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Embracing Digital Advancements for an Enhanced Guest Experience

Travel & Hospitality Tech Outlook | Friday, February 23, 2024

The digital transformation of hotels, including contactless services, chatbots, VR, AR, and robots, is reshaping the guest experience for greater efficiency and personalisation in the hospitality sector.

FREMONT, CA: The prevailing reality for a significant portion of the population involves digital engagement with the world. Embracing cutting-edge technological advancements has become paramount in providing guests with an unparalleled experience. As consumers increasingly engage with the world through digital platforms, the hospitality sector must adapt to meet these changing expectations. This includes using mobile apps to order goods and services and conducting remote, seamless payments.

Advancement in Hotels

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Many touchless and remote technologies are already routinely used by consumers. The digitalisation of public services for taxation, health, social security, and many other points of contact with citizens has also been a priority for governments. Digitalisation offers efficiency, cost savings, and user-friendliness, and its ripple effects have reached the hospitality sector through the emergence of smart hotels.

Some hotels allow the completion of the full visitor experience entirely online, occasionally without direct interaction with hotel workers. A prospective guest can go through a hotel's website, possibly with help from a chatbot, make their decision and register, receive automated confirmations and other messages from the hotel, and then show up on the scheduled arrival date and enjoy self-check-in and keyless entrance to their room.

Digital technologies used during the stay enable constant communication and feedback between the hotel and the visitor and a seamless check-out and payment process at the end of the stay. This does not imply that hotel staff is not required or is not present. Instead of being linked to mundane tasks (which, in any event, operate more smoothly and dependably when they are automated), they are more effectively used in interpersonal interactions and improving the visitor experience. These current trends, when recognised and implemented, provide the hotel with a clear competitive edge.

Digitalising for Enhanced Guest Experience

Chatbots Help Guests Make Decisions

Visitors prefer to look up hotels at their convenience, which isn't necessarily during regular business hours. A helpful chatbot that typically appears as a pop-up 'widget' on the website will respond to a range of FAQs to the point where it can assist a visitor in making a booking decision.

Due to the increased use of artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI using ChatGPT, the chatbot repertoire has significantly increased recently. This has led to more conversational messaging, giving the bot more freedom to recommend additional services and offers and gather more data from potential guests. The use of chatbots in hotels is growing, especially now that AI models are easily accessible. Currently, most hotels rely on text-based systems where the guest and bot engage in a written discussion.

In general, chatbots have the significant benefit of being able to "understand" a multitude of languages, allowing visitors to communicate in their own language. This prevents hotel workers from misinterpreting requests, and chatbots free up a lot of staff time by handling routine, straightforward questions.

Enhancing Communication

Automated messages for confirmation, welcome, and check-in can be delivered, and once a guest is staying, they can be informed of special events and deals. Even after their stay, the conversation may automatically carry on with them. For instance, a request for a review on social media, the hotel's website, or an OTA can be made. Positive evaluations play a significant role in influencing other prospective customers to visit a hotel's website and become interested in it.

Contactless Services

In contactless check-in (and check-out), front desk staff is not required to input guest details into the system. This will include payment information and the option to settle the total billing without physical touch. Customers increasingly want smooth operation, and hotels that cannot provide it are rapidly falling behind. The implications of contactless check-in highlight visitors more freely arriving when they choose to. If the solution includes keyless access to rooms, then this liberates them further.

VR and AR, The New Normal

The rise of chatbots, highly automated property management systems, and the imminent adoption of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) represent a significant shift in the hotel industry, currently led by large chains but soon to become mainstream. This transition is driven by the effectiveness of these technologies as marketing tools.

VR enables prospective guests to explore a hotel, fostering a deep connection with its ambience and amenities, ultimately influencing their booking decisions. On the other hand, AR enhances the in-stay experience by providing real-time, localised information on special offers and events, encouraging upselling and personalising the guest experience. In essence, these technologies are poised to become the new norm due to their compelling marketing and guest engagement capabilities.

Robots in Place

Chatbots and applications can be considered robots, but using actual mechanical robot devices is a growing technology trend in the hospitality sector. Robotic household vacuum cleaners are widely known, and it makes sense to use them to maintain the highest standards of hygiene as they can be precisely set to coincide with visitors' and hotel staff members' schedules.

Robots are highly productive and don't always replace human cleaners, hence, individuals can focus on completing other tasks more effectively. Robots will become more prevalent in hotels, initially for room service and cleaning. In the hospitality sector, giving employees extra time to interact always has a positive impact.

By embracing these emerging trends, the hospitality industry is poised to create a future where guest experiences are richer, more sustainable, and tailored than ever before, setting the stage for a dynamic and exciting era of travel.

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