Guests have traditionally viewed hotels as a place to sleep, but the industry is evolving to offer much more. Especially in the lifestyle and luxury sectors, hotels are now focusing on providing a complete guest experience.
This includes enhanced food and beverage offerings, innovative wellness concepts, broader entertainment options and sophisticated co-working spaces.
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The goal is to engage both guests and locals, creating hotel destinations that foster community, connectivity and collaboration. However, what happens when guests are not physically staying at a hotel? This is where the metaverse comes in.
Bridging the gap with the metaverse
The metaverse is a virtual universe where people can interact with each other and digital objects in a three-dimensional environment. Hotel companies are beginning to realise the potential of the metaverse as a means to connect with guests even when they are not physically present at their properties.
By using the metaverse, hotels can expand their brand reach, deepen guest loyalty and drive revenue.
The metaverse offers a unique opportunity for hotels to create a place where people can connect and collaborate on a regular basis. Instead of episodic stays at physical properties, the metaverse can provide a platform for shared experiences such as concerts, conferences, trade shows and networking events.
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By GlobalDataFor example, CitizenM announced plans to develop a hotel in the metaverse to offer these shared experiences.
A sense of connection
The immersive nature of the metaverse allows guests to explore a hotel virtually and experience its offerings. They can walk through a virtual lobby, browse virtual shops, visit art galleries and enjoy other amenities.
Guests can interact with other avatars, socialising at a virtual bar or seeking recommendations from a virtual concierge. This immersive experience, along with commercial and partnership opportunities, helps foster a sense of connection among metaverse guests and a better understanding of the hotel’s value proposition.
Key considerations for hotels
While the metaverse presents exciting possibilities, there are several considerations that hotels must address when establishing a presence in this virtual world:
- Investment: Creating engaging, interactive and useful content for the metaverse requires significant human and capital resources. Hotels must exceed guest expectations and shape their metaverse content based on their understanding of guest needs in the physical world.
- Integration: Hotels need to integrate their presence in the metaverse with their physical locations. Both virtual and physical strategies should be supported with an integrated approach across events, amenities, loyalty programmes and the entire guest experience.
- Security: Establishing a presence in the metaverse requires collecting and maintaining guest data, which presents cybersecurity risks. Hotels must invest in cybersecurity and monitoring to protect guest information and maintain trust and loyalty.
- Location: Just as in the physical world, location matters in the metaverse. Hotels should consider accessibility, demographics, branding consistency and cost when selecting a virtual location. The fragmented nature of the metaverse makes location considerations challenging.
- Revenue: Hotels need to determine what elements of the virtual experience should be free and what should be charged for. Pricing models may include membership fees, pay-as-you-go options or a combination, depending on the hotel’s revenue generation goals.
The potential of the metaverse
Establishing a presence in the metaverse offers endless possibilities for hotels. It allows them to optimise virtual venues alongside their physical locations, creating communities and opportunities for connection and collaboration.
By leveraging the metaverse, hotels can drive deeper guest engagement, satisfaction and loyalty, expanding their brand reach and creating a more resilient operating model.
