Dissecting the Smart Hospitality Market

This Research Highlight provides device shipment forecasts in the smart hospitality market and and key guidance for ecosystem players.

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Market Overview

  • Growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 23.5%, the total number of smart hospitality (hoteliers and Short-Term Rental (STR) operators) and coworking device shipments on the market will increase from 6.9 million units in 2022 to 19.7 million in 2027.
  • The short-term rental hospitality segment should be considered the most promising opportunity to use consumer smart home devices, with strong adoption already seen in North America and Western Europe.
  • Compared to the 6.5 million and 1.5 million smart devices that will ship in 2027 for the smart hotel room and coworking space markets, respectively, 11.7 million smart devices will ship in the short-term rental market that year.
  • Smart hospitality adoption will mainly be fueled by occupancy sensing, smart door locks, and energy savings (e.g., smart lighting and smart thermostats).
  • In 2027, ABI Research expects more than 4 million smart lighting shipments, 3.9 million smart door lock shipments, and almost 5 million contact/motion sensor shipments.

For a breakdown of which smart hospitality technologies will dominate each market segment, download ABI Research’s Smart Hospitality and Coworking Spaces research report.

“From a smart home device and service provider point of view, it is key to understand that these markets are Business-to-Business (B2B) markets. The smart home market has been driven by the opportunity for bulk sales in a Business-to-Consumer (B2C) setting. Capturing the smart hospitality market to varying degrees requires the ability to deliver enterprise-grade devices capable of being swiftly integrated and easily managed as a fleet across buildings and across a portfolio installed base.”  – Jonathan Collins, Research Director at ABI Research

 

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Key Decision Items

Hospitality Operators Save Money, while Improving the Guest Experience

The two key market opportunities of smart devices for hospitality operators are operating efficiencies and guest room amenities. For starters, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) or Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled smart room locks allow hospitality operators to track occupancy data and record time stamps to see who is accessing the room. Additionally, smart door locks provide easy check-ins for hotel and short-term rental guests.

Furthermore, devices, such as occupancy sensors and smart thermostats, enable hospitality operators to control Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) costs as they detect unoccupied rooms and automatically provide an optimal room temperature. On top of that, smart lighting and smart shades enable hospitality operators to save on energy costs because room lights are turned off when nobody is around and window shades are automatically opened during peak solar schedules.

At the same time, hotel and short-term rental customers appreciate greater control of their rooms, personalization features, and the convenience of simplified stays. For the latter, an example would be voice control in smart speakers to request guest services like booking dinner or concierge services.

Incorporate Simplified Check-in for Guests

In a new study from Oracle and Skift, it was reported that 73% of travelers have a preference for hotels that provide self-service solutions. Indeed, the future of hospitality is frictionless. For hotels that provide contactless check-in, such as with a mobile device, customers will be delighted with not having to wait in line. Besides the convenience factor, guests also won’t have to worry about exposure to COVID-19 via physical interactions with staff. Several marketing angles for smart hospitality can emphasize frictionless stays and notably loyalty programs.

Short-term rental owners and guests can also benefit from smart lock solutions, as evidenced by the contactless check-in solutions provided by Airbnb.

Smart Hospitality Technologies Help Adhere to Environmental Regulations

As regulation is increasingly introduced to the hotel industry, smart devices are key to following these rules. For example, hotels and motels in California must have the following solutions in order to meet energy code requirements:

  • Captive card key controls
  • Occupancy sensing controls
  • Automatic power switching controls after the guest room is vacated

To simplify the process of standardizing smart hotel/motel room environmental regulation, some companies have turned to the globally recognized International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS). In the future, ABI Research anticipates similar sustainability regulations in other world markets, making smart hospitality technologies a requirement.

Smart Door Locks Dominate the Short-Term Rental Segment

While the short-term rental segment, like hoteliers, is a beneficiary of enhanced energy management and cost savings, smart door locks take center stage in this hospitality space. Once a strictly peer-to-peer industry, short-term rental now increasingly involves third-party contractors and platforms for property management. Smart locks—typically a Wi-Fi-connected keypad lock—make accessibility much easier for all stakeholders, negating the need for in-person key exchange. That way, hospitality guests, maintenance personnel, security teams, and property managers can enter the home or other areas of the property in a secure and convenient manner.

On a broader scale, the prevalence of smart door locks for hospitality is in line with the overall theme of short-term rental owners focusing on access control. Further evidence is the fact that access control devices, such as video cameras and smart doorbells, will also be shipped in significant quantities in the STR market through 2027 (1.3 million shipments in 2027).

Benefits of Smart Devices for Coworking Space Owners

Just like hospitality managers and real estate operators, coworking space owners are faced with energy and environmental pressures. To solve this, smart infrastructure can optimize energy consumption, the physical office layout, and resource utilization. Moreover, smart locks provide access control flexibility to an extent not usually found in traditional office real estate. Of course, coworking spaces can also leverage similar smart device solutions found in other deployments, such as connected security and HVAC systems, smart lighting sensors for electricity cost savings, and occupancy sensors for mitigating health hazards or deciding when to schedule room cleaning.

Connect Smart Devices with Management Platforms

Below is a brief summary of the centralized cloud-based platforms that are used in each smart hospitality/coworking space that ABI Research has covered.

  • Smart Hotel Rooms: Generally speaking, smart room control requires a Guest Room Management System (GRMS)-capable platform that can integrate with the commercial Building Management System (BMS). These data-driven platforms often include Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) features that enable near real-time response to property demands. So far, this market has been driven mostly by prospective energy-efficient savings—as much as 30% energy consumption reduction. Companies like Honeywell, SensorFlow, GuestTek, and others have provided platforms tailored to energy management.
  • Short-Term Rental: A large number of platforms, such as Guesty, Hostfully, and many more, automate the complexity of property management, leasing, and guest communications. For smart hospitality device management, property owners can look into brands such as Operto, Minut, SALTO, PointCentral, and others to connect smart thermostats, smart door locks, sensors, and security devices to the Property Management System (PMS). Some integrate with Airbnb, Guesty, and similar rental platforms.
  • Coworking Spaces: The systems that combine common coworking platform functions, such as calendars and community communications, with smart device management veer on the side of specialization. Through integration with other management tools, platforms from WeWork, Cobot, Optix, OfficeRnD, and Nexedus, as well as others, support smart device oversight. Still, other companies like Latch and Kisi offer platforms connected to their own smart lock hardware.

Key Market Players to Watch

Dig Deeper for the Full Picture

Gain a better understanding of the current smart hospitality and coworking space market, such as a segmented analysis, demands, strategic partnerships, enabling devices and supporting applications, and unique demands, by downloading the report today.

Not ready for the report yet? Check out our The Technologies Underpinning Smart Hotel Rooms blog post. This research is part of ABI Research’s Smart Homes & Buildings Research Service.

Report on smart hospitality and coworking spaces, including smart home devices and revenue=generating strategies for hoteliers, vacation rental owners, and office operators..