The hospitality industry started replacing manual labor and analog operations with digital solutions long before Covid-19 became a global problem. However, digitalization quickly became a necessity after the pandemic hit, and today, more than ever, it is a requirement rather than an innovative approach.
The hospitality sector and travel and tourism industry were the ones who suffered heavy losses due to travel restrictions and health and safety-related fears. Business meetings were transferred online, and leisure travelers started canceling their plans awaiting safer times.
The few people who had no choice but to travel and seek temporary accommodation required the implementation of digital solutions that minimize in-person contact and provide the highest level of health safety.
The hotel industry is changing, and hotel owners find new ways to evolve and adapt to new expectations and requirements. In today’s article, we’ll discuss how Covid will force digitalization in the hotel workplace and practices for hotel companies to adjust to new business models involving digital technologies.
Digital labor as a first-line defense
With the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the sudden extreme number of reservation cancellations, many hotel brands found digital labor and smart technology to be the first-line defense systems they need to employ.
Hotel employees were overwhelmed by manual administration work, and management started turning to sophisticated online booking platforms and property management systems (PMS).
Property management system and online booking platform integration
A well-executed integration between PMS and booking systems results in less administrative work for staff members and provides seamless automation with zero error rates. Such integration offers exact counts of hotel guests and booked and free hotel rooms, guaranteeing precise planning and hotel capacity management.
Hotel apps and mobile check-ins
Other digital solutions that gained popularity throughout the pandemic are mobile check-ins and hotel apps which reduce in-person contact and provide a higher level of personalization. They also help hoteliers and guests throughout the whole guest journey from check-in to check out.
With PMS and online bookings, mobile check-ins and hotel apps provide numerous opportunities for hotel management, staff and guests.
Some examples are listed below :
- Cleaning schedule planning
- Notifications when a room is ready and sanitized
- Instantly provide Covid-19 safety measures information and best practices through automatic operational safety messaging
- Special offerings
- Showcasing menus, including F&B offers
- Place room service orders
- Virtual communication between guests and hotel staff
- Local sightseeing and day trips
- Book SPA and other unique treatments
- Restaurant reservations
- Contactless mobile room keys and room access
- Room upgrades
- Payments
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Rethinking loyalty & reward
Since the number of traveling people looking for accommodation significantly decreased during the pandemic, it is only natural for hospitality businesses to consider implementing loyalty and reward programs. Through new, digital tools, they can stimulate known customers to use their services again and motivate newcomers to visit their properties.
Keeping your customers up to date
Digitalization and automation processes help hotels keep their visitors informed about current offers, new available upgrades, top-notch services and special activities by sending newsletters to subscribers. Thanks to AI and ML, these offers can be highly personalized according to the guest’s previous choices, searches, purchased services or upgrades.
How do hoteliers use mobile check-ins and hotel apps?
Owners and managers from the hotel sector started using mobile hotel apps and mobile check-in services to support their customer loyalty and reward programs.
Members in these programs can select their preferences, so staff members can help and further personalize the guest’s stay. Not only that, but integrated AI and ML can memorize specific data sets to help hotel management analyze, target particular groups of people, plan and think of innovative services and solutions to pain points.
Members with active rewards might even access high-end services, including early-bird bookings and offers and higher-speed internet options. The more services they use, the more rewards they get, and they can start seeing discounted room prices on their hotel app installed on their mobile device.
A new sense of security
Data collection
Digitalization and high-tech solutions brought the need for wearable tech gadgets and data collection from personal devices. Thanks to them, hoteliers managed to get unnecessary in-person contact to a minimum without breaking the bond between guests and customers.
They also have tracking functions and collect data for guests’ activities, preferences, and services, which is a fantastic opportunity for hotels to analyze invaluable data and improve their business operations.
How is it causing concerns?
However, collecting guests’ data comes with specific precautions that hoteliers need to take. Especially in recent years, everyone has heard of data leaks and misuse of personal information that have become global issues.
Today, more than ever, travelers and hotel guests who use digital solutions need to be reassured about the use of their data and gain a new sense of security – cyber security.
Cyber security
With the Covid-19 pandemic and increasing digitalization in the hotel industry, it’s important to create physical safety and focus on cyber security.
Hoteliers need to inform their regular or new guests how their data will be used and processed to create a sense of security. They can easily do so by including a special “Data Processing & Privacy” section on their hotel’s mobile app so guests stay informed.
There are a few crucial components that one can include in such sections :
- Which data is collected
- Which personal information is shown and what stays anonymous
- Private guest operations
- Customer data use rules and regulations
- Any third parties involved
- Security practices regarding customer data
- Federal, local and industry-specific regulations
- Consequences in case of breaking the rules
How can hoteliers use technology to get ahead in 2022?
With the decrease of Covid-19 cases worldwide and the stabilization of the global economy comes the question of how hoteliers can still use this digitalization push in 2022 and the following years.
Hotel technology trends like PMS systems, hotel apps, mobile check-ins, in-room control and contactless payments are here to stay for a long time as they are known to significantly improve customer experience.
Property management systems
PMS systems will continue to be especially useful for managing bookings, room capacity, and planning ahead of time. Many hotels have fewer staff members and an increase in bookings in the past months, making it challenging to balance workload. That’s why many choose online booking platforms and integrated property management systems.
Personalized offers
Service management can utilize technology solutions like mobile apps and check-ins to provide highly personalized offers for their guests. By seeing services and experiences customers relate to, they are more likely to purchase them for a memorable stay. The approach benefits both parties – improved satisfaction for the guest and increased revenue for the hotel.
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Meeting customer demands
With the global improvements in digital technology and the increase in remote work opportunities, customer demands have shifted towards digitalization, higher internet speeds, hyper-personalization and sustainability.
Hotels started using customized software, in-room control, smart TVs, hotel apps, and AI and ML for data collection and analysis to keep their competitive edge. Showcasing all your offers throughout the check-in process gains you advantage over those who postpone these offers when the guest arrives at the hotel.
Guests should be able to see and book your services in advance, which will result in higher sales and cash flow.
Benefits to hoteliers
Digitalization benefits not only hotel guests but also hoteliers. First and most importantly, implementing an automated technological process significantly reduces staff member workload, facilitates employee communications and helps departments synchronize and work seamlessly together.
It helps management analyze, plan, and offer new services and unique treatments. Hotel rooms are never overbooked because the system calculates capacity and minimizes human error possibilities.
Sounds like a dream come true? Here’s more. Digitalization offers a fantastic way to stay on top of the hyper-personalization trend in hotels.
Guests receive personalized offers, trips, menus and suggestions based on their personal preferences and requirements, resulting in more sales and satisfied guests. Combining these technological tools with loyalty and reward systems you can significantly increase customer engagement where happy guests leave positive reviews from their unforgettable experiences, generating more viewers and newcomers.
FAQ
How is the hotel industry changing?
The hotel industry started shifting towards digital solutions long before the pandemic. However, Covid-19 accelerated this process, and today digital technologies for hotels are a requirement and not an innovative approach anymore.
What are the ways to stay ahead of the competition?
Hotels are taking advantage of various technologies in their workplace. Some of them are PMS and online booking platform integrations, mobile check-ins, hotel mobile apps, loyalty and reward programs, in-room control and better cybersecurity solutions.
How can hoteliers benefit from digitalization?
The benefits of digital transformation for hotels are numerous. Automated and digital processes help in data collection and analysis, property management, planning, staff workload reduction, and revenue increase.