When we consider the traditional hotel guest experience, a guest would enter and directly approach the hotel’s lobby, be greeted by the reception, and proceed to go through the check-in process. The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a catalyst for the digital transformation of the overall hospitality industry, accelerating the industry to adapt to the new normal. Now, in 2021 hoteliers are much more aware of the constantly changing needs of the customer, pushing for a more seamless and secure guest experience.
Hospitality lagged behind the global commerce ecosystem in terms of payment technologies before the pandemic. Hoteliers can now offer visitors an overall improved guest experience, remain competitive, and give the digitally savvy travellers a full digital offering thanks to their quick adaptation to the digital revolution and the growth of contactless technology.
Reimagining the guest experience through seamless digital interactions
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hospitality sector is currently implementing fewer contact points to reorganise how public areas are used and more innovative sanitization protocols.
Guests are having a better journey overall because of the recently implemented protocols. Today, it is critical for hoteliers to provide guests a more seamless digital experience during their whole stay, enabling quick and efficient check-ins and check-outs as well as an overall easy and stress-free journey. Hotels must comprehend every step of the guest’s journey in order to avoid the moments at which human contact can be completely replaced by technology and offer a real contactless experience. Hotels must adequately adapt to the ever changing compliance requirements, payment methods, and consumer trends.
It’s crucial for visitors to have an outstanding digital experience throughout the hotel, thus it’s crucial to be able to combine key digital facilities with conventional human services. This can aid in upholding hotel standards and in providing a better understanding of how guests behave during all crucial phases of their journey.
Keyless Check-ins
With the quick advancement of technology, visitors are beginning to appreciate the simplicity of doing their own check-in. In terms of visitor satisfaction ratings, keyless entry results in an average rise of 7%, according to research from Openkey. Additionally, keyless check-in increases hotel operational efficiency by saving staff time and effort and allowing customers to receive documents and on-site incentives prior to their arrival.
Personalising the guest journey
The digital transformation of the hospitality sector has made it simpler to engage directly with customers and personalise their experiences. This has created limitless opportunities for direct communication in both directions. Guests will be enabled by a personalized experience.
Almost all applications of automation that are made from an operational standpoint are to the benefit of hotel visitors. When hoteliers automate how their establishment receives customer feedback or requests, this enables the establishment to make the necessary adjustments to its operations, address a problem that has been reported by customers, or even fulfil a request that has been made. The main advantage for guests will be that automation will make their experience more efficient and seamless, ensuring that their needs are met promptly. From an operational standpoint, this is also advantageous.
