When Travel Trends Meet the 2027 Hotel Budget

As hotels move into budgeting and business planning for 2027, much of the conversation naturally revolves around the numbers.

RevPAR, occupancy, ADR, costs and margins need to be forecast. But alongside those metrics, there is another question that deserves just as much attention:

I recently read Accor and Globetrender's Experiential Travel Trends report, and one of the shifts that stood out to me is how travel continues to move beyond simply choosing a destination or a hotel product. Increasingly, travellers are looking for experiences that reflect how they want to feel, what they want to achieve and even who they want to be during their time away.

One particularly interesting finding is that 25% of respondents said they would like to be able to begin their travel search based on their mood rather than on a specific destination.

At first glance, this might sound like a consumer trend. For hotels, however, it is very much a commercial question.

For years, hotels have become increasingly sophisticated at selling destinations. We understand the importance of location, local experiences and destination storytelling.

But what happens when the starting point for the guest is no longer simply “Where do I want to go?” but instead:

Perhaps the guest wants to reconnect with their family. Reset after an intense period at work. Feel healthier. Be inspired. Celebrate. Have an adventure. Or simply switch off completely.

The destination still matters, of course, but it becomes part of a broader motivation.

And that has implications across the commercial strategy of a hotel.

If guests increasingly choose hotels according to the experience or feeling they are looking for, hotels need to consider what that means for their positioning and proposition. Is it immediately clear what type of stay you offer and why someone should choose you rather than another hotel in the same destination?

Hotel websites and social channels have traditionally focused heavily on rooms, facilities and location. The opportunity is to communicate more clearly what guests can actually experience and feel during their stay.

Instead of simply combining a room with dinner or spa access, hotels can build propositions around specific guest intentions and occasions.

These should not necessarily be viewed as separate departments or additional services, but as elements of the overall guest experience — and potential drivers of both differentiation and revenue.

If travellers increasingly search according to interests, intentions and moods, hotels need to think about where and how they become discoverable before a guest has decided on a destination.

Which initiatives will genuinely strengthen the reason for choosing the hotel, and which investments simply maintain what already exists?

Trend reports can easily end up in the inspiration pile.

The more interesting work begins when we ask:

As 2027 budgets take shape, it is worth looking beyond the question of what RevPAR we expect to achieve.

We should also be asking what will create that RevPAR in the first place.

What will make the guest notice us, understand us and ultimately choose us?

Because the strongest hotel budgets are not only financial forecasts. They should reflect a clear view of where demand is moving, what tomorrow's guest will value and where the hotel has the greatest commercial opportunities.

This is exactly the type of work I enjoy doing with hotel owners and management teams: translating changes in markets and guest behaviour into commercial priorities, decisions and concrete initiatives.