Smart Hotel Operations with IoT Technology

Travel & Hospitality Tech Outlook | Wednesday, August 07, 2019

Hotels that embrace the IoT can utilize technology to build brand loyalty, improve customer engagement, secure operate cost-effectively, and drive business growth.

FREMONT, CA: Today, people welcome the Internet of Things (IoT) in their homes by connecting everything from TVs, phones, security systems to lighting, thermostats, and coffee makers. With homes being smart, people also expect the same astuteness in their hotel rooms, making IoT the next big prospect for the hospitality industry.

To keep up the pace with rising consumer expectations, an increasing number of hotels are setting up IoT solutions that do far more than merely data collection. Hotel brands have started using devices, sensors, analytics, networks, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), and other technologies to improve engagement, customer experience, energy efficiency, information security, and cost savings, to increase their business revenue.

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Many resorts are using applications to create interactive experiences that let visitors overlay themselves into a treasure hunt so that they can explore the property better. In a few hotels, the systems are being enhanced with biometrics and facial recognition, so the staff can customize interactions by welcoming the newcomers and thanking the frequent customers to the service. The types of tailored human exchanges form the core of the hospitality industry.

Here are a few reasons why it essential for hotels to mull over IoT solutions.

Enhance Customer Experience

Customers today live a digital way of life, and many want the inns they frequent to employ similar advanced technologies. An increasing number of hotels facilitate guests to handle much of their stay via their smartphones. Visitors use their smart devices to check in and out. Additionally, guests also utilize mobile applications to do everything from picking up a particular room on the specific floor to keeping a check on their room service order.

Some IoT advances allow guests to use their room TVs or devices to control a selection of features, containing the control of their room’s lights and HVAC. The solutions also keep the hotel’s cleaning staff at alert once a guest has checked out, thereby advancing the process of making the room ready for the next visitor.

Eliminate Pain Points with Asset Tracking

IoT solutions can help resorts and hotels administer inventory and assets in real-time. In addition to saving money, businesses can use IoT to resolve some long-term dissatisfaction for both staff and guests. Connected asset trackers located on outdoor and indoor equipment speed up the course of finding required devices and machinery, eliminating or shortening wait times for central items like luggage carts.

Save Money and Time with Energy-Efficient Characteristics

When it comes to competence, the IoT is a pivotal solution. Connected services like air-quality monitoring, water-leak detection, and prognostic maintenance of equipment can recognize the problems and fix them before they influence a guest’s stay. Occupancy sensors and smart lighting can automatically switch off TVs and turn off the lights when visitors leave their hotel rooms. The sensors furthermore have the aptitude to support sustainability initiatives and control energy consumption, while providing insights and data that can help hotels function more cost-effectively.

Bring in Digital Solutions for VIPs

VIPs do not usually like waiting in long queues when attending weddings, conferences, and other events at hotels. IoT can change the norm with biometric tokens that support queue management algorithms, facial recognition, and predictive analytics. Such methods streamline badge verification processes and registration, while still protecting personal information.

Hotels that embrace the IoT can use the technology to build brand loyalty, improve customer engagement, make employees more secure and productive, secure operate cost-effectively, and drive business growth. Ultimately, the Internet of Things can lend a hand to the hotel industry to carrying out its mission of offering visitors a place that feels like home.

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