How can technology enhance the guest experience at your hotel?

Pre-arrival check-in has been commonplace with the airlines for many years. However, the hotel industry has been slow to catch up. That’s despite the fact that, according to research by Skift & Oracle last year, 73% of travellers want to use their mobile to manage their hotel experience. We are seeing hotels introduce pre-arrival check-in. Pre-arrival check-in reduces contact time at the front desk — typically from 5 minutes to less than 1 minute. I suggest hotels offer the guest choice. So pre-arrival check-in should support (not replace) what you offer today. If rolled out effectively, it can relieve the burden on your front desk, reduce admin and turn what is a transactional process into a more welcoming & personal guest experience.

Mobile Check-In/Check-Out: Allow guests to check in and out using their smartphones for a seamless and efficient process. Smart Room Controls: Integrate technology that enables guests to control room features (lights, temperature, curtains) through a mobile app or voice commands.

In the digital age, technology is a pivotal tool for enhancing guest experiences in hotels. Streamlining check-in processes with mobile apps expedites arrivals, while in-room communication facilities e.g. tablets provide guests with personalized control over room settings. High-speed Wi-Fi, smart room amenities like TVs, ACs, and virtual concierge services cater to the modern traveler's expectations. Additionally, leveraging data analytics enables hotels to anticipate guest preferences, ensuring a tailored stay. Embracing these technological advancements not only elevates convenience but also positions hotels as pioneers in providing seamless, tech-driven hospitality.

Hotels can use technology to gather and analyze guest data, understand preferences, and create personalized experiences. Here are some ways technology can enhance the guest experience in hotels: 1. **Mobile check-in**. 2. **Better Wi-Fi**. 3. **Cybersecurity** 4. **Personalized guest experience**. 5. **Hotel management software**. 6. **Robots**: 7. **In-room technology**. 8. **Voice-activated assistants**. 9. **Virtual and augmented reality** 10. **Data and analytics**:

I use to be in the hospitality industry for 7 years. Started as a front desk and ended up as front desk manager. The technology of the Pre-arrival check ins would definitely help with a smother faster process not only for the customer but for staff as well. Technology is updating at every moment, it’s smart for companies to adapt but not completely replace the functionality of having staff available. Staff need to be present to help those that are too tech savvy. The pre check in can be done through your phone and once you get you the hotel you can go to the kiosk and retrieve your room key or activate your phone to be the key to your room.

As a hospitality tech commercial executive, who was involved deeply in the early days of hotel mobile key 10-11 years ago, it still amazes me how the industry has not adopted the tech in larger numbers. Everything consumers interact with has moved to digital mobile touch points - and the hotel brands and owners who have made the logical move have generally driven up their guest satisfaction scores and loyalty metrics.

High-Speed Wi-Fi: Ensure reliable and high-speed internet connectivity throughout the hotel for guests to stay connected. In-Room Tablets: Provide tablets for guests to access hotel services, order room service, explore local attractions, and control room features.

Cutting-edge in-room technology can significantly improve the visitor experience and encourage return visits. Bright lighting, thermostats, and in-room entertainment systems, such as smart TVs or streaming gadgets, can all be included to give visitors a more convenient and customized stay. This can significantly improve visitor comfort and pleasure while giving them a more tailored and convenient experience. Hotels may differentiate themselves from the competition by providing customers with an exceptional experience by integrating intelligent room technology. To enhance visitor satisfaction and maintain a competitive edge, hotels must invest in smart room technology since it can lead to higher customer loyalty and repeat business.

Since the introduction of the iPhone, we have seen guest bringing their own content and doing more for themselves. Services such as Netflix took this to the next level. A guest has access to more content than we can possibly deliver. Our role now is to allow them to easily and securely watch their content on the in-room TV. We've also seen the rise of more DYI using the guest's own device. Particularly after the pandemic. QR codes now provide guests with easy access (no download required) to digital compendiums, the ability to request additional amenities such as towels and even to order room service all from the palm of their own hand. Using their own device they can also control lighting and HVAC.

Keyless Entry: Utilize mobile apps for keyless entry to rooms, eliminating the need for physical key cards. Personalized Services: Use data analytics to understand guest preferences and offer personalized services or recommendations. Virtual Concierge: Implement chatbots or virtual concierge services to provide instant assistance and information to guests.

With all the digital, interactive, CMS and PMS enabled cloud systems, available to the hotel industry today, there really is no better way to efficiently, build loyalty and ensure interaction with guests then enabling post-stay digital communications.

Technology makes it incredibly easy to gather and analyze data. Put that tool to use. Do not simply collect data, analyze it and create better experiences for your customers based on your analysis.

Realmente creo que a día de hoy la utilización de la tecnología para mejorar la experiencia del cliente es imprescindible, el que no lo haga se quedará atrás . A pesar de que a las generaciones con más edad habitualmente les cueste más asimilar ciertas tecnologías debemos ayudarles a utilizarlas y a qué puedan disfrutar de ellas igual que lo haría cualquier otro huésped. Es esencial e inevitable buscar un progreso tecnológico en este y todos los sectores.