What matters to guests has changed drastically over the last year. Here are three things hoteliers should focus on to drive guest loyalty in the new normal.

The last year produced necessary adaptations in the hospitality industry. With no warning, hotels and casinos had to shift operations and guest service to meet new needs. As venues and properties reopen and ramp back up, many are wondering: should these changes stick?

While masks and hand sanitizer might not be as crucial in the coming months, some of the adjustments from the past year have evolved the way guests view travel, and what they expect out of lodging. There are a few big, long-term changes in how consumers are approaching their travel planning. While many of these changes were initially enacted by necessity, they’ve offered convenience and an overall better experience. Which means guests are not looking for them to go away anytime soon. In fact, hoteliers should be taking this time to increase their convenience and efficiency in the ways guests have become accustomed to.

It’s important for hoteliers to look at current traveler trends and figure out what consumers are expecting hotels to continue investing in. To help with that, here are three things guests aren’t compromising on in the new normal, along with opportunities for hoteliers to build guest loyalty now and in the future.

1. Flexibility

With booking especially, flexibility is huge. According to the Washington Post, travelers are still gravitating towards added travel insurance as they book future trips. If last year taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected–and always have a backup plan. Most people now have first-hand experience with hotels or event centers who either were or were NOT flexible during the pandemic. The lived experience of the last year has produced guests who are looking to book with properties they know will be understanding when it comes to last-minute changes and cancellations. And while Airlines and hotels initially shifted policies due to the necessity because of COVID, moving forward, many airlines are making these changes permanent. If hotels want to build trust and loyalty in the coming days, following suit by keeping flexibility at the forefront is crucial.

Flexibility in booking and reservations is key–but it matters in other places as well. Guests want their entire experience to be low-stress. They are looking for a build-your-own experience where they can opt into and opt out of the services and activities they want—so every experience is tailored to them. The more freedom to make decisions and change their mind, the more likely they will be to return and recommend the experience to others.

2. Self-service

What better way could there be for guests to tailor an experience to their needs and embrace flexibility than with self-service options? Guests are so over lines and multi-step processes. They want to get on to the point of their stay, whether it be family time, business, or just some much needed R&R

That’s why self-service is critical to basically every industry right now. Consumers got so used to taking care of themselves and handling everything through self-service during the past year. In the new normal, self-service is the preferred way of handling issues. Does this mean in-person assistance is totally out the window? Absolutely not. Guests will always want a person available to solve the more complex questions or problems they might have. But for the simple stuff, it’s second nature to handle it themselves. So let them!

3. Digital experiences

The most effective self-service strategies rely on what travelers already have available to them 24/7: their smartphones. In December 2020, Expedia reported that 77% of travelers said properties must have key technology amenities if they are to book a stay there. This far into the year, that number might be even higher.

Digital is key to the best guest experience. From a quick check-in, to a mobile room key you can’t misplace, to ordering food and booking a spa reservation. When everything can be done with a few taps, their focus gets to remain entirely on their stay. Digital tech really brings together the flexibility and self-service travelers are looking for because it gives all the control back to the guest. No lines, no waiting around. Just what they want, on their terms.

Help Them Help You

The best part about the above three strategies is that they ultimately benefit hoteliers and their staff. A flexible environment breeds understanding. If you are flexible with your guests, it contributes to more understanding from them during service recovery or technical difficulties. And the more self-service and digital options you provide, the less tedious tasks your staff have to focus on–freeing them up for the more important operations. Building guest loyalty is all about going above and beyond guest expectations to offer satisfying, sophisticated experiences they’re truly looking for—the kind that will have them coming back again and again.

Curious about what tech is available to give your guests a more holistic experience? Request a demo today.

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As the hospitality industry continues to embrace mobile tech, digital ID verification is here to protect against fraud and help free up front desk staff.

Everyone knows mobile tech and contactless options are in. While mobile check-in and mobile key have held the limelight for the past year (rightly so) the trend toward digital has brought with it new security concerns. The next big thing in hospitality tech might not be as glamorous as room keys on guests’ phones, but its role in the mobile check-in process will prove crucial in keeping hoteliers and their guests protected from fraud in the ever-growing digital landscape.

Hoteliers abroad and those who travel globally are likely already aware that many countries require international guests to turn over a physical copy of their passports to be photocopied. But as mobile check-in has increased exponentially, bringing passports to the front desk after check-in on a mobile device disrupts the ease, convenience, and COVID safety that made mobile check-in so popular.

That’s where digital ID verification comes in.

And for guests traveling within their own country, showing ID with their credit card is common practice. Again, this requires physical verification which takes time and face-to-face attention. The process of verifying your guests protects them and you from fraud, but the necessity doesn’t make it any less tedious.

Digital ID verification can help here, too.

How ID Verification Actually Works

Here’s the breakdown: ID verification requires guests to add a photo ID and take a selfie that the hotel can have on file to ensure it matches the ID. It imitates the experience of a front desk person taking a guest’s ID and checking that the photo is of the person they see in front of them. In this case, the digital verification uses AI to make sure the two photos match.

The reason ID verification tech is an up-and-coming part of the mobile check-in conversation is because it mimics the physical experience of having a photo ID be copied, while cutting out steps for both guests and staff. Hotels have a legal obligation to keep paperwork of their guests on file, and by integrating ID verification into the mobile check-in process, all the needed documentation and verification is automatically entered into the hotel’s records. Plus, it’s even more secure than paper copies.

Why ID Verification Is Important 

Without it, anyone with the right confirmation number or email address could access someone else’s reservation and check-in as them or create a reservation under someone else’s name—this gap in security opens up a world of opportunities for exploitation. But with the added encryption and additional authentication of digital ID verification, guests are largely protected from malicious attempts at identity theft and hotels have a strong defense in place to shield from fraud.

The great benefit to adding this feature to the mobile check-in process is this: the very fact that it exists in a given hotel is a deterrent to potential scammers. If people know they have to verify their identity, it naturally discourages those considering fraud/theft. Beyond that, the property has the ID and photo on file so they can double check it later if something does happen. For example, let’s say someone disputes a credit card charge from their stay and claims someone else made the charge. In this case, the hotel can check the ID and the real-time selfie the person submitted at the same time they added their credit card to the reservation. If the photo matches, the hotel has proof of the purchase. On a more serious note, if there is a criminal incident, the hotel has a photo and an ID on the reservation they can then share with the police. It’s an ideal safeguard: something you hope to never use, but definitely want in your back pocket just in case something happens.

ID Verification—The Digital First Defense

Last year, when the entire industry hopped on mobile, we were ready. As digital tech has expanded, INTELITY has been investing in security measures to match. Among those measures, ID verification. As tech developments continue to expand and integrate into the check-in and check-out process, digital ID verification is being adopted more widely. Now, more than ever hoteliers need to step up their digital security and the place to start is by protecting yourself and your guests from identity theft and fraud.

Curious about what’s available and what’s coming in digital ID verification tech? Request a Demo today.

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Our hotel dining tech just got a massive upgrade. If you are looking to enhance guest experience and increase dining orders, read on.

It’s been a long year without large gatherings. But as summer rolls in, conferences, events, and reunions are back on the books. Over the coming months, vacations and events are going to be in full swing. And for hotels looking to recoup the losses of last year, now is the time to make sure you can capitalize on the potential dining revenue that comes with the return of business and leisure guests.

It’s no secret that people naturally gather around food. So how can you ensure your property’s restaurant draws in guests of all kinds, from families soaking up summer vacation to on-the-go colleagues catching up after a year apart? Simple. Make your food irresistible. Not just in taste, but easy to order and easy to pick up. For your guests but also for their friends and colleagues.

We’ll leave the delicious food part up to you. But we can help with the making-it-easy-to-get part. The INTELITY platform is ever evolving to fit the needs and wants of our customers and their guests. Which is why we are thrilled to announce that through our most recent digital dining update, anyone can order food for pickup at any restaurant a property has to offer.

So what’s this update all about?

Multiple Restaurants Can Be Featured

Now properties with more than one dining option can list the menus for all of their restaurants on the hotel app. This, paired with our recent addition of Carousel makes it easier than ever to feature different food items or locations based on the events happening at a property. For families or groups who want different apps, entrees, and desserts from different restaurants, browsing through a property’s unique menus can all be done in app.

Getting food delivered no matter where a guest is on the property opens up a world of opportunity for multi-restaurant hotels. Parents by the pool can order sushi for themselves and burgers for the kids without pausing the family fun. A player can get dinner and dessert brought to him without leaving the blackjack table. When guests have the freedom to eat and drink from any establishment no matter where on the property they are, the conversation around food shifts from “what is available?” to “what do I want?”

Anyone Can Order Pickup

Delivery anywhere on property is one thing. But the second added feature really seals the deal for a holistic digital dining experience. Our platform now allows for pickup as well as delivery. For business people who want to grab breakfast on their way out, for vacationers on their way to sight see, for anyone who wants restaurant-quality food on their way to the next thing: pickup is available.

And hungry customers don’t have to be checked in to order food for pickup. This opens a world of yummy opportunities for conference goers who want to grab a meal on the way to their next session, event goers who need a quick bite, or locals who want to bring up a snack to their friends’ room. The ease of downloading the app to instantly be able to order food whether or not they are guests will make meeting up at your property a no-brainer.

With these updates, the added opportunities for revenue are endless. All you have to do is make sure everyone knows how easy it is to order and pick up food from your restaurant(s). After that, your delicious food can speak for itself—and you’ll have guests coming back for seconds and thirds.

Bon appétit.

Want to see what else you can do with robust digital dining capabilities? Check out the Dining One-Sheet now.

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For hoteliers looking to maximize guest experience and minimize unnecessary staff time-spend, in-room tablets could be just what you didn’t know you were looking for.

There’s more hospitality tech now than ever before. In fact, there’s more tech now than ever. The upside for hoteliers is that they can be choosy about what works best for their property. The downside is that the sheer multitude of options can be difficult and overwhelming to wade through. Last year, the hospitality industry quickly jumped on board with mobile platforms, as a result of COVID requiring a focus on contactless options. There’s no doubt that the pandemic has been the defining influence in tech trends over the last year. Even now, travelers are planning to see family and friends again in-person, some for the first time in a year, the new normal after COVID is a huge part of up-and-coming hotel tech. As travel recovers, properties are trying to keep up with the ever-shifting discussions arounds immunizations, passports, and continuing COVID restrictions.

With occupancy rates climbing, and projected to continue to climb, hoteliers are looking for ways to ease the tension between more guests and current COVID precautions. After a year of focusing almost exclusively on mobile, a new tool is emerging to provide guests with all the information and communication tools they need while minimizing face-to-face contact.

Many hoteliers wonder if tablets are even necessary in such a mobile-focused landscape. But perhaps better questions would be: is mobile tech right for everyone? Could it become even more powerful with the perfect partner? And perhaps it’s worth looking at what tablets add to the guest experience that mobile does not. In-room tablets might be tech you didn’t know you needed.

So let’s find out what they can do for you and what they can provide for your guests.

What tablets do for you and your staff

An in-room tablet is an information hub that frees up valuable time for staff.  It provides quick communications and service requests and updates. It can take over the role of compendium and act as an in-room concierge—all while remaining easy to clean, maintain, and update. And with tablets creating better staff workflows and saving employee hours, staff can remain focused on the most important thing on your property: the guest experience.

Beyond that, tablets are a huge win from a sustainability standpoint. Replacing clunky physical compendiums with digital compendiums saves paper from being printed and reprinting to add updates. There’s also a huge potential for new revenue;  in-room tablets offer a landing point for high-impact visuals for promotions—if there’s something you want to make sure your guests see, this is the place to put it.

What tablets do for your guests 

At the end of the day, it’s obvious from consumer research that mobile hospitality tech is the most effective guest tech on the market. However, in-room tablets have one distinct and powerful advantage that mobile doesn’t—a nearly 94% guest engagement rate.¹ Some hoteliers are facing concerns that their guests won’t adapt to mobile tech; the worry here is, what if you invest in mobile and those efforts fail? What if you don’t have the marketing resources to ensure guests download the app? One thing you can know for sure when looking to invest in in-room tech: if the tablet is there, guests will use it.

You want to add a personal touch to every guest stay? Set a custom greeting to welcome them by name when they walk into their room for the first time. Looking to create a more luxurious experience? Put  temperature controls and a digital compendium within an arm’s reach of their bed,  offering a dedicated in-room device that can meet their needs in just a few quick taps. Both a practical tool and a luxury experience, tablets offer an opportunity for hotels to go above and beyond to impress guests and one-up their competition.

Tablets work as companions to mobile or as solo acts 

For properties that have a mobile platform, tablets offer a more holistic digital experience for guests when they are in their room. As guests continue to become more tech-savvy, dedicated in-room devices for all things information, communication, and control is right up their alley. Mobile and tablets work together to make the guest experience as smooth and simple as possible at every step in the guest journey. It’s a better experience, one that facilitates better service and builds guest loyalty.

For hotels that don’t have an app, the tablet can be a one-stop shop for dining, amenities, service requests and more. In-room tablets provide nearly all of the benefits of an app, while remaining easily accessible to guests and requiring little upkeep from staff.

So there you have it. Without an app, tablets provide the convenience and communication opportunities of an app plus the extra features exclusive to the in-room experience. And paired with an app, the tablets create a holistic digital experience for both guests and staff. Regardless,  guests have never had so much access to staff and never been more encouraged to reach out and ask for what they need from you. They don’t even have to make a trip to the front desk—great service is just a few taps away.

See how in-room tablets can serve both guests and staff at your property. Request a demo today!

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¹ Internal INTELITY reporting and customer data, 2021.