Thailand’s hotel industry is in the second stage of plateauing, following a steep rise in domestic bookings through May and June, according to a new study from Siteminder. 

The study dubbed, From Booming to Privilege: The New Realities for a Hotel Industry in Need of a Reset  SiteMinder’s six-month study of the latest behaviours and preferences of travellers, which concludes that the Five Stages of the Hotel Booking Reset are domestic acceleration, plateauing, flux, embracing, and international acceleration.

According to the five stages, the domestic bookings figures remain stable at around 40% of 2019 levels.

“The question everyone in travel has asked this year is whether the industry will ever completely go back to the way it was, and we know now that in some ways it will, but in many other ways it will differ, perhaps permanently,” says Mike Ford, managing director at SiteMinder. “Our study documents the journey we have all taken so far and the journey we are all taking now, whether we realise it or not.”

SiteMinder’s report outlines the biggest travel trends to have emerged this year, including the dominance of last-minute bookings, and the growing divide between urban areas and less-populated coastal or regional towns which SiteMinder first reported in May. This is seen in Thailand, where YoY booking volumes sit at around 29% in Bangkok, yet are at 38% in Ko Samui.

Other macro trends include the shortening of trip durations and the demand for greater flexibility with ‘free cancellation/booking modification’ ranking as the most important factor for nearly a third of travellers when choosing their accommodation.

“We are living in the Democratised Economy, with neither travel and accommodation providers nor travellers in control. COVID-19 has been the ultimate equaliser,” said Ford. “For now, travel is no longer a booming industry of endless trips that we are able to take for granted. Travel has become a privilege again, which means that the future for every hotel is one of more discerning guests and shorter lead times. Predictable seasonality is over.”