The Guest Experience Economy & Expansion into PropTech

1. Executive Summary

HiLucy operates at the intersection of hospitality technology, AI automation, and the global travel experiences industry — an emerging category McKinsey & Company identifies as “the fastest-growing segment of global travel spend.”

This report validates HiLucy’s $900 billion Total Addressable Market (TAM), defines its Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM) and Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM), and outlines expansion into property management and real estate.

HiLucy’s conversational AI platform is positioned to become the universal digital concierge for hotels, vacation rentals, and beyond — transforming every guest interaction into measurable value.

2. Market Overview

Global Travel and Tourism

Global travel and tourism spending reached $8.6 trillion in 2024, accounting for nearly 9% of global GDP (McKinsey, 2024).

The industry continues to rebound and expand beyond pre-pandemic levels, fueled by travelers seeking authentic experiences, personalization, and seamless digital support throughout their journeys.

The Shift Toward Experiences

According to McKinsey, “experiences” — including tours, dining, cultural activities, and entertainment — now represent the largest and fastest-growing component of travel spending.

Travelers are prioritizing immersive, on-demand activities over traditional spending categories such as airfare or lodging.

This shift has opened a major opportunity for technology providers like HiLucy that enable hotels and property managers to automate guest communication and capture revenue from local experiences.

3. Market Size and Segmentation

The structured portion of the experiences market represents the most accessible segment for HiLucy’s technology — where activities, dining, and events can be instantly booked, automated, and monetized through digital concierge systems.

4. Supporting Industry Data

Experiences Market

The global experiences market is valued at over $3 trillion, encompassing tours, attractions, and activities.

Approximately one-third ($1.1–1.3 trillion) is traveler-driven, with $250–310 billion in structured, bookable activities (McKinsey, 2024).

Culinary & Dining Tourism

The culinary tourism market is valued at $924.8 billion (2024) and projected to grow at a 15.5% compound annual rate, as travelers increasingly seek food-based cultural experiences (The Business Research Company, 2024).

Events and Entertainment

The global events industry exceeded $1.2 trillion in 2024 and continues to grow at nearly 9% annually (The Business Research Company, 2024).

HiLucy’s integration with event booking and promotion provides an additional monetization channel for partner hotels.

Digital Transformation in Hospitality

More than 70% of hotels plan to adopt AI-powered concierge or upselling tools by 2026 (Skift Research, 2024).

This rapid digital adoption signals a long-term structural shift in guest engagement — from human interaction to AI-driven convenience.

5. The Guest Experience Opportunity

HiLucy defines a new sector within the travel economy — the Guest Experience Economy — where hotels, resorts, and rentals monetize the “in-destination” phase of travel through automation.

Market Convergence Model

1. Hospitality Automation – Replaces manual guest-service tasks with AI-driven responsiveness.
   
2. Experience Monetization – Converts guest requests into commissions on activities, dining, and upsells.
   
3. Digital Concierge Ecosystem – Connects guests, staff, and local vendors under one intelligent interface.
   

Together, these layers form a $900B+ opportunity that remains highly fragmented, analog, and ripe for digital transformation.

HiLucy’s value lies in converting conversational intent into revenue — from chat to solution, all with a wink.

6. Market Position and Growth Strategy

HiLucy’s go-to-market strategy begins with structured hospitality partners, using slow, deliberate onboarding to ensure quality integrations and proven ROI before scaling.

Initial Focus (Year 1)

• Boutique hotels (20–60 rooms)
  
• Vacation-rental management firms
  
• On-property upsells: dining, spa, transport, activities
  

Expansion Roadmap

• Year 1: System refinement and integration — ~1 hotel per month.
  
• Years 2–3: Scale to 100+ hospitality partners across the Caribbean, Mexico, and U.S.
  
• Years 4–5: Enterprise deployments with regional hotel groups and property networks.
  

This measured rollout ensures operational excellence and repeatable recurring revenue, creating a strong foundation for scale.

7. Key Takeaways

• The travel experiences market represents a $900B+ global opportunity validated by McKinsey and Phocuswright.
  
• HiLucy targets the structured, serviceable portion (~$300B) with direct monetization potential via subscriptions and commissions.
  
• The AI adoption wave in hospitality is accelerating, with 70% of operators planning implementation by 2026.
  
• HiLucy’s early traction and proven impact position it as a first mover in AI guest automation and hospitality revenue optimization.
  

8. Expansion into Adjacent Emerging Markets

From Hospitality to Property Management

HiLucy’s conversational-AI framework extends seamlessly to property management — where communication, service coordination, and automation are equally valuable.

The global property management software market was valued at $27 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $50 billion by 2030 (Grand View Research, 2024).

By integrating HiLucy, property managers can:

• Automate tenant requests, maintenance, and amenity bookings.
  
• Offer on-demand concierge services (cleaning, deliveries, utilities).
  
• Improve retention and satisfaction through personalized automation.
  

This represents a natural expansion from transient guests to long-term residents, maintaining recurring revenue at scale.

Real Estate and Smart-Living Integration

HiLucy aligns with the PropTech revolution and the rise of smart-living automation.

The global PropTech market is expected to surpass $100 billion by 2032, growing at ~15% CAGR (Fortune Business Insights, 2024).

Integration Opportunities

• AI-powered living assistants in residential developments.
  
• Unified concierge for vacation-rental portfolios and communities.
  
• Smart-building interfaces managing services across mixed-use spaces.
  

By integrating with real estate and PropTech ecosystems, HiLucy expands from a hospitality SaaS into a cross-sector AI infrastructure for living, staying, and renting.

Strategic Implication

Vision: To become the universal digital concierge that powers communication and commerce across hotels, vacation rentals, property management, and real estate.

Expanding into PropTech and property management extends HiLucy’s serviceable market from $300B in hospitality to multi-trillion-dollar ecosystems in housing and urban living — positioning the company for exponential growth and defensibility.

9. Conclusion

The Guest Experience Economy is one of the largest and most under-digitized opportunities in global travel.

HiLucy is positioned at the forefront of this shift, automating human interaction, streamlining communication, and unlocking new revenue for hotels and property operators.

As AI transforms the way people engage with their environments, HiLucy stands ready to redefine how guests, residents, and travelers connect — turning every conversation into a transaction and every stay into an experience.

References

1. McKinsey & Company. Now Boarding: Faces, Places, and Trends Shaping Tourism in 2024.
   
2. McKinsey & Company. The Evolving Role of Experiences in Travel (2024).
   
3. Phocuswright. Global Tours, Activities, and Experiences Market (2024).
   
4. The Business Research Company. Culinary Tourism Global Market Report (2024).
   
5. The Business Research Company. Events Industry Global Market Report (2024).
   
6. Skift Research. Hospitality Tech Trends 2024.
   
7. Grand View Research. Property Management Software Market Size, Share & Trends Report (2024).
   
8. Fortune Business Insights. PropTech Market Size, Share & Trends Report (2024).
   
9. HiLucy Internal Market Modeling (2025).