We certainly do not need to inform you that the COVID-19 pandemic has shaken up the travel sector. But despite all of the pandemic’s negative consequences, this odd season has motivated many hoteliers to take the leap into new technologies that will enhance guest stays in 2021 and beyond.
According to recent research conducted by Amadeus, people are happy to travel again, with 75 percent of survey respondents saying they would travel within only 3 months of loosened restrictions. Although a lot of those travelers may feel nostalgic about the world” before,” the data indicates that travelers expect technology to help them to reduce physical touchpoints, promote social distancing, and much more.
Actually, 84 percent of respondents stated technology would make them feel more confident that they can stay safe and healthy on the road. In this guide, we will explain five important areas where hoteliers can implement technology to provide guests a warm welcome into the”new normal.” By the end of this post, you will have a solid idea of guest expectations and fascinating innovations that have come in the travel and technology space.
Staff Collaboration Tools Help Improve Team Performance at Reduced Staffing Levels
If guests believe their fellow friends or relative did not wash their hands prior to pushing elevator buttons or opening doors, then your staff will need to go above and beyond to keep your house clean. You will want to do anything you can to prevent housekeeping accidents that could break guest confidence on the hota, and a crucial component of success is staying organized and preventing issues in communication between employees.Staff collaboration tools make teamwork a easy – even with the people who work on different shifts or in different locations. Software such as Amadeus gives hotel managers and workers the capacity to log maintenance problems, centralize housekeeping requests, record guest preferences, and much more. To have the ability to log and speak with housekeeping, bell and engineering in this way is excellent,” a Resort Activities Manager at Rancho Palos Verdes told Hotel Tech Report. Collaboration tools such as HotSOS not only decrease communication lags and possible friction between sections, but they are able to improve the guest experience by assisting staff provide quicker and more accurate service.
Use Client Messaging to Communicate
Compliance and Security Local health constraints are changing regularly, and today’s traveler needs to remain in the know – and they have to get information from a reliable source, like from their resort. Hoteliers are employing client messaging programs such as Amadeus GMS to communicate quickly changing regulations and standards with guests. 42 percent of respondents even state that technology that offers on-trip updates to local outbreaks and guidelines could make them more confident about travel.If you’re contemplating adding a GMS to your hotel’s tech stack, you don’t have any shortage of choices.Through client messaging platforms, you are able to communicate with guests through their preferred method like whatsapp and facebook. Some guests prefer email, but others prefer text messages. Besides, you can set up automatic messages which will free up your employees’ time when increasing guest engagement.
Ditch Guest Room Phones for Smart Assistants
Hotel guest room telephones have been dying out for many years and the advent of smart assistants such as Google Echo and Amazon Alexa hastened their decline. Why? According to the Amadeus research, 61 percent of travelers want to use voice helper technology if current in their rooms. Hotels and bigger groups such as Viceroy are welcoming guests back to resorts by eliminating in-room telephones and permitting them to order through the exact technologies they are using at homes such as mobile programs and smart speakers. Wise assistants powered by applications like Volara are preprogrammed to control every aspect of the in-room guest experience moving far beyond the capacities of in-room phones without adding substantial price.
“The reality is whatever you can do to limit direct contact with different people as well as our own environment is part of widespread change in private behaviors. Guests no longer wish to need to touch the remote control or use the guest room phone to generate service requests. If a guest has forgotten toiletries or wants to report maintenance issues for example, or even play music, see displays, set alerts, or request more towels, they will want to do this in a contactless manner. Possessing the ability to just ask an in-room voice assistant to help fulfill specific requests and tastes will be a chance to improve guest Loyalty,” states Volara CEO Dave Berger in an interview on the Amadeus blog.
Eliminating Lobby Crowds with Contactless Check-In
Like with contactless ordering, offering a contactless way for visitors to check into your resort is the welcoming touch that each and every traveler wants nowadays. Amadeus’ research indicates that 62 percent of travelers would rather manage check-in and check-out through a program, so hoteliers which don’t yet have a tech solution for contactless check-in are making it a priority to implement one. Both guests and workers enjoy peace of mind when they do not need to swap physical credit cards, IDs, registration cards, and pens.”There are a variety of ways that the PMS can become an integral part of the new guest experience. First, innovative two-way integrations with other supporting systems (CRS for example) will allow for synchronized data across platforms to capture and create data actionable information coming from new programs. Second, many PMS methods offer simple and robust integrations with countless third-party systems to make the implementation of new mobile services and tools easy and painless. Ultimately, some PMS systems provide open APIs, making it feasible to integrate with custom internal programs. Besides just providing a solution for check-in without physical contact, contactless check-in applications can customize the guest experience further by providing upgrades and add-ons which may cause incremental revenue.–As we have learned during the pandemic, guest tastes and expectations are changing quickly. COVID-19 ushered a new wave of contactless technology and efficacy driving applications into the hotel market. As we prepare for a traveling rally, hoteliers continue to be in a prime position to maximize their tech stacks to make sure they have the ability to capture and optimize on new business opportunities. Every aspect of the guest experience has been reimagined with the innovative use of technologies from booking to check out. Let market information like this Amadeus study and the demands of your own guests direct your technology choices and set your resort up for success in 2021.
