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.
