Destination becomes the stay, content the compass for travellers: Report

A new Booking.com report shows 80% of Indian travellers now prefer to spend most of their time at hotels, driving a boom in experience-led stays and non-room revenues

As travel, especially domestic, continues to gain steam, hotels are increasingly becoming the destination.

 

"Accommodation is becoming a big attraction, which is surprising. The stay is driving travellers to come and experience a destination, where they sometimes don't even have to step out of the accommodation, " said Santosh Kumar, regional manager, South Asia at Booking.com.

 

Kumar was talking to the media at the launch of the online portal's new report titled 'How India Stays', which surveyed over 3,000 travellers.

 

"This is not a short-term trend," he added, pointing out examples like the Postcard hotels coming up on the Maravanthe Beach in Udupi district in Karnataka or hotels coming up on Nandi Hills near Bengaluru, which and helped develop these destinations.

   

According to the report, 80 per cent of Indian travellers plan to spend most of their time at the property, far above the global average of 51 per cent.

 

And so, with stays becoming destinations, travellers today are also more willing to spend on experiences at the hotel itself.

 

"We see more people willing to add value to their trips, and partners who are able to capitalise on it are able to significantly drive revenues," Kumar added.

 

As hospitality players start focusing on providing curated, authentic experiences with non-traditional activities like book readings, spiritual workshops and art pop-ups are on the rise, revenues are rising.

 

“Non-room revenue, especially from food and beverage and events, now accounts for up to 50 per cent of revenues in the premium segments,” stated the report.

 

Meanwhile, for travellers, content is the new compass, as social media drives decision making when it comes to destinations.

 

“A sizable chunk of Indian travellers now plan trips around cultural moments, festivals, local cuisines, or design-led stays often with a digital audience in mind,” the report stated.

 

As many as 45.2 per cent of surveyed people booked immediately after seeing something on social media, while 33.4 per cent booked later because of being inspired by something seen earlier.

 

“For hospitality brands, the challenge is no longer visibility, but relevance at the moment of decision,” it added. 

 

These factors become more important as branded supply continues to have massive headroom for growth.

 

With India expected to see 5.2 billion trips by 2030, hotel supply lags demand. The branded hotel room inventory of over 200,000 rooms in 2024 amounts to only 138 rooms per million people in the country, as compared to 1,500 hotel rooms per million people in more developed markets globally.

 

But travel is refusing to slow down.

 

According to the report, the average monthly searches grew from 103 million in 2022 to 141 million in 2024. Meanwhile, off season volumes, too, have been on the rise continuously, from 53 per cent in 2022 to 57 per cent in 2023 and 63 per cent in 2024.

 

“Hospitality demand across the board is projected to grow at a robust 10.5 per cent annually until 2027, outpacing supply growth of 8 per cent. This is expected to lift national occupancy above 73 per cent by 2027,” stated the report.

 

India’s total room supply is projected to expand from 2.48 million in 2024 to 3.1 million by 2029, the report added, highlighting the scale of opportunity for hospitality players and investors.