Technology plays a huge role in our everyday lives. It has also become integrated into the daily operations of hotel management. As hotels reopen and work toward full occupancy (while following local, state and national reopening guidelines in light of COVID-19), technology has become more important than ever, and it will play a key role in recovery.
Hotel technology can be leveraged across all departments to enhance guest experience, streamline operations, manage post COVID-19 protocols, and improve communication between staff and guests. Here are 5 reasons why you should be using technology in hotel management.
Guests Want Convenience
Guests want the check-in experience to be quick and painless. Most airports allow you to check in online or go to kiosks where passengers can do it themselves and print out baggage tags without needing staff help. In many fast-food restaurants, you can place your orders and pay via a tablet or kiosk. In cinemas, you can buy or collect tickets at a digital kiosk.
Guests want that same kind of seamless, technology-driven, contactless experience in the hotel industry, especially as contactless hospitality becomes more and more prevalent. Whether it’s checking in at an automated kiosk by scanning a QR code or ordering room service on a tablet, there’s no need to stand in a queue or have to leave your room to order food. Hotel guests want an easy and smooth experience. Technology allows this to happen in the hospitality industry.
Enable Your Guests to Access Information and Make Requests — On Their Terms
People crave convenience and hotel guests are no different. They want everything to be easy and within a metaphorical arm’s reach. Many hotels have created a Guest App where guests are provided with useful information such as nearby entertainment venues, restaurants, bars, medical facilities and more inside an app. Guest Messaging also allows guests to connect with the hotel through SMS messages.
Improve Communication
Technology is essential for facilitating communication – especially within the hospitality and tourism industry where many businesses are large and dispersed. Sophisticated communication platforms are used by many hotels to allow different departments and members of staff to stay connected and respond to guest requests more efficiently.
For example, Servr allows all of your hotel’s departments and operations to stay connected with a single platform. By providing a way for all of your staff to stay on the same page and be able to track guest requests, your hotel can run a lot more smoothly.
And it’s not just for communication between your team either. Platforms like Servr can help improve the guest experience too by making it easier to access all of the information they might need. Guests can access reservation details, restaurant and bar opening times and room service via text message or by an app – which is easier and saves time.
Enable Your Staff to Provide Superior Service
A great guest experience keeps customers coming back and a bad one can deter them for life. Technology can help improve the guest experience by enabling staff to deliver exceptional service.
Many hotels have systems where a guest’s preferences and notes have been automatically saved (where they ate during their last stay, that they prefer extra pillows, etc.) so when guests stay at the same hotel, staff can accommodate them appropriately. It’s touches of personalization like this in hotel management that make the experience much better for guests.
Hotel Technology is Expected
Unless your hotel is supposed to be a remote getaway, perfect for people taking a break from our always-connected-society, technology is essential. Guests walk into hotels and expect strong, reliable WiFi. If you can offer something that can make their stay more convenient, seamless and effortless…that’s even better. You’re sure to greatly boost their guest experience, making them want to return and/or recommend you to the world- which is exactly what you should aim for.
Hotel management companies and developers need to be embracing new and interesting technological ideas if they want to stay relevant, and if they want to operate efficiently post COVID-19. Technology has opened up a world of opportunities that hotels can take advantage of to make their brand really stick in consumers’ minds and forge paths that can lead to positive growth in the industry.
