Let’s face it – it’s challenging to be in hospitality. With steep competition within and even beyond the industry, many hoteliers are doing their best to reinvent themselves, in order to gain brand loyalty amongst guests.At its very core, guest services is not just about meeting their expectations, but it’s also about surpassing them – and the use of technology is one way to help achieve this goal.
Here’s how:
1. Simplifying the check-in process
The last thing that guests would want to encounter, especially after a long flight or commute, is a long wait to check in. This is a crucial pain point that can affect guest satisfaction. With clear direction, and a convenient, easy-to-use mobile system that allows guests to head from the lobby to their room as quickly as possible, would make a most ideal start to guests’ overall experience.
2. Automating processes through mobile
From being able to control in-room settings to making room service orders, carrying out all these processes within a mobile application, means that convenience is truly in the palm of one’s hand. Such innovations can also be a smart solution to manpower and productivity issues, both long-standing challenges faced by the industry.
3. Providing a safe and secure environment
In order to enhance the security of the hotel premises, technology now plays an important role in preventing potential breaches and hacks, especially if hotels are –verifying guests’ profiles through their digital identities. In the nutshell, besides prioritizing on guests safety, hotels are also expected to ensure their personal data is kept safe and secure too.
4. Delighting return guests
It’s said that ‘third time’s a charm’, but by a guest’s second stay at your hotel, knowing his or her likes and preferences would go a long way in making them feel welcome. This is also a fundamental stepping-stone that aids in building that brand loyalty every hospitality group is desperately trying to achieve. Technology and artificial intelligence (AI) can certainly play its part to facilitate this, for example, by mapping guests’ activities and preferences to their digital profile, hotels are able to better understand and execute guests preferences during their next stay.…You may represent a luxury hotel brand or a simple 3-star establishment, but the ultimate service goal remains the same: to pamper guests, and not to hamper them.
Providing them with warm welcomes and friendly, efficient service is one thing; paying close attention to their preferences and going the extra mile to delight them, can be propelled by the right balance of exemplary trained staff, along with the implementation of technology and innovation.