A Blog by INTELITY

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The latest innovation and trends in contactless guest experience and the products that are revolutionizing the service industry.

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HITEC Toronto Recap: 3 Key Takeaways We Learned

Discover the hottest insights from hospitality and technology leaders who hosted sessions at HITEC Toronto on AI, data science, and technology upgrades

During last week’s HITEC Toronto 2023 convention, hoteliers, managers, operators and hospitality leaders descended upon Canada for three days of exhibits, mixers, and education sessions that highlighted the hottest topics in hospitality technology. As travel continues to ramp up to pre-pandemic levels, hoteliers must use AI advancements and data science to their advantage to streamline workflow and drive additional revenue. Additionally, panelists discussed the important factors to consider when transitioning from a legacy system to the latest platform. The following are takeaways from the top three sessions we attended at HITEC Toronto 2023.

AI is The Hot Topic

With Open AI’s ChatGPT coming up on its one-year anniversary this fall, AI is still fresh on the minds of nearly everyone — including hoteliers, hotel managers, and operators. During the session, “The Rise of AI-Powered Language Generation: How ChatGPT and Its Competitors are Changing Hospitality,” AI hospitality expert Michael Levie and Intelligent Adaptive Interventions Lab’s Joseph Jay Williams discussed how programs like ChatGPT can transform guest service, a hotel’s marketing efforts and other aspects of the hospitality business. They also discussed how ethical and censorship implications could come into play down the road and advocated for hoteliers to develop critical thinking skills around these potential ethical implications. These implications included issues relating to censorship, bias, and the potential displacement of human labor.

Using Data Can Help Increase Profit

During a session, titled “Things You Didn’t Know About RevPar: Leveraging Data Science to Boost Profit,” HFTP’s Ira Vouk, Cornell School of Hotel Administration’s Klaus Kohlmayr, Sonder’s Shruti Challa and HotStats’ Tanya Venegas encouraged hoteliers to embrace the power of data science when running their hotel business. They shared the potential dangers of relying solely on KPIs like RevPAR, or revenue generated per available room, as a profitability indicator. Instead, they encouraged the session’s listeners to use business intelligence tools, such as a guest experience management system that can digitally track when guests are most likely to interact with a hotel’s promotion, what upgrades guests gravitate towards, and more. Understanding guest behavior and offering targeted marketing, pricing, and customization options is key to driving organization-wide decision-making.

The Time For Upgrades Is Now

With so many digital offerings on the market today, the time to upgrade your technology offerings is now. During “Bridging the Gap Between Legacy and Cutting-Edge Technology,” speakers Gina Johnston, Leonel Domingues, and Matt Schwartz shared advice on how to navigate the decision-making process when it comes to deploying a new digital platform at your property. They advised that, before signing on to a new tech platform, hoteliers must fully understand the costs associated with staying up-to-date with the system, the ROI of the software, the total cost of ownership (TOC), and determine whether or not the technology has staying power.

 

Overall, the main HITEC Toronto message was clear — now is the time to embrace hospitality technology and harness it for the betterment of your property. To learn more about how INTELITY can help your property streamline workflow, optimize the guest experience, and drive profit through guest behavior, request a demo today.

Maximizing Revenue: 4 Ways Hotel Technology Can Increase ROI

Discover how you can increase your hotel ROI, while you’re maximizing revenue by choosing the right hotel technology

Maximizing revenue and increasing ROI — it’s every business owner’s dream. But it’s not as simple as it sounds. Thankfully, if hoteliers select the right hospitality technology for their property, they can not only increase their hotel’s ROI, but they can also drive additional non-room revenue, provide a more personalized guest experience and create a positive buzz around their property.

Here are four ways hotel technology can offer a profitable return on investment, while maximizing revenue.

Optimize Dining Expenses

By deploying a guest management operations platform that analyzes hotel guest data, managers can determine which guests prefer which food items during which periods of time throughout a day or week. This allows your team to ensure they’re ordering the right resources in the right quantity and eliminates overspending on wasted food.

Additionally, taking orders via phone and placing physical menus in hotel rooms creates the need for hiring additional personnel and increases printing costs. Using hotel technology, such as a mobile app or bedside smart-room tablet, allows guests to digitally view menus that have been updated in real-time, eliminating printing costs and saving staff time from having to make a call if the item they selected is no longer available.

Speaking of saving staff time, when a guest orders their meal from a mobile app or smart-room tablet, that order can get sent directly to the kitchen and the food prep team. This eliminates the need to staff an employee to answer room service phone calls, improving the hotel’s ROI.

Increase Non-Room Revenue

In a similar vein, branded mobile apps and smart-room tablets are the perfect way to drive non-room revenue by suggesting additional items when a guest is ordering in-room dining. Did the guest order the filet mignon? Then, suggest a glass of red wine to accompany their meal. Did they select the pub burger? Then, allow them the option to upgrade their house fries to sweet potato fries for an extra $5. Hotel employees may forget to upsell customers when taking their order over the phone, but through a digital order system, forced modifiers can easily be integrated to increase the guest’s dining check, maximizing revenue.

Improve Your Guest Engagement

Deploying a guest management operations platform that analyzes hotel guest data can also enable hoteliers to identify where guests are most likely to spend money at your hotel and allow you to create more accurate promotions and offers. Does the data show that guests are more interactive with your in-room tablets between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. and 11 p.m.? Then set up a promotion to go out between these hours when they are most likely to interact with it.

Elevate the Guest Experience

With hotel technology, a property can ensure that guests have a customized and comfortable experience throughout their stay. Allowing them to skip lobby lines and check-in and access their secure room key through a mobile app or communicate with hotel staff at any time from anywhere using guest messaging radically increases their experience, and, in turn, will lead to positive word-of-mouth and online reviews — and most likely a return visit.

 

Want to learn more on how to find revenue opportunities by using hotel technology? Then, request a demo today.

Travel Tech 101: How to Meet Guest Expectations

In today’s digital landscape, travelers expect technology to be integrated into every experience — including their hotel stay — here’s how to meet guest expectations

Want to order dinner from your favorite restaurant, but don’t feel like leaving your couch? There’s an app for that. Need to get to the airport at 5 a.m. and don’t want to wake up your spouse? There’s an app for that. Have to get a car wash, but don’t have time? Don’t worry, there’s an app for that, too. In fact, there’s an app for just about everything today — and customers have come to expect technology integrations in all facets of their daily lives, including travel.

Curious about how to meet guest expectations when it comes to incorporating technology into the hotel stay? Then you’ve come to the right place. We have a few easy ways to fulfill guests’ travel tech expectations, even if you aren’t a “high-tech hotel.” But, first let’s answer the question: What is travel technology?

What is Travel Technology?

In simplest terms, travel technology means using tech to plan trips. There are many broad examples of this type of tech, from flight advisor apps that tell a user when to book a flight to travel-specific smartphones that allow a traveler to easily communicate when in other countries. Here, we’re going to focus on technology that seamlessly provides hotel guests with a digital experience — making their hotel stay easier and more relaxing.

The Hotel Tech Guests Expect

Today’s hotel guests, especially Millennial and Gen Z travelers, expect their hotel stay to be customized, seamless, and smart — and hotel technology, such as branded mobile apps and in-room tablets do just this. With more and more hotels offering mobile check-in and keyless entry, an increase of travelers are now expecting to have the option to bypass long lobby lines by checking in on their mobile device and heading straight to their rooms with a mobile key upon arrival.

Additionally, food delivery apps, such as DoorDash, have allowed today’s consumer to be accustomed to ordering and tracking their food orders from a smart device. Branded mobile apps and smart-room tablets incorporate this experience seamlessly into the hotel stay, letting guests order their meal digitally whenever, wherever they are on the property.

How to Incorporate Hotel Tech at Your Property

You don’t need to be a high-tech hotel in order to meet guests’ tech requirements. Starting with simple integrations like allowing guests to cast their favorite Netflix show to their in-room smart TV puts them in the driver’s seat of their in-room entertainment, while also allowing your property to save money by cutting expensive cable bills. In-room QR codes that allow guests to order in-room dining digitally from their mobile phone saves both your guests and your staff time from waiting on a phone call.

If you’re looking to take your hotel tech offerings a step further, well, there’s an app for that, too. Branded hotel mobile apps allow guests to seamlessly request additional towels, order and track in-room dining, review hotel compendiums, book spa appointments, digitally shop the gift shop, and more. Smart-room tablets placed bedside are another easy way for guests who don’t want to download an app to still interact with your property seamlessly. From digital in-room dining to adjusting room temperature and lighting controls, a smart-room tablet can make your property feel like it’s a high-tech hotel with just one additional item.

 

Interested in learning more about how to meet guest expectations with hotel technology? Request a demo today.

Benefits of Hotel Tech: How Technology Keeps Productivity Up & Costs Down

Operating seamlessly with less staff is one of the many benefits of hotel tech

Every business operator’s dream scenario comes down to keeping costs low and productivity high. But what if that was actually possible for hotel managers? Enter hotel technology. From mobile apps to smart-room tablets, one of the many benefits of hotel tech, outside of improving the guest experience, is streamlining operations and eliminating extraneous expenses, such as printing costs for daily menus and compendiums, cable bills, and more.

How to Reduce Costs

When it comes to figuring out how to reduce costs at your property, eliminating unnecessary expenses is always first and foremost, and, one of the benefits of hotel tech, is that it can help hoteliers do just that. Branded mobile apps and smart-room tablets allow property staff to digitally update all dining menus, onsite event schedules and compendiums, thus eliminating the need for daily print-outs. Mobile devices also provide casting capabilities, which let hotel guests stream their favorite TV shows and movies directly to the in-room TV. Not only does this put the guest in the driver’s seat of their own entertainment, but it allows hotels to cancel costly cable bills.

In addition to cutting extraneous expenses, hotel technology can help lower operating costs by reducing human error during guest interactions, such as in-room dining. Allowing guests to place their room service order directly from a mobile app or smart-room tablet will reduce the frequency of a staff member miss-typing or miss-hearing a guest’s order and therefore lower the amount of refires the kitchen has to make.

Finally, streamlining operations through hotel technology reduces the amount of “middle-men” a hotel needs, thus saving on labor costs. Take in-room dining, for example. With a mobile app or smart-room tablet, a guest can digitally place a food order that will travel directly to the kitchen’s line cooks — eliminating the need for someone to monitor the phones and answer in-room dining calls. This is not only a good example of how to reduce costs at your property, but it’s also a great way to increase productivity with the team you do have on staff — which brings us to our next point.

How to Increase Productivity

For hotels operating with a trimmed down staff, hotel technology is a must. As mentioned above, branded mobile apps and smart-room tablets help streamline the in-room dining process — but that’s not all. Using a mobile app, hotel guests can access mobile check-in and secure, keyless entry to their hotel room, which allows them to bypass the front desk all together. This frees up the front desk staff’s time to accomplish other tasks.

When a guest needs additional towels, pillowcases or a tube of toothpaste, they no longer need to tie up a team member’s time by placing a phone call. Making a digital request via the in-room tablet or mobile app, which is then sent directly to housekeeping keeps all wheels moving.

Want to share a special onsite event with guests but tired of waiting for the housekeeping staff to drop off the latest compendiums in their room? Updating these materials digitally and keeping them on mobile apps and smart-room tablets allow guests to access all up-to-date information without having to wait for staff to deliver the latest version.

To learn more about the benefits of hotel tech on a property’s operations, request a demo today.

How to Get Guests to Use Your Tech: One Mistake to Avoid & One Secret Weapon to Employ

The question of how to get guests to use your tech puzzles most hoteliers… However, the key is already in their hands

During the pandemic, hoteliers worldwide implemented new technology to provide guests and staff with contactless capabilities, while also responding to consumer demand for a more personalized and digital guest journey.

As the pandemic continues to drift further in the rear-view mirror, hoteliers are seeing the benefits hotel technology has had on their businesses, and most importantly, on the guest experience. But marketing these technologies, especially with a trimmed-down staff, could be deemed a hurdle.

How to Get Guests to Use Your Tech at your Property?

Luckily, hoteliers don’t have to shell out thousands of dollars on marketing to get guests to use their technology, but they do need to be strategic. When it comes to getting guests to use branded mobile apps or smart-room tablets, there’s one mistake you don’t want to make, and one secret weapon you should use. Consider the following:

DON’T Leave Guests to Fend For Themselves

Guests want the convenience of technology, but they aren’t going to go out looking for it. They won’t be searching The App Store for your mobile app unless you prompt them. They might wait on hold to order food instead of ordering room service with just a few taps of their mobile phone or smart-room tablet. Why? Because they don’t realize what’s at their fingertips.

Too often hotels and resorts assume guests know about their technology offerings and understand how to use them. Even if guests know an app exists, they most likely won’t download it unless they’re shown the ways it will improve the quality of their stay. Don’t leave your guests waiting in unnecessary lines, on hold, or altogether unsure of how to get the things they want or need. Let them know what tech you have, how easy it is to use, and how it will make their stay better.

How can you do that? In a previous post, we discussed how confirmation emails and welcome emails are a perfect opportunity to direct guests to a branded mobile app through deep links and outline the benefits of using an app. However, there’s another way to get your guests to adopt your app. If a guest has made it to a property without downloading the app, it might be too late for mobile check-in — but they can still securely access their rooms using keyless entry on their mobile device or order in-room dining via the mobile app. But hotels must utilize their best resource: their staff. When a guest checks in, displaying a QR code at the front desk for guests to be easily directed to the app is a must.

DO Make Sure Staff Know What’s Going On

Whether the staff is one person or 100, they need to know what tech is available to guests and understand its features and benefits. This doesn’t mean your staff need to become tech wizards or IT experts. But they should be briefed on the basic capabilities and given a rundown of how the app’s features can assist the guest journey.

For instance, staff should be able to show guests how to make a digital service request, how to book a spa treatment, or how to view the room service menu via the hotel’s mobile app. If the front desk is busy helping other guests, guest-facing staff should be able to help guests use the hotel’s mobile check-in function. If a guest calls the front desk to request more towels or extra pillows, staff should be able to direct them to the app or their smart-room tablet for their next request. A friendly and knowledgeable staff can be your best drivers on app and tech adoption.

To learn more about how to get guests to use your tech and how to easily market your property’s technology, request a demo today.

It All Adds Up: How Small Transactions Increase Revenue & Improve Guest Experience

Using hotel technology to execute targeted promotions and upgrade opportunities can give guests a more personalized experience, while setting hoteliers up for a substantial increase in revenue

In the world of online gaming, “microtransactions” are available in-game purchases that only cost a small amount of money. They can range from buying a new outfit for a character, to purchasing extra lives, to additional levels or upgrades. The hospitality industry can take a digital page out of the online gaming playbook and utilize a similar strategy to allow guests to customize their stay while opening new avenues to drive non-room revenue. Here are a few ways:

Seize Every Opportunity to Upgrade

With the rise of mobile check-in and mobile key, offering guests upgrades is now easier than ever. When guests opens a hotel’s branded mobile app to check-in, why not provide them with an opportunity to upgrade to a room with a better view or a larger suite? They might not even realize they want the upgrade until the option pops up on their screen.

Similarly, an easy place to drive non-room revenue is through in-room dining. When a guest places an in-room dining order via a smart-room tablet or mobile app, forced modifiers can easily be integrated to increase the dining check. See a guest ordering a steak? Why not suggest a glass of Cabernet? Did a guest order the cheeseburger? Why not offer them the chance to upgrade their free side of fries to truffle fries? Don’t miss out on these tiny upgrades. Mobile delivery companies like DoorDash and Uber Eats already have this integrated into their ordering strategy — hotels with digital dining should, too.

Create Intentional Promotions

With events and conferences continuing to ramp back up, a great way to capitalize on larger groups staying at your property is to center promotions around upcoming events. Banners, information pages, videos, and even interactive chats can assist in promoting your unique amenities and engage your guests. If a business traveler comes back to their room after attending a full-day conference, send them a customized message with a discount to a spa treatment or a cocktail at the bar. When groups of guests come to town for a concert or sporting event, tie your promotions to that specific event. Intentional promotions encourage smaller purchases and provide added revenue.

Consider the Future of Incremental Transactions

Speaking of customization, when thinking about “microtransactions” in hospitality it’s important to take into account the future of incremental transaction technology. Specifically, data. With smart-room tablets and branded mobile apps, data can be collected from each guest. Maintaining historical data on guests can also help hoteliers customize offers and upgrades to guests who have requested special services or upgrades in previous visits.

Whether it’s a bigger room or a cup of soup, smaller transactions can add up to huge revenue increases. Something as simple as a fun promotion themed around a big sporting event or a convention can have an ROI far higher than expected. Seek out opportunities for smaller transactions, be intentional, and look to the future. “Microtransactions” are here to stay — and here to make you more money.

Want to learn more about how hotel technology can increase non-room revenue now and in the future? Request a demo today.

Check it Out: Why Promoting New Tech Should Be Part of Your Hotel Marketing Plan

3 key reasons your hotel marketing plan should include your new guest technology

There are several functions of a successful hotel marketing plan, and a lot of them revolve around your property’s digital footprint. Active, updated social media accounts, such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok, along with an effective website that markets your property’s offerings, are all a must. But what about promoting the guest technology featured on your property — especially new technology offerings?

In today’s digital age, hotel guests are no strangers to new tech integrations and offerings. In fact, many Millennial and Gen Z travelers have come to expect it. Here are 3 reasons why including your latest guest technology offerings in your hotel marketing plan is critical:

Meet Guests’ Tech Expectations

For many of today’s hotel guests, technology is not just a preference, it’s an expectation. Meeting guests where they’re at — on their mobile device — is key to staying relevant and operating a modern hotel. Use your property’s social media platforms and email marketing blasts to promote the latest guest technology at your hotel. Showcasing your in-room tablets, branded mobile apps, keyless entry, or even your robot concierge in your marketing can help not only improve a guest’s stay but it can also improve the way they view your brand.

Fill to Guests’ Need

In today’s digital world, almost anything consumers need is a literal tap away. From ordering a three-course dinner to their front door to hitching a quick ride to the airport, mobile devices provide the streamlined convenience today’s consumers require. Fill that need for instant gratification by providing your guests with in-room technology, such as smart-room tablets, where they can easily order room service or extra towels like they would a meal from DoorDash. Branded mobile apps provide the same ordering convenience that tablets do, as well as allow guests to check-in and check out remotely and securely access their hotel room by using their phone as a room key.

Using these technologies in marketing strategies for hotels is key as it shows guests that your property’s team will be able to meet any need they’ll have while staying at your hotel.

Not to mention, smart-room tablets and branded mobile apps can be used to market directly to guests while they’re on your property. Target guests when they’re most attentive through push notifications to alert them about special on-site events, gift shop sales, or restaurant promotions.

Highlight Sustainability

With more and more customers making purchasing decisions based on a company’s impact on the planet, showcasing the steps your hotel takes to focus on sustainability should be a key part of your hotel marketing plan. Smart in-room thermostats and smart water-saving showers are two key features worth highlighting in guest-facing marketing materials.

Branded mobile apps can also help a hotel “go green” by providing guests with keyless entry, which reduces plastic key card waste, and viewing hotel compendiums and menus digitally, which reduces paper waste.

 

Looking for additional hotel technology marketing strategies to attract customers to your property? Request a demo today.

Integrations 101: Why a Complete Hotel Technology Stack Is Critical to Operations

Four key reasons an integrated hotel technology stack is critical when selecting a tech platform

When it comes to choosing the correct technology platforms and solutions for your hotel, many features should be taken into account. Ask yourself: Is the solution cloud-based? This means it’ll add an extra layer of security. Is the platform PCI compliant? This will protect your guests’ data and ensure it’s safe. But another key question to ask yourself is: Does the solution easily integrate into your existing hotel technology stack?

Selecting a software provider that already integrates with platforms and solutions that your property is currently using will streamline your operations, and, in turn, provide a better experience for both your guests and your staff. But, before we dive deeper into some of the advantages of a modern hotel technology stack, let’s first answer the question: What is a tech stack?

What is a Tech Stack?

In its simplest form, a tech stack is a series of software subsystems that create a complete platform so no additional software is needed to support applications. In hospitality, a hotel technology stack is made up of a piecemeal set of solutions aimed at optimizing the hotel’s functions, including its operations, revenue management, marketing, and guest services. These can include front-end tools, back-end tools, and APIs.

So, what are the benefits of a modern hotel technology stack? Here are a few:

Streamline Operations

Probably the most obvious benefit is the streamlining of hotel operations. Take for example the process of updating room rates. Imagine a hotel has to update 30 room rates for 10 different room types over 12 months. Not only does this hotel’s staff have to do this in their Property Management System (PMS), but they also have to update it on 10 different online travel agencies, as well. That’s a nearly impossible task that could be rife with human error. Using platforms that “talk” to each other streamlines this process while eliminating the possibility of human error at the same time.

Manage Technology Increases

With more technology applications and systems available to hotels than ever before, tech connectivity is most important to hotel operations. Without seamless integrations, business operations can come to a standstill and result in guest service issues, which can, in turn, lead to a negative guest experience and revenue loss.

Resolve Siloed Data

When systems aren’t talking to each other, hotels end up with ineffective copy-and-paste methods for tracking information and duplicating records in the numerous systems they’re using. This results in an operational mess, and the guest experience suffers in the process.

Fulfill Guests Expectations

Today’s guests expect personalization and customization. Guests who share personal information with hotel staff — such as allergies or toiletries requests — expect that information to be retained with staff across the property. With interconnected technology now a norm in everyday life, hotels now have to answer the question, “Why aren’t your systems talking to each other?” from more than just data architects. The average hotel guest expects this as well.

 

Interested in learning more about how you can integrate our software with your modern hotel technology stack? Request a demo today.

What’s Next?: The Impact of Generative AI on Hospitality

INTELITY’S VP of Product Management Matthew Lynch takes a deep dive on the topic for the recent Hospitality Net Panel

Recently, Matthew Lynch, INTELITY’s VP of Product Management, participated in a Hospitality Net panel discussion on the impact of AI on the hotel industry. The question posed to the panelists was: How would generative AI — like Open AI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard or Anthropic’s Claude — impact hospitality, and who will be the winners and losers?

INTELITY’s Matthew Lynch broke down the timely topic in full detail here:

There are some important factors to consider as we navigate into an AI-lead operating model. AI does not change the problems that individuals and businesses face, but rather, it is a new way to help solve those same problems. AI will not generate revenue for a hotel. It will provide ways to increase revenue, just like the internet enabled existing revenue sources to access a hotel faster and more directly.

If the internet revolution took 15 years to fully establish itself, this next revolution will take hold even faster. Technology enables technology and so each wave will be faster than the previous. In reality, AI is already all around us and has been with us for the last 5-10 years. What we’re seeing now is AI’s ‘Amazon’ moment with the availability of a mass-market “killer app” (ChatGPT) and technology that is mature enough to be used by anyone. If you think we’re only at year 0 of the AI revolution, you’re wrong.

There are three impacts major impacts AI will have on hotel tech, including large language model (LLM) based products, that go beyond business intelligence and what we think of AI, today:

1. Guests

The role of technology has always been to commoditize a bespoke product or service, thereby allowing a new set of customers to enjoy a service that was previously unavailable or unaffordable. The Boeing 747 and the internet are among the most significant innovations in hospitality over the prior 50 years.

AI (in its multiple incarnations) will be transformative for the guest experience and the ability to accurately predict the complete spectrum of change is incredibly small. The great predictors of the 1990s would have never imagined AI-based ID verification during mobile check-in when they talked about transformations to hospitality due to “the World Wide Web.”

We can expect personalization to be an early innovation, highly adaptive, intelligent concierges for everyone that tailor recommendations regardless of the client — offering 24/7 customer support, bespoke itineraries, expert translations for all customers, and more.

2. Operators

A key role of technology within the workplace has always been to increase productivity. This occurs either by increasing individual output or by automating manual tasks. The byproduct of technical transformation is typically two-fold: shift resource skills from task-based (cut this dress pattern to higher-level; program this cutting pattern in the computer) and reduce the level of skill required overall for production; think assembly line workers versus craftsmen.

AI will bring the same types of changes to hospitality in the coming years. AI will empower smaller teams and less experienced individuals to perform at the same level as our current workforce. Generative AI can cull an entire guest history and summarize their preferences, dislikes, behaviors, and patterns: “Tell me about Mr. Lynch.” Guest insight will no longer be isolated within a few individuals’ notepads and memory, but can be accessible to an entire hotel’s team and adjusted for context: “Tell me about Mr. Lynch’s dining preferences” versus “Tell me about Mr. Lynch’s arrival or departure habits.” This will improve the guest experience, and in turn, assist in driving non-room revenue.

Staff-to-staff operations will also take advantage of generative AI by using on-the-fly translations allowing co-workers to communicate more effectively with each other. AI becoming the seasoned veteran that employees can go to with questions is a clear first-to-market innovation that we can expect.

3. Vendor Operations

It’s important to remember that we’re all facing an early AI innovation wave at the same time. Just as hoteliers are asking these questions, so are their individual vendors. Everything from linen service providers to guest-technology companies are looking at ways for AI to enhance their own productivity. You should expect more from your vendors as they leverage AI for their own operations: Are they using AI to augment their workforce? And is that cost savings being passed down to you?

Remember, every provider is a technology company. A vendor’s ability to react to change and reorient themselves is critical to their long-term success. INTELITY is already using generative AI: our support team uses a Slack+Zendesk plugin to be able to find similar cases and summarize large multi-email threads. Our product team uses AI to draft our product stories and write release notes. Our engineering team is using AI tools to provide an extra set of eyes on internal code-reviews. We’re learning about LLM internally so we can use the technology within our own customer-facing products.

AI needs data, and the more data available the more accurate the response. There will be many business cases written about million-dollar AI implementations that failed, and I expect a common failure is that the data used to generate the desired insights simply wasn’t available to the AI model. Start thinking about how your vendors are handling your data: Do you have a system that is connected to all your other systems and offers a central hub for guest experience? Sites like Reddit and Twitter are already cutting off third-party access to their data because they don’t want someone else’s AI to be trained on their data for free. Data is crucial for AI to provide value.

Good technology partners will make the technology look like magic, and hoteliers will remain experts in their craft. Just like before, you’ll want to select technology that does the work for you so that you don’t have to become an AI prompt-engineer. (That’s a job now, and it pays 6 figures … it didn’t exist 12 months ago!)

Think about how your everyday interaction with AI will permeate your operations. Customer-centric AI will be inside your operations well before industry-specific solutions are widely adopted. Think back to the adoption of personal versus corporate mobile devices. The industry was poorly prepared for the security risks that an iPhone connected to corporate email would pose. Customers will be using AI to evaluate travel and value, and you can be prepared: Is your website accurate and does it provide specific data for the customers you’re trying to attract? Employees will (and are) already sending in resumes built with LLM generative AI assistance. Can you evaluate candidates effectively in that environment? By keeping your eyes open for these AI opportunities you’ll be able to take the lessons learned as you move forward with AI in your own operations.

Read the full Hospitality Net article here. Interested in learning more about how the latest technology can improve your hotel operations and guest experience? Request a demo today.

Crunching the Numbers: Understanding Hotel Data to Drive Non-Room Revenue

Analyzing hotel data is a significant way to offer guests customized, revenue-driving recommendations

If you aren’t tracking guest behaviors and using this hotel data to provide your guests with personalized, revenue-driving recommendations, you’re missing out on a major upsell opportunity. There are many benefits of data collection at hotels, but the No. 1 benefit might be the ability to personalize the guest experience while driving non-room revenue.

Whether it’s recommending a specific bottle of wine at your on-site restaurant or upselling a service at your spa, using guests’ data to personalize the guest journey while increasing revenue is essential to your business. The following are a few ways this can be achieved.

Review Individual Guest Data for Upselling Opportunities

Using a staff operations platform, hotels can receive ​​comprehensive data on everything from service request frequency to the average dining check size, providing them with valuable insight into who’s staying at their hotel and what their guests’ digital activities are during their stay.

Notice a guest has ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc the last two nights with their in-room dining order? The on-site restaurant now has the opportunity to recommend their best bottle when they dine in the restaurant the following night. This interaction makes the guest feel noticed, while also increasing non-room revenue.

See that a guest is staying at your property for a work function? Allow them to destress by offering them 10% off your most popular massage at your on-site spa. Chances are they’ll stay for a facial, too.

Review Hotel Data for Upselling Opportunities

One of the many benefits of data collection at a hotel is being able to see bigger picture revenue trends and adapting your processes to meet these trends. For instance, a staff operations platform can track digital revenue streams to tell when guests are spending money and where. Notice an uptick in sales of beer around 5 p.m. in the hotel bar? Consider starting a happy hour menu with half-priced snacks to go along with those beers. See an influx of customers purchasing your hotel-branded yoga mat at the gift shop? If it’s popular with most guests, make sure you market it to all guests by creating materials to promote this specific item in your elevator, lobby bar or on your smart-room tablet.

Predict Guests Needs & Improve the Guest Journey

Every hotelier’s goal is to anticipate their customer’s needs before they have to voice them. One of the benefits of data collection is its ability to help hoteliers predict those needs. If a guest is requesting additional towels or pillows each night, a staff operations platform with a guest preference portfolio provides staff with a place to track this information to inform housekeeping of this preference. Housekeeping can now continue to provide the guest with their additional requested items without the guest needing to call down and place the request themselves. This improves the guest experience, while helping secure a lifelong customer in the process.

 

Interested in learning how a staff operations platform can provide hospitality data analytics that drive revenue and create life-long customers? Request a demo today.

It’s All in the Details: 4 Ideas to Enhance the Hotel Guest Experience

Consider the following ideas to enhance the hotel guest experience at your property

In a world largely driven by customized technology, today’s consumers don’t just crave personalization, they expect it — and they expect it from their hotel stay, too.

Whether a guest is traveling to your property for an on-site event or just looking for some relaxation time with their furry friend, opportunities for hotel staff to create a memorable experience and improve guest satisfaction through personalization abound. Here are four ideas to enhance the hotel guest experience.

Be Pet-Friendly & Kid-Friendly

Pay attention to who a guest checks in with. Are they traveling with their kids or pets? If so, opportunities to personalize their experience and improve guest satisfaction are plentiful. Keep a container of dog treats at the front desk to make Rover feel just as welcome at your property as his owner. Every time a guest walks their dog past the front desk, offer the dog another treat. Not only will Rover remember this interaction, but the guest will, too.

If a guest is traveling with their family, offer them experiences that allow them to bond as a family while enjoying your property. Have an influx of families traveling during the height of spring break? Consider setting up a projector, renting a popcorn machine, and hosting a movie night in an open space on your property. Looking to personalize the in-room experience for young guests? Leaving a small souvenir such as a stuffed animal or fuzzy blanket in the room is a great way to make even the youngest guests feel at home. Parents need a break? After four days at the pool, consider offering nanny services so the adult guests can enjoy a date night at one of your on-site restaurants without the kids.

Always Offer an Add-On

Driving additional revenue while improving guest satisfaction is a win-win. Notice a guest has ordered a glass of Merlot from room service the last two nights? Ask your staff to recommend your best bottle during their next dining interaction. Did a guest participate in your free on-site yoga class? Consider offering them 10% off a massage at your spa to help them take their relaxation a step further.

Sweat the Small Stuff

As soon as a guest arrives in their room, dedicate a member of the front desk team to place quick check-in calls to ensure the room is to their liking. This is also the perfect time to ask if there’s anything else that can be done. Guests can request any toiletries they might have forgotten, additional towels, or pillows. Guests now have an open line of communication with front desk staff instead of having to place a call for additional towels on their own.

Booking Codes Are Your Friend

Notice a guest is checking in with a specific booking code? Use this opportunity to personalize their stay while upselling to drive a little additional revenue to your property. If a guest is checking in for a wedding, consider having your spa offer IV treatments for wedding guests who may have partied a little too hard the night before. Little touches like small hangover kits left in guests’ rooms keep things light and let them know the hotel is taking the extra step to take care of their well-being.

If a guest is checking in with a conference or trade show code, consider offering them high-speed WiFi. This will make their workday run more smoothly while providing an upsell for the property. Have available space on your property that you can convert to a meeting room? Set up a coffee machine, high-speed WiFi and provide working guests with a work-friendly environment outside of their hotel room or conference show floor.

How to Improve Guest Satisfaction in Hotel Service

Using a staff operations platform is a great way to track guest behaviors and anticipate their needs and wants before they have to ask. Using real-time data, a staff operations hub can monitor who’s ordering what, when. Hotel branded mobile apps and smart-room tablets can then deliver personalized recommendations from your on-site restaurant or spa directly into your guests’ hands.

 

These are just a few ideas for how to improve the guest experience in a hotel. Interested in learning more ideas to enhance the hotel guest experience, and how hotel technology can help? Request a demo today.

Operational Efficiency: A Lodging On Demand Podcast Interview with Robert Stevenson

Learn three key takeaways from INTELITY CEO Robert Stevenson’s conversation with Lodging Magazine on how hotel technology helps alleviate common operational challenges

Recently, INTELITY CEO Robert Stevenson sat down with Lodging Magazine editor Dennis Nessler for an in-depth conversation on hotel operational efficiency for the magazine’s Lodging On Demand podcast. During the discussion, Stevenson touched on many topics, including his thoughts on the state of travel in 2023, common operational challenges facing hoteliers today and how hotel technology, like the INTELITY platform, can help alleviate some of these challenges while streamlining staff responsibilities.

During the discussion, Nessler and Stevenson discussed a few key statistics that have shown guests’ preference for technology incorporated into their hotel stay. Those stats show that:

73% of guests are more likely to stay at a hotel that’s offering self-service technology.
39% of guests would like a fully contactless experience.
38% of guests would like a fully self-service hotel stay model with staff on hand.

With more guests expecting technology to be incorporated into their hotel stay, and with more hoteliers looking to automate portions of their operations, Stevenson offered three key takeaways for hoteliers to consider:

 

Technology Can Help Ease Labor and Operational Efficiency Issues

While hotels have reported seeing labor issues begin to wane, Stevenson said hotel technology platforms can help hoteliers automate many back-of-house functions, which help them operate more efficiently with less staff.

Streamlining guest interactions using hotel technology, such as mobile apps and smart-room tablets, can drive more effective operations and, in turn, improve the guest’s journey. Offering a branded mobile app that features a secure mobile key option allows guests to bypass the front desk completely and head straight to their rooms upon arrival. This lets the guest avoid long lobby lines, while also freeing up the front desk staff’s time to tackle other tasks. A smart-room tablet placed bedside allows guests to order in-room dining while lounging on their bed and track their order as they would on their favorite delivery app. This helps the guest avoid having to wait on hold for a staff member to take their order, and it automates the order-taking process for the back-of-house staff.

The Guest Experience Should Still Be Front-Of-Mind

When selecting a hotel technology platform, Stevenson advised to always keep the guest experience front-of-mind.

“The guest experience component should go hand-in-hand,” he said. “You don’t want to get out of lock-step. You don’t want the operator and guest experience manager to want to do two different things. It’s important to embrace those decisions holistically.”

Select Platforms that Offer Complete Solutions

In addition to looking for an all-encompassing technology solution, Stevenson also advised finding a platform that offers a “second level of business.”

“Think about what kind of business analytics you’re going to get out of the platform and ask yourself if it does full mobile check-in,” he said. “Make sure the robustness of the features are there to meet your needs.”

 

To learn more about how hotel technology can improve your property’s operational efficiency, request a demo today.

IGA 2023: 3 Key Takeaways for Casino Hotels

The recent 2023 Indian Gaming Association trade show and conference emphasized that the future of the gaming floor is digital

Last week, attendees of the 2023 Indian Gaming Association trade show and conference made the journey to San Diego, California, for four days of education sessions, two days of exhibits, and plenty of industry parties and networking opportunities.

During the education portion of the convention, leaders spoke on a slew of topics facing the gaming industry today, including inclusivity, sports betting, and best practices. But, many of the sessions were focused on technology — from ChatGPT to contactless payment to data mining — and how the gaming industry is continuing to make the move to digital.

Here are three key takeaways we learned while attending this year’s IGA trade show.

AI Technology Can Help Tackle Operations

During a Wednesday afternoon session, an AI specialist shared emerging technology and how it affects tribal casinos and casino hotels, including how they can harness new AI technology, like ChatGPT, to handle day-to-day business operations, such as answering customer questions, creating legal documents, and compiling marketing emails. The speaker also touched on how using AI can help casinos decide which slot machines to purchase and where to place them on their casino floor — all based on their guests’ behaviors.

Data Mining Is Key

Continuing the conversation on guest behavior, a Thursday morning session featured a panel of technology experts discussing trends that would have an impact on the future of gaming in the U.S. One panelist anticipated using data mining to suggest offers to customers based on their personal preferences, and, if done correctly, this practice will increase profitability in 2023.

A Tuesday panel, featuring INTELITY’s Regional Sales Director Matt Baca, provided an overview of the evolution of a building project, offering ideas on how to overcome challenges, make decisions to keep a project on track, and more. Baca suggested tapping into guest behaviors to help determine what type of locks to install at a property and, going further, how to offer contactless check-in using a branded mobile app for guests who prefer to head straight to their rooms upon arrival.

Cashless Is King

Another tech trend touched on during the convention was the increase in cashless technology. While panelists agreed that cashless technology won’t continue to grow at the same rapid pace it did during the COVID pandemic, casino customers will continue to prefer cashless payments on the casino floor.

Deploying Hotel Technology at Your Casino Hotel

For casino hotels, many of the trends heard at IGA 2023 are achievable thanks to hotel technology like branded mobile apps and in-room tablets. Both branded mobile apps and smart-room tablets can track guest behaviors and provide them with offerings based on their preferences. Deploying a branded mobile app also makes it easy for casino hotels to connect their on-site gaming offerings, making their property’s app a one-stop shop for all on-property purchases.

 

Interested in finding out more on how the latest gaming technology trends can extend to improving your casino hotel’s guest experience? Request a demo.

Get Personal: 3 Benefits of Using Hotel Tech to Offer Personalized Promotions

Personalized promotions go a long way when it comes to cross-selling, upselling, and retaining hotel guests

We all know upselling and cross-selling tips are hot topics in the retail industry, but they’re also important factors when it comes to marketing to your hotel guests. According to Forbes, attracting a new customer can cost five times more than retaining an existing one. And what better way to grab the attention of a guest than when they are already on your property. Tapping into guests’ preferences and using hotel technology to deploy personalized promotions are foolproof ways to keep guest dollars at your property and ensure they come back for a future visit.

Here are three benefits to using hotel technology to deploy personalized promotions.

Provide a Customized Guest Experience

Encouraging staff to pay attention to the small details always goes a long way. Retaining information such as the rate or group code the guest used to book, the name of the pet traveling with them, or even the type of wine they ordered from room service go a long way in making a lasting impression — and also comes in handy when looking to upsell a customer.

Using a branded mobile app or a smart-room tablet, hotel staff can push out upsell promotions and on-property activity notifications that guests might already be interested in. Offering a promotion to a group of wedding attendees who used the same rate code to book or sending an event notification of a pet-friendly, on-property event to those who checked in with their dog are likely to have higher engagement. Know a group of guests are staying on your property for a work event or convention? Consider using their group code to send out a push notification to ensure they are aware of your high-speed internet options and rentable meeting rooms. These options will help enhance their work experience, while seamlessly driving additional revenue to your property.

Offering guests a direct way to interact with your property through something they might already be interested in is a no-brainer. This tech is also useful for time-sensitive promotions and events.

Drive Additional Revenue

In the same vein, using a branded mobile app or smart-room tablet to deliver personalization promotions to all guests, such as half-off wine bottles during Monday’s happy hour, are an easy way to increase revenue and keep your current guests’ dollars on your property. Who knows, they might just order a few appetizers to go along with that half-priced bottle of wine.

Learn Your Guests’ Behaviors

Using a staff operations platform is another easy way to use hotel technology to activate personalized promotions. An operations platform can offer hoteliers comprehensive data on everything from service request frequency to average dining check size. This valuable insight gives you a look into who’s staying at your hotel and what their digital activities are while they are on your property — providing you with a better understanding of how and when to market to them.

 

Looking for more hotel cross-selling techniques or want to learn how to deploy personalized promotions on your property using hotel technology? Then request a demo.

How Branded Mobile Apps Can Enhance Casino Loyalty Programs

Integrating existing casino loyalty programs and in-app gaming into a branded mobile app for your property enhances the guest experience and drives additional revenue

When it comes to casino hotel customer retention, casino loyalty programs are key. But what if you could bundle your loyalty program with other revenue-driving features, such as in-app gaming, on-site dining, and more? Enter branded mobile apps. The use of a mobile app can actually help keep guests — and their dollars — on your property.

With hospitality technology for casinos on the rise, branded mobile apps can offer many benefits for your property and your guests, including providing the option for guests to bypass the front desk by checking in ahead of arrival and using their phone as a mobile key. This cuts down on front-desk friction by enabling guests to go straight to their rooms, so they can get out on the casino floor and play. Mobile apps also let guests order room-service, book on-site dining reservations and spa appointments, and request missing toiletries all with just a tap of their finger.

But let’s look at a few ways that branded mobile apps can enhance casino loyalty programs and drive additional revenue through in-app gaming.

Reward Your Guests

According to a study conducted by marketing firm LaneTerralever, 65% of surveyed gamers said they will visit a casino solely because of their positive perception of its loyalty program. The survey of some 1,300 gamers also found that the majority of Millennials and Gen Xers use their earned loyalty rewards to play more. With stats like this, integrating your existing casino loyalty program into your casino hotel branded mobile app is a no-brainer and can be used to streamline your property’s guest experience.

The best casino loyalty programs allow guests to use their rewards to play more or redeem for food and drinks — getting them out of their rooms and onto the casino floor. It will also entice them to stay on your property, keeping their dollars onsite.

Sending targeted marketing opportunities through a branded mobile app also allows guests to engage directly with your casino hotel’s events and promotions. These types of promotions can also entice loyalty members by notifying them of times or games that could offer them double points.

In-App Gaming

Integrating in-app gaming into your branded mobile app will drive additional revenue to your property and provide guests with a seamless experience. In-app gaming integration can also help attract younger demographics who have been finding their place in the gaming ecosystem thanks to the increased popularity in iGaming and sports wagering. With younger demographic interest on the rise thanks to these mobile-based games, having a branded mobile app for your casino hotel with integrated in-app gaming is a great way to meet them where they’re at.

Interested in learning more about how to integrate your casino loyalty program with a branded mobile app for your casino hotel or hospitality technology for casinos in general? Request a demo today.

Casino Apps: The Next Big Thing for Casino-Hotels Is Here

5 reasons your property should implement a branded mobile casino app

Hospitality technology dates back to 1894 when the Netherland Hotel in New York City introduced the first in-room telephones for its guests. Needless to say, we’ve come a long way since then. Smartphones and other hotel mobile tech, such as smart-room tablets, have changed the way the hospitality industry communicates with and serves its guests. But how can these technologies benefit casino-hotels? The use of a branded mobile casino app can actually help keep guests — and their dollars — on your property. The following are five reasons to implement a branded mobile casino app at your casino-hotel.

Streamline Check-In

No one wants to see a long check-in line in a casino lobby, no matter which side of the desk they’re on. Mobile check-in options are ideal for “stay-and-play” guests, allowing them to get checked in to their hotel room ahead of their arrival. It’s also a boon for casino-hotels’ staff as they’re able to focus on other tasks, improving the overall customer experience. Perhaps most importantly, though, it quickly connects your guests to the casino floor. Cut down on front-desk friction and enable customers to go straight to their rooms, so they can get out on the casino floor and play.

Offer Highly Targeted Marketing Opportunities

All smartphones possess geolocation services. And while most people use these for GPS functionality or updating social media, did you know you can adapt them for your property to send out targeted promotions and special offers? Help your guests keep track of on-property events, sales, and activities they might be interested in by using hotel mobile tech to deploy targeted marketing messaging when guests are most likely to be receptive. This tech is useful for those time-sensitive promotions and events. Incorporate these marketing notifications to deploy directly from your branded mobile casino app to your guest’s pocket.

Attract Younger Generations

Younger demographics are finally finding their place in the gaming ecosystem thanks to the increased popularity in iGaming and sports wagering. With younger demographics interest on the rise thanks to these mobile-based games, having a branded mobile app for your property is a great way to meet them where they’re at.

Provide In-Room Customizations

In relation to the above, younger demographics, such as Millennials and Gen Zers, tend to avoid spending time talking on the phone. Hotel mobile tech, like a branded mobile app, allows them to engage with your property’s staff without ever having to pick up the phone. According to a 2023 survey, 75% say talking on the phone is too time-consuming, and 64% avoid phone calls because they don’t want to interact directly with a person.

Keeping that trend in mind, if this type of guest needs to request additional items or wants to place an in-room dining order, picking up the phone to call the front desk might not be their first inclination. Providing guests with a branded mobile app allows them to request missing items, control the lighting and temperature system in their room, and place room service orders — all without having to make a phone call, which also saves your staff time in the process. Using a branded mobile app, guests can also monitor the status of their order just like they would on their favorite food delivery service app.

Promote Cardless Interactions

No one wants to carry around a debit or credit card on a casino floor if they can avoid it. Instead of insisting that customers carry their cards on them, consider adopting a cardless system that works with your branded mobile app. Stations Casino’s Cardless Connect system is a perfect example. Guests sign up for a “boarding pass” through the app, and as long as they’ve got internet access, they can play at their favorite gaming tables and machines without having to worry about chips, cards, or losing more money than they intended.

 

To learn more about creating a branded mobile app for your casino-hotel or other examples of mobile technology for hotels, request a demo.

ID Solutions & Beyond: 5 Ways to Keep Hotel Guests’ Data Safe

Employing an ID solution and using a secure payment gateway are two ways to protect your hotel guests data outside of your security system

As hoteliers, providing a superior guest experience is of the utmost importance. But part of providing a positive experience for guests is also keeping them safe — and not just with the use of your hotel security system. Guest safety goes above and beyond CCTVs to also include protecting personal hotel guests data against potential cybersecurity breaches.

According to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the hospitality industry has the second highest number of cybersecurity breaches with nearly all of the major hotel brands having fallen victim at one time or another to an online security breach. Hyatt, IHG, and Hilton have all seen security breaches in recent years, and despite being smaller in size, boutique hotels are not immune from having their systems hacked and customer data stolen. So, what are some steps you can take to protect your guests and their data? Here are a few actions to consider.

Control Access & Authentication with an ID Solution

An ID solution for hoteliers allows properties that offer guests mobile check-in, mobile check-out, and mobile key functionality to provide a biometric verification — usually in the form of facial recognition — to match the guest to their official identity documents. This allows the guest to bypass the front desk and head straight to their room upon arrival while knowing that their data, and the access to their guestroom, is safe and secured.

Ensure Data Is Tokenized

When searching for a secure platform service provider, considering one that offers data tokenization is crucial. Many platform service providers don’t store any PCI information, but instead, tokenize a guest’s sensitive information and send it directly to the property’s payment gateway. This makes sure that anything that’s compliant is stored in the hotel’s PMS system.

Always Hit ‘Update’

It might sound simple but performing regular security updates to ensure all software is up-to-date as possible is key to combating against a security breach. Make sure to also operate a continuous training program in cybersecurity to maintain a well-trained workforce.

Conduct Assessments & Vulnerability Testing

By conducting tests against your own hotel’s cybersecurity defenses, you’ll be able to see where there may be holes in your system. During the test, employ a staffer to mirror the behavior of an actual hacker to ensure your systems are secure.

Remember to Log Out

Remind employees to always log out of a system any time they walk away from a computer. Posting a note next to computers can act as a friendly reminder. In addition, remember to change passwords often and ensure they’re changed any time a staff member leaves the company to avoid any future breaches.

 

Guest safety goes beyond CCTVs and hotel security systems. For more information on how to keep your hotel guests data safe and how to select a secure platform service provider, request a demo today.

At Your Service: How to Personalize the Guest Experience Using Tech

Wondering how to personalize the guest experience at your property? The answer lies in hotel technology.

When it comes to retail marketing, personalization is king. The ability to tailor a customer’s shopping experience increases their satisfaction, leading to customer loyalty. The same goes for hotels. When a guest checks into a hotel, they crave a personalized experience that makes them as comfortable as they are at home. Addressing guests by their first name and replacing frequently used items in their room are a few ways to make them feel acknowledged. But what if you could take it one step further?

If you’re wondering how to personalize the guest experience further, the answer lies in hotel technology. Here are a few ways tech can help customize your guests’ stay.

Their Stay, On Their Time

With technology and mobile devices permeating nearly every aspect of our daily lives, it’s no surprise that a rising number of guests have come to expect a digital experience during their hotel stay, as well. Branded hotel mobile apps are one recommendation of how to personalize the guest experience. Apps offer tech-savvy guests the ability to check-in and check-out all from the convenience of their mobile device. Apps with mobile key capabilities allow guests to bypass the front desk altogether and head right to their rooms upon arrival. Integration with key lock providers offer guests a secure way to enter their rooms, while also never needing to worry about misplacing a plastic key card again.

Another benefit? After a long day of work meetings or sightseeing, guests can view menus that have been updated in real-time, place their dining request and track their order’s progress all from their app — just like they would their favorite food delivery app.

The Tap of a Tablet

Hotel guest room technology, such as bedside smart-room tablets, are one more way guests can get what they want, when they want it. With similar features as a mobile app, smart-room tablets let guests place dining orders and track them in real-time. They also allow guests to request additional toiletries that they may have forgotten, such as toothpaste or dental floss. For guests who prefer a little extra comfort, an additional pillow or two is just a tap of the tablet away.

Binge Away

Gone are the days when guests had to wait to return home to their couches to find how the second season of “White Lotus” ends. Casting gives guests control over their own in-room entertainment. Delivered through Google Chromecast, guests can stream content directly to the room’s television from their own device with no additional login needed.

Comfort Comes First

Hotel guest room technology like smart-room tablets are able to integrate with a hotel room’s temperature control system and lighting system to allow guests to create the exact environment they want. Just like they can at home, guests can reach for the in-room tablet to adjust the room’s heating and cooling, as well as brighten or dim the lights. Now that’s personalization.

Customized, Data-Driven Offers

Using features like banner promotions, in-app messaging and user experience flows, hoteliers can reach guests with personalized offers at any time during their stay. By sharing a few of their preferences when booking, hotels can then create offers based on these stated preferences. Notice a guest is traveling for a specific event due to their rate code? Hoteliers can create special offers and promotions based on that rate code and push them out via the app when guest engagement is at its highest.

 

These are just a few suggestions of how hotel technology can help improve the guest experience. For more on how tech can create a personalized experience for your guests, request a demo today.

Have it Your Way: The Importance of Flexibility in Improving Guest Experience

The importance of flexibility is key for the guest experience — and hotel technology can help

Today’s traveler is a new breed. Gone are the days when guests traveled strictly for just work or just pleasure. The rise in bleisure and the increase in remote work has created a new kind of hybrid traveler. And, thanks to the continual incorporation of technology into our everyday lives, today’s guests are used to getting what they want, when they want it, and how they want it. So, how can a hotelier keep up with guests who require a variety of different levels of service and provide a quality guest experience for both? Enter hotel technology.

By enacting a flexibility strategy that utilizes hotel technology, hotels can meet their guests where they’re at. Here are a few ways technology can enhance the guest experience.

Going Mobile

Today’s consumer is used to doing just about everything on their mobile device — from ordering dinner to catching a ride to sending cash to their friends. So, why should their hotel stay be any different? Younger, tech-savvy travelers have come to expect a mobile experience. For these guests, a hotel branded mobile app allows them to bypass the front desk and check-in remotely on their mobile device. Mobile key functionality integrates seamlessly with lock providers to provide guests with safe, keyless entry to their hotel rooms using just their smartphone. When it’s time to check out, guests can use their mobile phone to do that as well.

A branded mobile app also lets guests browse the most up-to-date food menus, order in-room dining and then track their orders, just like they would an order from DoorDash. If a guest forgets their toothbrush or needs extra towels, item requests can easily be made on an app.

Just a Tap Away

For those who don’t want to download a hotel’s app onto their mobile device, smart-room tablets provide a great alternative. Similar to branded mobile apps, in-room tablets allow guests to browse the most up-to-date dining menus, place an order and track it all while lounging on their hotel bed.

For guests who prefer brighter lighting or cooler environs, smart-room tablets integrate with the room controls to allow guests to adjust the heating and cooling system, as well as the lighting from the comfort of their bed. Additionally, guests can make purchases from the gift shop, request additional towels or toiletries, and book spa appointments all with just a tap.

Don’t Stop the Binging

Gone are the days when a traveler had to wait to return home to continue binging their favorite Netflix documentary. Now, guests can cast TV shows, movies and music directly to their in-room televisions with no additional login through Google Chromecast-enabled apps. Add benefit: Casting allows hoteliers to cancel expensive cable subscriptions.

At Your Service

Virtual concierge services are the future. And while many guests may still prefer to get the lay of the land by interacting face-to-face with the hotel’s concierge, those who prefer texting can message the front desk and get answers to their questions in real-time. A virtual concierge can suggest activities and services personalized to a guest’s preferences and create an itinerary for each guest, accessible via the hotel’s mobile app or in-room tablet.

 

There are many ways technology can enhance the guest experience. To learn more on this and the importance of flexibility in the guest experience, request a demo today.

4 Ways Hotel In-Room Technology Improves the Guest Experience

Simplifying the room service process is just one of many ways hotel in-room technology can positively impact the guest experience.

Hospitality can have several definitions, but the main theme is always anticipating and catering to a guest’s needs and desires. As technology has become a central fixture in guests’ personal lives, their needs have changed. Hotels that adapt their guest experience to technology the fastest will be better positioned to reap the benefits and see serious ROI in the process.

Here are four ways that hotel in-room technology can change the guest experience — for good.

Think Postmates, For Hotels

A decade ago, no one would have believed they could order their favorite meal from their favorite restaurant and have it delivered to their door in under an hour. Postmates, GrubHub, and DoorDash have changed the dining landscape, especially post-pandemic. As consumers become more accustomed to technology integrating into their everyday lives, they expect hotel room tech to be at the same level. In-room, smart-room tablets help meet this consumer demand. Hungry guests who’ve had a long day and don’t feel like venturing down to the hotel restaurant can order room service directly from their in-room tablet, and, in many instances, track the order similar to how they would a Postmates order.

Does a guest need additional towels? Did they forget their toothpaste? Need more Keurig pods? Guests’ desires outside of in-room dining are just a tap of a tablet away.

Make Yourself at Home

By deploying the latest hotel in-room technology, a property can help guests feel at home even when they are thousands of miles away. By placing a smart hotel technology like an in-room tablet bedside, guests can browse through hotel information, book spa appointments, and adjust the temperature and lighting controls of their room, just as they’re accustomed to doing at home.

Another benefit? Removing language barriers. This may be one of the biggest wins when it comes to guest comfort. No matter where a guest is in the world, a smart-room tablet will give them the ability to automatically change languages in seconds, instantly enabling them to comprehend the menu of service offerings and communicate with the hotel.

Go Green with Technology

Hotels can easily feature their latest events, marketing materials, and announcements on in-room tablets — reducing printing costs and saving trees in the process. According to Skift Research, a whopping 83% of global travelers think sustainable travel is vital. And with many guests thinking about sustainability when booking a hotel, smart hotel technology such as in-room tablets can help properties take a large step in the right direction.

Improved Operations Improve Experience

By combining a staff-facing platform and a guest-facing platform, hoteliers will help their teams become more efficient. When hotels begin to feed in an integrated back-end solution that blends in with the guest-facing solution, those efficiencies clearly result in positive ROI. And in positive guest satisfaction. Human error is reduced, and, through smart hotel technology like in-room tablets, hoteliers can streamline guest requests by automatically routing the request to the correct department.

It’s important to rebuild your operational practices and business models around your guests’ real needs and desires. Guest expectations towards technology — and technology in hotels — has changed over the last decade. Have you?

 

Looking to improve the guest experience using hotel in-room technology? Request a demo today.