Augmented Integration in Hospitality
Continuing the series looking at how augmented reality is already being integrated into our daily lives, today I want to show some innovative efforts in the hospitality industry. We'll examine leading resort chains to how AirBNB is aiming to differentiate their experience from the big brands in this industry. We start with a look at Starwood Resorts, which has pioneered this space a few years ago. Their program, the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program has integrated augmented reality that is still not widely adapted.
That technology is the use of beacons. Beacons are a solution to tracking a devices movement inside a brick and mortar facility. For instance, when your in a large resort or a shopping mall, cell phone reception can loose much of it's tracking ability. Beacons use a unique form of augmented reality and AI to deliver timely messages to shoppers or guests while they are inside a building. I'll let you read the Business Insider to learn more, they key point I want to highlight is how Starwood is using beacons to allow guests to bypass the check-in process for its SPG guests with keyless checkin. Imagine walking into your hotel, getting a text message of your room number and that your room has just been activated. You walk right to your room and use your phone to unlock the door. It's that easy!
But there are even other applications in beacon technology that make it intriguing. Get a virtual tour of the facility, or suggestions to eat at a restaurant as your about to walk past it, which the James Hotel Group has done. The Hubb Hotel in the UK embraced AR more directly. Each hotel room has a wall map of the local area. Point your phone at the map and you can receive all sorts of information about that area or business. At the CitizenM in the Netherlands, you can adjust your room temperature.
But one of the first hotels to embrace AR was Holiday Inn, surprisingly, at the 2012 Olympics. Trying to be the first augmented hotel, they offered guests the ability to point their phone at objects in their hotel like their bed, and see images of Olympic athletes in the picture. The athletes were filmed in a variety of postures prior, including surfing with bed sheets. It was hardly a practical advancement towards brand loyalty, but did show innovation and promise.
What we see is that hospitality is already embracing AR and trying to figure out how to integrate it to increase guest loyalty. Future items I predict are the ability to get interactive and immersive experiences of various rooms and views in the hotel, which can help hotels gain a more premium price if it can be experienced in advance. I also think that viewing wedding and banquet facilities can be a very large advantage making them more experiential as well. But beyond those, enhancing the customer experience in the hospitality industry still has a long way to do. Embracing beacons is just a start to enabling an entire AR experience with a dedicated concierge (be it virtual) that can answer any questions, any time, including ordering their favorite food at 2am after a long night in the casino. AR is already effecting the hospitality industry, and the more it can use this to enhance the customer experience, the stronger it's chance of capturing greater loyalty.