face-to-face contact when it comes to socialising with friends. Less than half of the teenagers we asked (45%) agreed that hanging out with people online is as good as meeting up in person.

And, somewhat more surprisingly, teenagers don’t want phones at the table:

“I feel like it distracts people. The worst thing is when you’re out with someone and they’re just on their phone the whole time.” – 14 year old

But it doesn’t end there.

The rise of competitive socialising presents a unique opportunity for hospitality to enhance these in-person experiences. 92% of Brits aged between 16 and 24 class themselves as gamers, so providing new and exciting – as well as more traditional – forms of entertainment in-venue could be key to engaging with this demographic.

Our surveys and focus groups with more than 500 teenagers aged between 13 and 17 revealed more eyebrow-raising findings – download the full report to read more!

Our recent research among teenagers and their attitudes towards technology and hospitality reveals the top factors that influence their decisions on where to go to eat and drink:

• Quality of food and drink
• Cost
• How a venue looks and feels
• Availability of healthy options
• Availability of WiFi
• How good food or drinks look on social media

While social media and the availability of WiFi are significant when it comes to deciding which café or restaurant to visit, so too are more traditional factors. Quality of product, high standards, atmosphere, what your friends think, are all highly relevant to Gen Z, just as they are to the Millennials, Gen X and the Baby Boomers before them.

The availability of healthy options also ranked high in importance for many teens, perhaps being indicative of a more health-conscious generation? And whilst traditional factors still rank highest, access to WiFi and shareability on socials clearly indicate a potential shift in priorities for next generation hospitality consumers.

As with any of demographic, understanding why teens choose to visit a venue will be key for operators looking to attract them into their venues, now and in future.

Our surveys and focus groups of more than 500 teenagers aged between 13 and 17 reveal more eyebrow-raising findings – download the full report to read more!

Our recent research among teenagers and their attitudes towards technology and hospitality reveals their appetite for virtual reality experiences.

According to Statista, 92% of Brits aged between 16 and 24 class themselves as gamers and, if they are playing games at home, surely there is a role for this in venues?

56% of teens like to be among the first to use new technology, and unsurprisingly this still applies when it comes to entertainment.

A significant number (66%) of all teens are interested in in virtual reality tours and experiences of venues (rising to 73% for the group classed as ‘always online’), a percentage that dwarfs the number of venues currently using it in their businesses. Even those who are ‘rarely online’ have an interest in this area, with 57% saying they would be interested in VR gaming and 53% interested in using it in their work.

A not-insignificant 45% of teens also considered socialising online to be just as good as face-to-face, so allowing those that do crave face-to-face experiences to connect with absent friends in virtual reality spaces and gaming experiences presents a great opportunity for hospitality to position itself as central for hanging out, both in-person and virtually.

With McDonalds recently filing ten new trademark applications to open restaurants in the metaverse, a virtual hospitality industry may not be as far away as we think…

For more insights into teenagers’ thoughts on hospitality and technology, download the full report Face-to-Face Time: The teenage take on hospitality and technology.