Read how hoteliers can optimize their property and use tech to attract business travelers

It’s no secret that the pandemic caused huge losses in revenue due in large part to less business travel and canceled events. To offset the lack of business trips and conferences, hotels have rolled out creative ways for business travelers to utilize their spaces while adding new revenue opportunities. It’s safe to say now that remote work isn’t going anywhere, and why should it? A study by Owl Labs reports that 90% of employees surveyed say they are as productive or more productive when working remotely.

In response to many employers and employees moving to remote work, the hospitality industry has pivoted to catering to this new breed of nomadic workers with offerings like booking a room for a work day, “workcations,” and even extended-stay remote work packages. As events and conferences return to in-person gatherings, hoteliers have a huge opportunity to make up revenue lost to the pandemic, and set their property on the forefront of the evolving hospitality landscape. Here are a few key places to start.

Make Your Property Remote-Work Friendly

Offer easy check-in and check-out
Remote workers are a new breed of travelers who are looking for comfort and convenience above most else in their hotel stay. One key way to attract business travelers is offering them a quick and easy way to digitally check-in and use their smartphones for keyless entry so they can completely bypass the front desk and go straight to their rooms. Once they are ready to depart, the check-out process should be just as easy and mobile enabled.

Provide Great Wi-Fi
Giving your business guests the best experience possible relies on providing fast, secure and free Wi-fi. If hoteliers want business travelers to continue coming back for repeat stays, they need to prioritize reliable internet that has the bandwidth to accommodate a wide range of mobile devices as well as needs such as videoconferencing, web browsing and streaming content. Remote workers depend on consistent Wi-fi accessibility and the last thing they want is to have their work interrupted or lost because of a slow or weak internet connection.

Create Unique and Quiet Work Spaces
Consider how you can best provide office space for business travelers. Whether they are in town for work or they are a local remote-worker looking for a change of scenery, what can you offer to make their stay with you a success? This may look like renting out rooms as office spaces during work hours, or offering a remote-work package that includes a private office space for the guest to use. Make sure you have plenty of electrical outlets in guest rooms and charging stations throughout the hotel for business travelers to recharge their laptops, tablets or mobile devices. Also, provide a table top and comfortable seating in guest rooms for those long days of working. Consider creating a business center that offers a shared workspace and includes desks, fax machines and other office equipment.

Provide Access to Amenities via a Hotel App
A hotel app can greatly enhance the business traveler’s guest experience by enabling them to manage their entire work day on their mobile device or smart room tablet. Business travelers are busy people and by allowing them to take greater control of their stay can set your hotel apart. With a hotel app, business travelers can order food or drinks and have it delivered to them wherever they are such as in their room, by the pool, at the business center or in the hotel lobby. For hotels who don’t have an on-property restaurant, offer business travelers the ability to use delivery services like Doordash or UberEats directly through the hotel app. Provide ride-share or shuttle options via a hotel app so that business travelers can go to and from their hotel to other nearby locations with ease.

Attract Smaller Business Meetings to Your Hotel

Although corporate travel and events are unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels for another year, there is still a need for smaller team building events and business meetings. In fact, because many business teams now work remotely and do not have a chance to meet one another in person, there is an even greater need for in-person gatherings within companies.The need for these types of gatherings creates a major revenue opportunity for hotels.

Ensure Meeting Spaces are Fully Equipped
Hoteliers need to evaluate how they can best optimize the space they have for business travelers. For many hotels, this looks like setting aside rooms with white boards and other office equipment. Creating spaces where groups can meet makes the hotel more attractive for groups or small businesses looking for a functional work getaway. Provide in-room dining for your team during business meetings. Promote your amenities for team building exercises such as access to hotel’s golf course, yoga classes, and other recreational activities. Use a hotel app to offer a list of local restaurants and hotspots for after work downtime.

Create Custom Packages for Small Company Gatherings
To attract smaller business groups, offer unique packages that can include discounts to drinks and food or outdoor excursions. For local businesses who want a place to conduct small business gatherings offer special prices or a remote work membership. Partner with local vendors to supply team building activities such as escape rooms, wine tastings, and cooking classes.

Finally, whatever you plan to offer business travelers, make sure they hear about it. Marketing your remote-work or “workcation” opportunities and amenities is vital. The companies and individuals who would most benefit from this need to know the ways in which you’ve optimized the experience for them. Figure out what you can do, then make sure those who will benefit most hear about it.

Want to learn more about cutting-edge guest app technology? Start a conversation today.

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Nurturing employee retention by off-loading their workload through automation can help prevent burnout.

In the last couple of years, the hospitality industry was hit with many challenges from Covid-related lockdowns to most recently, a labor shortage. Now that travel is gearing up for a brighter year ahead, finding and retaining employees is more crucial than ever.

But how can hoteliers handle the resurgence of travel and tourism at the very moment when staffing is low? Fortunately, hospitality tech can help alleviate staff workload in a way that improves the guest experience. With the right technology, hoteliers can automate much of their operations, relieving staff from mundane tasks and reigniting their passion for hospitality.

Mobile Check-In Empowers Staff

With lingering staff shortages, remaining staff are overburdened with a greater workload and longer hours with little reprieve. Self-service technology, such as mobile apps, can alleviate some of the workload by enabling guests to take more control of their trip.  Hotel guest apps allow travelers to complete the check-in process on their mobile devices as well as use their mobile devices as a digital room key to enter their rooms. Not only does this provide a more streamlined check-in process for guests, but it also eliminates labor intensive paperwork for the front desk staff. With mobile check-in, hotel staff will have more time to engage with guests in a much more meaningful way, build relationships with guests, and feel more rewarded in their work

Automate Service Requests to Free-Up Staff

Whether it’s ordering extra towels or requesting room service, today’s guests prefer sending a service request through their mobile devices or smart-room tablets. Getting an immediate response via text or guest messaging is prized over being put on hold by the front desk. Automating service requests also optimizes operational efficiency and saves significant manpower and labor costs.  When service requests are automated, a small staff is empowered to provide quality service and have more time to provide more personalized attention to guests.

Clarity and Efficiency Go Hand and Hand

When lines of communication between staff and guests are muddy, tasks can fall through the cracks, guests can feel ignored, and both staff and management can end up feeling unnecessary pressure from all sides. Hoteliers should be taking a close look at their management systems and asking questions like:

• Are staff able to view and update tasks easily?
• Is management able to prioritize tasks and customize the workflow to fit the needs of their team?
• Are escalations flagged so they can be handled in a timely manner?
• Does the system in place integrate with on-property dining and amenities, and allow for digital storefronts?
• Are staff able to access the current system from any device they need throughout their workday?

With digital technology, communication between teams can be streamlined and time-sensitive requests can automatically be prioritized. And making task management easy for staff to view and access eliminates the frustration and time loss that comes with poor communication. Taking unnecessary tasks off your employee’s plate and communicating priority tasks clearly through tech contributes to a work environment where staff can thrive long-term.

As experienced employees return and those new to the hospitality industry learn the ropes, now is the time to set your staff up for long-term success. By investing in tech that mitigates busywork and promotes clarity, your teams are able to focus on the best parts of hospitality–serving and connecting with guests.

To learn more about how a comprehensive management system can support your team’s communication and workflow, start a conversation today.

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Get strategies for accommodating your guest’s schedule before, during, and after their stay through a hotel guest app.

As the hospitality industry prepares for the Spring and Summer travel seasons, guest loyalty is a top priority. In fact, Hospitality Technology reported in their 2022 Lodging Trends study that 77% of hotels rank driving guest loyalty as their top tech initiative. How can properties encourage new visitors to rebook and keep repeat guests? And how can tech be used to cultivate guests’ loyalty? The best place to start is by giving them control at every touchpoint.

Before Their Stay: Give Guests the Best Information

Travelers are already balancing a number of details in order to make their trip a success.  Booking their hotel, navigating flight details, keeping expense reports, coordinating transportation, and working around the needs of travel companions are just some of the tasks guests have to get to before they even step foot on your property. Whatever you can do to make their arrival smooth and hassle-free can ensure a great first impression for those headed to your property.

Make the App Worth the Download
First things first, in order for your guest app to facilitate your guest’s ideal trip, they have to download it. Last year, we wrote about how to increase initial app adoption through a welcome email that highlights app features and links directly to the app download. If your guests are able to quickly see how the app will make their stay more convenient, they’ll be more likely to download and use it. Make a good impression by proactively drawing them in with the features and capabilities available to them.

Ride Shares/Shuttle Service
Adding transportation information such as hotel shuttle schedules or rideshare services provides an extra level of convenience for guests. Guests can request valet services or an Uber via a hotel app right on their mobile phones eliminating the need to make a trip to the front desk. Whether it’s going to the airport or going out at night, arranging for transportation via a hotel app becomes so much easier and made entirely on the guests’ terms.

Mobile Check-In
Today’s travelers want a simple process that allows them to check-in and immediately go to their room without the need to visit the front desk. With digital check-in, guests can input their credentials, confirm their payment method and access their room key right on their mobile devices even before they arrive at the property. They can also arrange for food or make special service requests via the app pre-arrival. And in the third year of the pandemic, this has largely become an expectation.

During Their Stay: Give Guests Control of Their Itinerary

Enable your guests to use their mobile devices to plan and manage their entire guest journey –from ordering room service to finding local hotspots and attractions. With an app, guests can design their hotel stay to fit their needs, get hotel and local information and set the level of interactions they want with your staff.

Digital Concierge
Highlight local activities, hotel amenities, and on-property services directly on the guest app. Spruce up app content with descriptions and enticing copy, and enable guests to book reservations for spa treatments and other amenities. Whether you have guests who plan everything ahead or spontaneous travelers who choose their next activity in the moment, the hotel guest app can be there every step of the way.

Housekeeping Preferences
It should be easy for guests to pause, skip, or add housekeeping services–easy as one touch through your hotel guest app. Whether your guests are environmentally conscious, concerned about airborne germs, or just don’t need someone cleaning their room everyday, allowing your guests to set when they want housekeeping service means every guest gets exactly what they need.

Dining
The best way to work around your guest’s schedule is to give them adaptable options so no matter what the occasion is, they can get food how and when they want it. From reserving a table at an on-property restaurant, to browsing highly rated local spots, to ordering for pickup so they can grab their meal as they head out– it can all be done from the palm of their hand. A comprehensive hotel guest app can process payments, communicate with dining staff, and keep track of guest orders so the information can be utilized when the guest returns for another stay.

After Their Stay: Motivate Guest Loyalty

Mobile Check-out
It should be as easy, if not easier, for your guests to leave as it is for them to arrive. If you want to help them achieve their ideal stay, don’t add unnecessary steps to their departure. Mobile check-out means simplicity, easing the annoyance of having to make a stop at the front desk, or worse, wait in a line.

Reviews
Does your hotel app prompt your guests to leave a review? When guests leave a review while their stay is fresh on their mind, you and your staff get vital details about what you are doing right and what needs to be addressed. If it’s a positive review, the app can prompt them to post it, while mediocre or negative reviews can funnel straight into service recovery.

Follow-up
Do your guests know what loyalty points or programs you have available? Driving guest loyalty doesn’t end when your guests step out your door. The communication they get from you after they check-out sets the precedent for future interactions and stays. So let them know how glad you are they chose you and why they should come back. Email, or message through your hotel guest app so you are the first place they think of next time they go to book.

The Term “Personalization” is Buzzing Through the Hospitality Industry

That’s because guests appreciate when their preferences are remembered and when they are treated as valued customers rather than faceless wallets. For hoteliers investing in guest loyalty strategies, ensuring sure your tech responds to and accommodates your guests schedule makes their experience feel individualized to their desires and elevates their experience at every touchpoint.

Want to learn more about how hotel guest apps can promote guest loyalty? Start a conversation today.

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As COVID variants and staffing concerns continue to present issues for the hotel industry, hoteliers can offset low occupancy periods with the right tech strategies.

The path to recovery for the hospitality industry is fraught with ongoing staffing concerns and travel uncertainty as spikes in COVID cases and new variants crop up around the globe. Despite the constant unknowns, hoteliers can institute strategies to ensure optimal guests experience, mitigate revenue loss, and help prevent staff burnout. Here are three tech strategies to put into place during times of industry upheaval.

1. Plan For Uncertain Occupancy Levels

One thing is clear, recovery for the industry is not a straight line. While we saw record occupancy rates in December, the sharper than usual decline in January is proof that COVID will continue to have a big impact on travel plans and hotel bookings this year. Plus, Skift reports that the booking window has narrowed since the pandemic started as guests wait closer to their travel dates to nail down details. This shift in consumer behavior means that hotels might not be able to rely on traditional travel patterns to predict when high occupancy and low occupancy periods will occur, and so hoteliers will need to prepare in advance for both.

How can tech help with the peaks and valleys brought by COVID?

A comprehensive guest app opens up a myriad of opportunities for additional revenue that can help provide a buffer for when hotels experience low occupancy. With a guest app, hotels can promote their amenities and entice guests to use them by offering discounts or specials, such as to a spa, a nice dinner at a hotel’s restaurant or a round of golf if a hotel has a golf course. Having guests spend more during low occupancy periods can help optimize revenue. A guest app can also help drive guest loyalty by enabling them to have more control of their stay and access services more easily. Via a guest app, guests can order food delivery, request room service, get recommendations for local activities, order rideshare service and more, making their stay a memorable experience. Even when occupancy is at higher levels, having a guest app can offer a property a competitive advantage. A recent survey conducted by Metova found that 90% of travelers prefer a hotel that offers a guest app.

2. Prioritize Digital Communication

A recent study by Local Measure found that hotels that digitally engage with their guests via an app see a 40% increase in return visits and increase ROI of 564%. With a guest app, hoteliers can communicate with guests at any point of their journey via guest messaging and push notifications. Pre-arrival, hoteliers can send important information such as check-in details, new COVID safety protocols, late check-out option, and direct guests to a hotel compendium where they can find hotel information and more. Guests can also easily communicate with staff to make special requests such as ordering extra towels, and ask any questions. Additionally, by providing an easy line of communication via an app, staff can better track and respond to guest complaints or any service issues in a more timely manner, thereby boosting customer satisfaction.

3. Support Your Staff with Good Tech

Staffing shortages have been a constant source of stress for hotels over the past few years, and as many are still working with lean teams, it’s important to invest in tech that can support both full and lean teams and work well with the tech you already have. Hospitality Tech noted in their 2022 lodging study that a major pain point for hotelier’s implementing new tech is difficulty integrating with legacy systems, which cause issues for staff along with missed revenue opportunities. But hoteliers who give staff the best tools for an efficient workflow reduce unnecessary tasks, keep revenue lines open, and help prevent staff burnout.

What should hoteliers look for in their tech? 

• Tech that’s intuitive, and customizable to fit your specific needs.
• Tech that’s responsive, easy to use from any device.
• Tech that’s adaptable, able to integrate with your currents and future systems.

The pandemic has brought on new consumer behavior where travelers today are looking for a more personalized digital experience during their hotel stay. As hoteliers continue to grapple with various challenges brought on by the pandemic, incorporating digital guest facing solutions into their tech stack will enable them to remain competitive and provide a modern guest experience.

Want to learn more about tech that can elevate guest experience and reduce pain points for staff? Start a conversation today.

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Innovative technologies are transforming every industry, moving them into the digital age; here’s how hotels can utilize new emerging technologies in the near future.

All tech is interconnected; when new advancements are made in other industries, there is a natural ripple effect. Whether it’s transportation, internet, or even gaming related, as tech progresses new advancements eventually become relevant to hospitality. Here are a few tech innovations that have people talking and how they might provide exciting opportunities for hoteliers in the near future and down the line.

Cryptocurrency

Guests Are Already Using It
Cryptocurrency, a digital form of payment, has grown widely popular in the last few years. Because crypto functions through the internet, its accessibility and its gold-standard digital security have been integral to its rise in usage. As the world moves further into digital spaces, security is paramount, and because of this, crypto has the potential to be a preferred payment for travelers in the coming years–especially when it comes to large payments at an upscale resort or a high stakes game. And since crypto is not tied to a certain region or physical currency, using a crypto wallet instead of a physical one can simplify international transactions while providing that added measure of digital security. While some hotels have already been making the shift to accept cryptocurrency, hoteliers should anticipate that guests will expect to be able to pay with crypto, sooner rather than later. Particularly, moving beyond just booking with crypto, but also linking their crypto wallet to the hotel guests app for purchases during their stay.

How Will This Benefit Hotels?
The most notable benefits to adding crypto as a payment option is the additional layer of digital security that cryptocurrencies have. Despite crypto’s consistent value fluctuation, it is becoming so integrated into global commerce, it might actually be able to simplify payments, making it more convenient for guests to make purchases while adding an extra layer of protection against fraud.

Virtual Immersion

Opening a Virtual World of Opportunity
Last year, Facebook announced its intention of building the Metaverse, a Virtual Reality (VR) world where commerce and social connection intersect. Microsoft also announced its own take on mixed reality with Mesh, a communication and collaboration platform that enables team members to have a shared virtual experience. Some in the hospitality industry are concerned about the negative ramifications of virtual immersion, wondering if the ability to “go anywhere” without leaving the comfort of your home will demotivate people to travel. But from a consumer perspective, VR is not, and may never be, a replacement for physical travel. Rather there are many exciting opportunities VR brings to table to enhance guests experience while staying at a hotel, resort, or casino. Here are few ways hoteliers have started to explore VR in hospitality:

Events
When people think of VR, they usually think of gaming. While some hotels have made VR gaming available to guests, VR offers more applications than just games. Adding virtual immersion shopping, gambling, even concerts and conferences, could be a way for hotels to offer unique experiences that don’t require good weather or a lot of space. Instead of thinking of VR as something separate from what a property is already doing or offering, hoteliers could consider how VR can be an exciting addition.

Walk-Throughs
During the pandemic, VR house tours rose in popularity as they offered an alternative for house hunters who were not able to tour a home in person due to COVID concerns or travel restrictions. Hotels, resorts, and longer-term vacation rentals have also been using this application to showcase their property, guest rooms and facilities to guests before they book.

Putting a Face To Automation
“The metaverse could help break the ‘walls’ between humans and machines,” says Linchi Kwok, Associate Professor at The Collins College of Hospitality Management. Kwok suggests VR avatars could help to humanize the more “robotic” services that a hotel has to offer. Automated services, when provided by avatars, could add a personal touch. Beyond that, using AI-powered avatars could further support the hospitality industry during periods of staff shortage, automating tasks to balance a lean team’s workload.

NFTs

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, represent ownership of one-of-a-kind digital collectables such as digital art. In the last two years, NFTs have become widely popular and their value often depends on their rarity. But NFTs are more than just art pieces to view, they can also be VR experiences, or even act as tickets to access exclusive promotions or loyalty programs.

How is the Hospitality Industry using NFTs?
Since the technology is new, this past year has been a year of experimenting. Some hoteliers are getting creative with NFTs and seeing what comes of it in terms of interest and revenue. Here are few example of innovation with NFTs from 2021:

• SLS South Beach and SLS Brickell offered a range of physical and digital entertainment and art through the NFT BAZL marketplace from the comfort of their guest rooms.
• Marriott released three NFTs; attendees of their FaZe Forever were able to enter to win one of the three NFT virtual reality experiences as well as reward points.

What Can Hoteliers Do To Prepare?
While some of the advancement currently in the limelight may seem overwhelming, there are few tech adoption principles hoteliers can always rely on:

1. Choosing the tech that integrates well with your current tech stack will set you up for success as digital spaces and devices continue to advance.
2. Partnering with a vendor who prioritizes your needs will make adapting new tech smoother all around.
3. The guests’ experience is paramount; implement tech that serves your guests to fullest.

To learn more about what tech is available to elevate guest experience, start a conversation today

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