Last updated on December 26th, 2022 at 04:53 pm
With the onslaught of the pandemic, what changed is not whether travelers would like to travel or not but how they would like to do it. From enhanced tech-savvy experiences to contactless check-in through hotel reservation software, customer expectations have changed since covid. Hotels have been staying abreast of these changes through technological advancements.
According to a survey by Statista, 73% of travelers expect accommodations to implement newer technologies to make their stay safe during Covid 19. The importance of technology is immense in the hospitality industry as it benefits both customers and hoteliers through advances in the reservation, automated operations, and improved guest experiences.
This article will put forward five reasons why technology is important in Hospitality to show how it has greatly benefitted hoteliers worldwide.
Why is technology important in Hospitality?
- Simplified operations with Hotel Reservation Software
Traditional reservation models have been replaced by reservation software for hotels that optimize hotel booking operations, bring maximum revenue, and improve customer experience.
Hotel reservation software also helps hotels with a wealth of customer data that hotels can use to solidify their marketing strategies and offer more personalized experiences, promotional offers, and discounts to customers. Therefore, hotel reservation software will help you ensure you are offering the best to your guests and simplify your reservation processes, giving you a competitive edge simultaneously.
- Going contactless
Hygiene has been incorporated blatantly into the hospitality industry since the pandemic, ensuring customer safety at all touchpoints in every way possible. Implementation of contactless technology such as in-room technology, self-check-in, mobile keys, and digital payments increased magnificently during the time of the pandemic and is estimated to rise by the next decade. According to Statista, 97% of hotels have already implemented sanitizer stations around their hotel premises.
With customers becoming more conscious of their hygiene and looking for touchless, purely technology-based bookings, communications, and reservations, technology has helped hoteliers meet customer expectations.
With AI-enabled chatbots, smart reservation software, mobile check-ins, and keyless entry in hotels, guest prefer reduced human interactions and smart self-service options that make their stay comfortable and memorable. These technologies have reduced the need for human staff and taken the burden off front-end and housekeeping tasks. They can instead focus on other aspects to serve their guests and work on reputation management.
- Automated & Seamless Operations
Advancements in the technological frontier improve customer experience, but it largely benefits hotel management in terms of hotel operations and back-end tasks. With an integrated property management system, hotels can overview bookings from different channels, customer data, room availability, and other information on one centralized platform, controlling everything from the property management software.
This allows hoteliers to access customer data immediately and update room availability and rate in real time on all channels. Moreover, hotels with cloud-based property management systems can monitor their business processes and improvise with the software’s audit and data analysis reports. This automated process reduces the need for manual labor, eliminating room for errors and optimizing business performance.
Cloud-based property management software also facilitates hotels in booking processes and managing reservations from different channels. If technology has been a boon to the hospitality industry, then property management systems are part of the reason why!
- Guest Experience Hotel Apps for Improved Services
Guest experience hotel apps act as a mediator between the hotel and their guests, helping hoteliers stay connected with their guests and cater to their needs throughout the stay and even after. With the help of guest experience hotel apps, hotels can send mid-stay surveys to guests to learn about their visits and make necessary changes to ensure the guests leave on a positive note, looking forward to revisiting. Hotels can send notifications to guests asking if they want to avail of complimentary services such as spa or buffet options. Guests like being taken care of; hence, it is a great marketing strategy to increase revenue while delivering maximum customer satisfaction.
This feature also allows hotels to conduct target marketing campaigns, offer complimentary services to certain guest segments, and accentuate the overall stay experience of the guests. Catering to guests as per their preferences and notifying them of the same throughout the stay leaves a positive impression and helps hotels acquire positive reviews and testimonials.
- IoT for room control and customization
Empowering guests to customize their stay and feel at home, IoT is a great advancement in hotel technology. IoT establishes connectivity across several devices in a room that can be controlled from a central device, tablet, or smartphone. This enables customers to customize their room settings without having to call the staff or interact with them.
They can adjust the room temperature, air conditioning, and lighting per their requirements. IoT also enables hoteliers to tailor their guest experience from a customer database or their past booking history. For example, if a guest revisits, hoteliers can adjust the room settings according to their previous stays before the guest arrives and keep their favorite flowers or chocolates in the room to enhance the guest experience with a hint of personalization. These efforts go a long way in the hospitality industry, which is largely customer-facing.
Implement the newest technologies to scale in the hospitality industry!
The hospitality industry is eventually seeing a rise in growth and revenue as we move past the pandemic phase and approach a “new normal.” The only difference is that the efforts have been doubled this time to cater to customer expectations and build brand value. This has made the hospitality industry extremely competitive and lucrative; hence, hoteliers must adapt to the latest technology trends to deliver enhanced customer service and build a name in the hospitality sector! Stay ahead of the technology trend in hospitality with mycloud Hospitality property management software!
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