My last column introduced the large and complex category of Guest Journey Software (GJS). It made the case that this should be on virtually every hotel’s radar as an inexpensive way to reduce operating costs, increase guest satisfaction, and generate new revenue. I outlined the benefits and explained why the timing is now right for many hotels – when just a few years ago, the offerings were still pretty rough. I also provided insights into the challenges of deploying GJS.

More and more hotel software vendors today talk about optimizing the “guest journey.” But what exactly does this mean? What are the benefits to the guest and to the hotel, and should your hotel(s) be looking at these solutions? And if so, how should you evaluate them?

Today’s hospitality market has seen a resurgence in travel demand, but in many ways it’s a much different environment than what existed prior to 2020. For one thing, the cost of labor will begin to rise as hoteliers offer increased wages, benefits and career advancement opportunities to correct chronic staff shortages. Customer demand has also changed, as guests begin to expect higher service levels, more personalization of the guest experience and more widespread adoption of hybrid travel models, such as bleisure trips or short-term rentals.

As the world of travel evolves, meetings and events are changing with it. Although we may not be experiencing a full industry recovery just yet, the global hotel occupancy gap compared to pre-pandemic is quickly closing, with 2022 group business making a comeback and trending only slightly behind 2019 levels.

To answer these questions and help accelerate hospitality’s recovery, Oracle Hospitality partnered with travel industry firm Skift to publish the just-released, global research study, Hospitality in 2025: Automated, Intelligent… And More Personal.