Over 2020 and 2021 we saw major changes occur within many industries, including the hospitality industry. Online ordering options become the new normal and environmentally friendly packaging continued to grow in popularity. So now that restrictions are starting to ease and we head into 2022, what can we expect? Here are some hospitality trend predictions for 2022 to look out for.
Delivery
During the height of the pandemic, food delivery sales sky rocketed, with some businesses seeing a growth as large as 250% in sales. While this has been a great step forward for some hospitality businesses, others have found limitations with certain types of food that don’t travel so well on the back of bikes or being moved around so much during transit. While this leads to some businesses getting creative with their food packaging and presentation. It doesn’t address the stretch on delivery drivers as home delivery continues to grow in popularity.
Within the USA, some large cities are trialing the use of robots and drones for packaging and food delivery. This is already the norm in parts of Asia and India, and is expected to become a standard in many other countries within years to come.
Online ordering
With the rise of food delivery, came a rise in digital platforms that could provide easy ordering for customers, offering a range of food options located close by. While this was great for customers, it posed a threat to businesses as these digital platforms gained valuable information about customers, and hindered direct conversation between a customer and a business.
Hospitality businesses have reached a point where they must provide online menus and delivery options via multiple food ordering app’s as well as their own website, to stay in the game. Some have even taken it a step further by developing their own online ordering platforms that allow them to communicate directly with their own customers.
Food packaging
Takeaway options for delivery have become a standard part of the hospitality industry. Along with this, there is a growing number of “dinner box” options now becoming available as customers are venturing back into office environments and not always working from home. Studies have shown that customers are most likely going to take food from home to their work place, or purchase food on the way. This allows them to avoid going back out to purchase food during a lunch break, which many are still hesitant to do as they want to avoid the risk of pandemic spikes from crowded spaces etc.
Along with “dinner box” options for lunch, there are also growing options for evening meals. Some businesses are adding to this experience by providing more healthy fast food options, as well as online tutorials with instructions on how best to serve and reheat meals at home.
Sit down service
Throughout the height of the pandemic, if businesses were able to open for service, they were doing so under strict guidelines to cater to things such as social distancing, which meant a limited number of customers at any one time. If a business was able to cater to 30 or so customers, during the pandemic, they could have been limited to half of that at one time. This led to a drop in revenue, so many got creative by introducing minimum order quantities or time restrictions. Most businesses found that this drop in customers actually allowed them to provide more intimate experiences with their customers, along with a less noisy environment. Because of this, as numbered restrictions have eased, some businesses have maintained the smaller numbers. This is predicted to remain the case for many businesses that have seen a rise in returning customers.
New selections
With the lack of travel and experiences available during the pandemic, hospitality businesses saw a rise in customers trying different varieties of food in order to experience something different, while restricted to their homes. It is predicted that customers will continue to turn to local hospitality businesses for this in the future as well, thanks to the rise of social platforms such as tiktok and influencers sharing their own experiences that prompt others to want to try it for themselves. To cater to this new need, businesses are introducing new ingredients and menu options from time to time, in an effort to keep their customers entertained and coming back.
