By Audrey MacRae, Vice President of Maestro - 3.25.2025
Business travel has not experienced a typical path to recovery post-COVID, but the industry’s focus on leisure travelers will be tested as it increases. In January, the U.S. Travel Association forecasted a 4 percent increase in business travel spending throughout 2025, reaching a total of $316 billion amid the continued return of large-volume events and domestic travel. Independent hoteliers should focus on these trends as they prepare to accommodate a rise in business travelers after serving so many leisure guests, starting with a strong foundation in their property-management system.
While on the road for work, travelers expect greater levels of personalization, consistent communication, updates from the property, and a simple approach to payment processing, so they are always prepared to accommodate all purchases. These travelers are often in a hurry, either to get to their next meeting or to reach their room for some much-needed downtime. Considering these factors, independent hotel operators need access to a fully equipped, all-in-one PMS designed to consolidate all their necessary modules in one place to serve the needs of business travelers.
When supported by simple integrations, hotels can leverage the same capabilities used to exceed leisure travelers’ expectations to elevate the wow factor of their experience. Here are a few ways an all-in-one PMS is helping elevate independent hotel operations and exceed business travelers’ expectations:
Direct Service and Personalization
The ability to deliver a touchless, mobile guest journey is not lost on business travelers. Business travelers are often engaged in high-touch personal interactions all day and may benefit from the option to self-serve their experience from a personal device. They are often intentional with the touchpoints they use on property. When they want to skip the front desk and use contactless check-in, the experience should work without any frills. When they want to interact with someone at the front desk, the hotel should be prepared to offer a high-touch experience.
These are some of the most effective ways hotels can provide a high-level arrival experience today, and business travelers are looking for them wherever possible. While trying to meet these needs sounds unpredictable, so is travel these days. Late flights, road construction, new development, missed connections–all of these are outside of your property’s control, but your ability to help your guest to their destination can make or break their first impression of their stay. Hoteliers are erring on the side of caution by adopting mobile PMS platforms so their operations team can be anywhere on property and still equipped to improve or adjust the guest experience.
Hotels can also leverage kiosks to help smooth the arrival process, reduce traffic at the front desk, and allow for more positive interactions with guests when they are settled in. Since more guests are avoiding the front desk on arrival and using mobile check-in or kiosk options, hotel teams should be able to instantly push updated information to business travelers through SMS so they know when their room is ready, provide updates on maintenance requests, and more.
Adaptation
If your guests are mobile and accessing their room on the go, so should your operations team. PMS operations should be optimized to take day-to-day operational pressure off staff and management, keeping hotel employees up to date with current information and able to offer digital registration cards to guests on the fly.
Independent hotels can benefit from generating single guest itineraries to update business travelers on their complete stay experience and any changes made at a moment’s notice. Single guest itineraries include everything guests request at booking, including arrival packages, purchased amenities, or other services. Each element is tracked and aligned with one account, allowing hotels with robust all-in-one PMS capabilities to access everything associated with the guest on one platform. This allows hotel leaders to keep business travelers updated within a moment’s notice of changes or alterations to their stay, as well as new packages or options.
Independent hoteliers anticipating increased business travel should investigate all-in-one PMS providers who offer simple integrations, allowing operators to quickly adapt to changing business needs and take on new capabilities.
Simplification
In fact, simplification is the name of the game for guests and operators alike, particularly for business travelers. Road warriors often use specific charge cards for expenses and other needs, so it is essential for hotels to have access to a robust yet simple payment-processing system to facilitate these payments. The most efficient payment systems on the market today are embedded directly into the hotel PMS, creating the most secure and efficient transaction environment that allows guests to easily track their payments and receipts.
Independent hotels rely on their unique attributes to attract guests, and with such variation between properties, it’s ideal for their properties to be powered by an all-in-one PMS designed to tailor their payment solution strategy to their unique requirements. This could include support for multiple hotel services such as golf courses, spas, or entertainment options, as well as multiple payment methods or currencies. Embedded payment providers allow independent hotels to scale their payment processing capabilities as their property adjusts its offerings and operating strategy throughout the year. These efficiencies allow independents to maximize their potential revenue per guest alongside a transparent pricing structure.
If independent hotels can consolidate their operations, communications, and payment processing into the PMS, they will have all the tools necessary to exceed expectations throughout 2025. When supported by an all-in-one PMS, independents can alleviate business travelers’ most significant travel grievances and establish their properties as ideal meeting destinations based on service, preparedness, and the unique experience all independents strive to provide.
Audrey MacRae is the Vice President of Maestro, the preferred cloud and on-premises PMS solution for independent hotels, luxury resorts, conference centers, vacation rentals, and multi-property groups. Maestro was first to market with a fully integrated Windows PMS and Sales & Catering solution and is continuing that trend with leading edge web and mobile based solutions encompassing all aspects of the operation. Platform and deployment independence present Maestro as an investment that will continue to grow and adapt as innovative technologies emerge.
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