New research is showing why placing tablets in hotel rooms can generate increases in revenue for the hospitality industry.
Hotel tablets don’t just add a “wow” factor to a hotel lobby, restaurant or guest room. For some time now, our company has heard incredible successes among our clients, from average guest usage rates upwards of 90 percent to improved scores toward AAA Five Diamond status.
Significant ROI associated with hotel tablets has also been reported, especially regarding increased in-room dining and room service revenue.
The Inn at Penn, a Hilton hotel in Philadelphia, saw increased revenue only months after installing hotel tablets with INTELITY Guest in guest rooms. Greg Stafford, the hotel’s general manager during the installation, said hotel tablets contributed to a 12-percent increase in average room service checks and a 10-percent increase in room service usage.
And now it seems science is reinforcing what our customers report.
Psychologists have suggested that people place a higher value on things they own compared to things they don’t. Even before purchase, people develop feelings of ownership toward an item if they touch it and tend to buy these items more frequently.
A series of new studies have taken it a step further by looking into the “interface psychology” of shopping on devices, or how mobile technology impacts consumer behavior.
Apparently, even indirect physical touch creates a sense of ownership that encourages purchase, which applies to consumers using touchscreen tablets to place orders. The effect of placing the items in their hands through a tablet makes them feel more possessive toward it and more inclined to complete a sale.
“I think our impulse levels might be a little harder to control when we’re tablet shopping than when we’re computer shopping. We’re just touching it. It’s right there. We already feel like we own it,” said Stevan Adam Brasel, one of the Boston College researchers who conducted these studies.
A report related to their research also showed that visual details tend to matter more than text during tablet shopping. It states, “Changes in interfaces can be as important as changes in content.”
Overall, this research has important takeaways for hoteliers looking to create a digital experience for guests using innovative technology like hotel tablets. Allowing guests to use hotel tablets when they place orders creates a more personal buying experience and leads to more conversions and higher revenue.
