For hotels with on-property dining, integrating ordering into their hotel’s app creates a better experience for guests and can offload pressure from dining and room service staff.

Hotels with restaurants may be reluctant to add room service and other delivery options to their existing hotel app. Questions naturally arise: Is it worth the work to get it set up? Does in-app dining really make a difference for the guest? What will the ROI be? For hoteliers considering investing in in-app dining, here’s a summary of the benefits we’ve seen for our clients and their guests.

A Smorgasbord of Possibilities for Guests

Showcase Your Menu
Guests enjoy the convenience of being able to browse a hotel’s restaurants’ menus and order food items directly from their mobile device or smart-room tablet. With a mobile app that includes digital dining, hoteliers can add their many on-property dining venues on a single app offering guests many dining choices. Plus, hotels can also add menus of other local restaurants, expanding food selections and providing the ordering experience your guests will enjoy.

Ordering from Anywhere 
In-app dining enables guests to order food from their mobile device and have their meals delivered to them anywhere on the property. Whether a guest wants a cocktail by the pool, a snack after a spa treatment, or lunch brought to them while working from the lobby, all they have to do is input their order via the hotel’s app and their orders will be on their way.

Pick-Up Orders, Anytime
Having a pick-up option is great for both guests and staff. For guests who want to bring some food with them while they sightsee, or want to grab their dinner on their way up to their room at the end of the day, they can schedule a pick-up order via a hotel app. A pick up option also saves staff a trip to a guest room to deliver food. Pick up orders, unlike room service, can be offered to non-guests as well. Day visitors who are enjoying a day at a hotel’s casino, or attending a conference or event, can also order food from the hotel’s app.

A Buffet of Benefits for Your Staff

Reduces App Confusion
When properties have a hotel app without digital dining capabilities, guests have to order food through an alternate channel, which can sometimes cause order and delivery confusion. But when dining capabilities are consolidated within a hotel app, orders are easier to view and keep track of, and there is less likely to be confusion.

Waste Management 
In-app digital dining can also provide actionable guest metrics, such as which menu items are more popular, that can help with making efficient purchasing decisions.  When considering the bottom line, investing in in-app tech that distills vital data so staff and management can adapt to guests food and drink preferences should be high priority.

Instant Updates 
Paper menus are quickly becoming a thing of the past. With in-app dining, menu items can  be updated immediately, saving on printing costs and the added tasks of staff having to manually switch out old paper menus. Add specials, promotions or event discounts in your hotel app to promote upsells and drive revenue.

These key benefits should give you an idea as to why so many hotels, casinos, and resorts are integrating dining options into their hotel apps. There’s no time like the present to make your dining experience that much more appetizing!

For more information about integrating dining into your hotel app, reach out today.

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Learn how hotels can prevent staff burnout and elevate guest experience during the post-lockdown holiday travel season.

As the holiday travel season gets underway, hoteliers across the globe are preparing for a busier season than last year. Guests who were unable to travel for the holidays in 2020 are planning to make up for lost time. As the hospitality industry continues to recover and return to full-capacity, here are three ways hoteliers can prepare for a possible wave of holiday guests.

1. Avoid Staff Burnout With Back-of-House Ticketing 

In years past when guests poured in for the November and December holidays, hoteliers and their staff had to handle a more than normal workload. But this holiday season, with many hotels, resorts, and casinos still facing major staffing shortages, there may be a higher risk of staff burnout.

Whether it’s work orders, dining orders, or service requests, one of the most effective ways hoteliers can support their staff is by utilizing automated ticketing systems. An automated ticketing system allows hoteliers to capture a guest’s request or order within an app, and keeps track of the request automatically, eliminating manual labor and reducing mistakes. Plus, management can create work order priorities that update instantly, facilitating greater efficiency at every level. For room service and service requests, a comprehensive ticketing platform enables back-of-house staff to move from task to task, removing confusion and keeping items from falling through the cracks.

2. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

This can’t be stressed enough. With many hotels, resorts, and casinos still working at reduced capacity or limited hours, communication with guests must be top priority. This year more than ever, hoteliers need to keep guests in the loop about new hotel policies, hours, and amenities at your property.

Before their stay, sending a friendly and informative welcome email to a guest can set the tone for their entire visit. Your welcome email can inform guests about your hotel app, how to use the app and, if you are working at some kind of reduced capacity, make them aware of current dining or activity hours. During a guests stay, a hotel’s staff can also use the hotel app to communicate with guests on a one-on-one basis or to a larger group. Communication shouldn’t end when guests end their stay either; follow-up emails, surveys, and personalized promotional offers for future stays are key in encouraging guests to return and becoming loyal customers.

3. Provide Mobile Convenience

Over the last eighteen months, consumers of all ages have become accustomed to using their mobile devices for every aspect of their lives. They now expect that same experience while staying at a hotel. Providing a mobile guest experience will give guests the convenience they seek and the best in-room experience possible.

Enabling guests to use their mobile devices to check-in as well as open their rooms, offers them a smoother and simpler arrival experience.  Plus, as more guests pivot to using their mobile devices throughout the duration of their stay, the front desk will have more time to focus on delivering a good guest experience.  Beyond check-in, the hotel’s app can act as an information hub as well, where guests can learn about hotel activities, dining and pool hours, local hotspots, and more.

Now is the time to adopt a mobile app, before the holiday travel season kicks into high gear, so guests can have a better and more convenient experience. The more access and control they have from their phone, the better their guest experience will be in every aspect.

Want to learn more about how to leverage tech for upcoming travel seasons? Let’s chat.

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Remote-workers are seeking out hotels, casinos, and resorts where they can combine business and personal travel. Learn how hoteliers can position their properties as enticing “bleisure” destinations.

After over a year of moving to remote work, as the world continues to reopen, many companies have opted to keep “work-from-home” options in place. Employers save on expenses that naturally come with in-office work, and employees get more flexibility—it’s a win-win. This surge of implementing fully-remote or partially-remote schedules also benefits both travel and hospitality industries. Remote workers can work from anywhere, which is why hotels, resorts, and casinos are seeing a rise in work-from-hotel guests. Hoteliers can capitalize on a combination of business and pleasure, now coined as “bleisure” trips, for guests who want the feel of vacation while still spending time on the clock.

Let the World Know You are Work-From-Hotel Friendly 

What do you have to offer remote-workers? Tables with killer views? Private spaces for virtual meetings? Whatever it is, let potential guests know! Create promotions around your unique bleisure features and offerings. If they are working poolside, offer them a discounted beverage. Offer your hard-working guests reduced-price spa treatments or golf games for the weekend. Remote-working guests want two things: accomodations that make work seamless, and vacation-like activities, views, food and drink so they can enjoy their time more than they would when working from home or in-office. All you have to do is let them know what’s available to them and help them make the most of both their work and R&R times.

Provide Remote-Work Travelers with Cutting-Edge Tech 

Guests traveling for both work and play are more likely to look for a smart hotel or properties that include high-speed wi-fi internet, work space, and especially ease of travel. Hoteliers who want to attract “bleisure” travelers can offer them a branded mobile app so they can  easily check-in and enter their room through their mobile devices.  A smart-room tablet also enables guests to make their hotel “work” environment their own through the ability to set room temperatures, order room service, and schedule leisure activities via their smart tablets. Work-from-hotel guests are seeking a getaway from office or home-office life, so give them the best version of that.

Don’t Forget Your “Bleisure” Guests Need to Eat Too 

Consider what remote-working guests will want out of their dining experience. When they are in the “zone,” food is a necessity; when they’ve closed their laptop for the day, dining is part of the vacation experience. Your hotel app can reflect this, offering both quick bites and guilty pleasures. And it’s not just about what you offer, but how you offer it. With mobile ordering, guests can get food or drink brought to wherever they’ve hunkered down to work. And with pick-up options, they can grab a meal on their way out in the morning, or bring something back to their room as they settle in for the night.

And for hotels that don’t have on-property dining, building out the information pages on your app to act as compendium and concierge so guests know what food is close and fast while they’re working and where they can get highly-rated, sit down meal when they’re ready to relax.

Ultimately, work-from-hotel guests want what you already have to offer, but they will be more likely to book with you (and rebook with you) if they feel your space fits their needs to a tee. So make sure they know what you have to offer, and that you’ve carved out spaces just for them.

Want to learn more about how to get your property’s platform ready for work-from-hotel guests? Request a demo today.

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Discover the insights from the hospitality and technology leaders who hosted sessions on digital transformation, AI and Data, and more at HITEC

Last week at HITEC, hoteliers, operators and hospitality leaders convened in Dallas to discuss the state of the hospitality industry and how technology fits into the new hotel landscape post-COVID.  Although travel has reemerged slowly and unevenly across the US and the rest of the world, the tone of the show was cautiously upbeat. How has COVID changed the way hotels operate? What new trends are in the pipeline? Here are the 4 key topics we saw at HITEC this year:

1) Big Data and AI Technology
Big data and data lakes have been around for a while in the hospitality industry. However, hoteliers are now grappling with the challenge of what to do with the mass amount of data they’ve gathered, how to structure it, and how to effectively analyze and use the data. Using AI technology, namely machine learning and natural language processing, hoteliers can begin to use their data to improve revenue management, and operational efficiency. With AI, hoteliers can analyze and pull info from data lakes to make fast informed business decisions, use dynamic pricing (based on seasonality, local competition, hotel history etc.) and offer more personalized guest experience.

2) Innovation Adoption
As hoteliers increase their tech adoption and build their tech stack, deciding on what technology they need to invest in and when, is the number one challenge. Advancements in technology have created a field of new solutions for the hospitality industry that sound exciting but may not yet function properly or be in great demand. For hotels who want to be or remain cutting edge, adopting these emerging technologies can be beneficial but carry a higher risk of proper functionality, require more investment (such as replacing legacy PMS with a cloud-based PMS, upgrading Wi-Fi network solutions), and guest adoption.

3) Labor Shortage
Labor shortages continue to plague the hospitality industry with little reprieve in sight. So how can hotels retain their current staff, continue to provide elevated guest experience, and still generate more revenue with a lean staff? With technology such as mobile apps and ticketing solutions, work management and communications between guests and staff become more streamlined. These tech solutions enable hotels to remove the need for guests to call the front desk for room services and enable them to directly put in a request via their mobile app or smart-room tablets. Guests can also communicate with staff using chatbots at any area of the property. With ticketing solutions, hotels can alleviate some of the staff workload by assigning tasks and managing projects via an app or platform.

4) Personalized Guest Experience
As a result of more consumers relying on contactless mobile technology during COVID, they have become accustomed to receiving more personalized treatment across their entire customer journey.  Hotels will need to provide customers with a hyper-personalized experience in order to remain competitive. With technology, hotels can gather data on guests which can later be used to target services and features specifically to them. In order to offer personalized experience, hotels will need to consolidate customer data that can be easily retrievable and structured. With that in mind, hotels are now shifting from PMS to CRMs as their central system. Future technology will now be built and integrated with their CRMs. With technology advancements, hotels will be able to provide more personalized guest experience, improve their revenue and boost customer loyalty.

To see how INTELITY can help you with your digital transformation, request a demo today.

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Technology solutions are often purchased for the now, but how can hoteliers make sure the tech they are implementing will be more than a passing fad or temporary fix?

The path to technological success can feel like an uphill trek. Especially in times like these, when the hospitality industry has spent the last year trying to keep up, first with the contactless solutions necessary during the pandemic and now with tech solutions to pad out a smaller workforce. But setting yourself and your properties up for success means looking to the future and selecting tech that will help you run your hotel optimally for a long time. Here’s how to start:

1. Don’t waste your money on siloed tech.

Short term and long term, the best way to ensure your tech will not be wasted or become obsolete in a few years is to prioritize new tech that integrates with the tech you already have. The fastest (and often most common) way to take a loss when it comes to hotel tech is by throwing money at a platform or product that will not communicate with your existing systems. As you look to purchase and implement new tech, double and triple check that it will integrate well with the tech you currently have.

2. Use your tech to fulfill, and exceed, guest expectations.

When guests book a stay at a hotel or resort, they aren’t necessarily just looking for a room to sleep in, they are buying a particular experience. The expectations your guests have when they enter your property are what drives revenue, especially when it comes to microtransactions and upgrade purchases. Travellers today want the convenience of self service that comes with mobile guest solutions, as well as the ability to choose the level of access they want with staff. Your tech should facilitate this balance by offering a platform that makes your staff feel present and available. You can offer this guest experience by enabling your guests the ability to request services, look up property info, book treatments, order food and more—all from a personal or smart-room device.

3. Your tech success is linked to your guest data.

Ensuring your tech is successful, not just now, but in a lasting way, means understanding where tech trends are heading. The most advanced players in hospitality tech platforms are prioritizing data, specifically data surrounding guests’ experience. Tracking and acting on guest preferences to create a more personalized experience for them and more revenue for the hotel will be necessary in order to remain competitive. For hoteliers hoping to get in on that in the next few years, the sooner you shift operational management to the cloud the better.

4. Choose vendors who will be partners and guides. 

Tech is ever-changing, right? It can feel like every time you invest in one product, another, shinier one appears on the market. But success doesn’t always mean getting the next best thing. It means investing in the next right thing. That’s why it’s vital to partner with vendors who understand your established systems, current pain points, and future needs. When you’re looking to implement new tech or are considering a different system make sure you have a trusted vendor who can be your guide.

5. The future of your tech depends on what you do now.

Finally, setting your property up for success means being proactive in your adoption of tech, not simply reactive. During the early days of COVID, the hospitality industry was forced to step-up their contactless and mobile capabilities. And now staff shortages have many scrambling for tech to optimize operational efficiency. Don’t wait for the next calamity, set yourself up for success now.

Want to learn more about technology solutions for both now and the future of your property? Let’s talk.

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