7 Ways Hotels Can Use Technology For a Better Guest Experience

Hotels are completely changing the way they deliver services from mobile check-ins to tablet controlled rooms, there are great applications of technology in hospitality to make the guest experience truly memorable.

The Aria Hotel & Resort in Las Vegas, for instance, is one of the most technologically equipped properties known for its superior room tablets that basically control their entire guest experience. The tablets available across all of the hotel’s 4000+ rooms can be used to request hotel services, book tickets, send & receive multimedia messages, room feature control, room service & catering, business services and much more.

Integrating guest technology is no more an option, but a necessity that defines competitive advantage and guest satisfaction index rating in modern-day hoteling. Let’s take a look at 7 amazing ways technology is improving the hotel guest experience across the world.

Mobile Integration

Integrating mobile technology with hotel processes is possibly one of the most obvious features you would expect. Mobile applications in hospitality offer a variety of features including:

• Reservations
• Check-in
• Room service
• Booking tours
• Room temperature control (still fewer hotels offer this feature)
• Request hotel services
• Internet portal registration

Mobile check-in remains one of the most sought out features when it comes to mobile guest technology. Checking in to the hotel with a mobile significantly reduces crowding in the lobby and alleviates further fatigue for the already tired guests. Many hotels have also introduced the leading mobile room key technology to allow guests to simply tag in and enter their room with their smartphones. Room key tech also increases the security of the key, giving power & control directly in the hands of guests.

Mobile has even more applications is hospitality with top tier hotel groups integrating teh tech with in-house facilities, local tours, multimedia systems, room technology, and even event booking. Other hotels are using mobile apps to deliver information services, news, and promotions .

Guest Internet Solutions

Guest internet is simply something you can not live or travel with. It is a pre-requisite of operating any hotel business, and a must-have facility demanded by guests around the world. Even as further back as 2015 guests and especially business travelers had begun demanding high speed internet at hotels.

Courtesy Forbes Archives

Delivering high-speed internet to each and every guest across the hotel is essential to maintain superior guest satisfaction. This requires hotels to have a sound network design and even better network security to protect their guests’ data & devices.

A large number of hotels today outsource their guest internet support to a managed hotel technology company. This provides them a carefree dedicated guest internet solution, as they concentrate on operations and their managed tech provider takes care of internet support & security across the hotel. Hotel technology companies also assist owners with network design and network security tools.

Hotel Property Management

PMS or Property Management Systems are superb software designed to cater to the vast hospitality industry assets. The intuitive and now highly customizable applications offer owners, staff, and management an easy way to automate the entire service delivery process.

The integration of mobile apps makes the use of PMS even easier with real-time management of room services, housekeeping, billing & revenue, events, check-in & check-out times, front office and back office among other services.

You can also read our previous blog about converting your legacy hotel management system to a breakthrough PMS software.    

Cloud-Based Servers & Storage

Marvels in the field of I.T. have established great competency for businesses across the world. Like other industries hotels are also choosing to partner with vendors to secure their data on pre-configured cloud servers.

Cloud technology is rapidly changing the way hotels save & secure information. Most vendors ensure data security by adding considerable layers of security to their servers. This reduces the cost of storing information and outsources the management of data storage into more capable hands of a hotel technology company.

Automated Concierge

Quoted as being the future of hoteling and a popular guest you will find at higher end properties, robot or automatic concierges are in trend. The great thing about automatic concierges is that they can be utilized for both as a guest technology and as a staff management tool.

Used primarily as a means for guests to check-in, check-out, book travel & tours, receive news & offers, browse local attractions, etc. automatic concierges are a brilliant tech that improves satisfaction. In times of rush or when guests are tired, automatic concierges radically reduce check-in times and guest fatigue.  

Automatic concierges can also be programmed to serve staff features including attendance, time-in & time-out, deliver guest services, and synchronize data to name a few. The automated concierge screen can also serve for signage and deliver guests timely information.

Improved Cyber Security

Implementing more guest technology in hotels has also called for enhanced security infrastructure at properties to curb rising cybertheft & hacks. Increasing cases of infiltrations and attacks on hotel I.T. infrastructures demand ridiculously overpowered tools to counter prevailing threats.

Thanks to advances on that front, hotels can now breath freely with an array of tools to secure their entire technology frameworks. Two of the most important tools that any hotel business needs are sound threat protection & detection systems. These leading edge local security tools allow real-time identification and eradication of threats as they occur.

Firewall technologies are also adapting to the changing nature & environment of hotels. While larger franchises tend to carry multiple levels of security, even smaller properties can also secure their networks with firewall tech.

A secure and reinforced network is one of the most attractive prospects for a tech-savvy guest. Due to multiple touch points, every hotel must address the security of their digital channels, POS systems, camera systems, room keys, WIFI networks, and email servers.

Wowing Visuals

Using visual technology to wow guests has been a core point for hoteliers. Well, as it happens, modern large screen TV screens are a brilliant way to captivate your guests. For example, the Rennessaince New York Midtown Hotel uses massive immersive screens in their lobbies and galleries to keep guests attached to the hotel’s various facilities.

Even the bars, restaurants, guest areas, and rooms at the Rennessaince are equipped with the highest quality screens to deliver the optimum guest experience. Large screens are a clever way to attract sports fans, movie fans, and business travelers who conduct video calls.

Conclusion:

Technology has a great positive impact on both the efficiency of hotels and guest satisfaction. While current technologies employed in hotels is adequate the industry still has a long way to progress.

Breakthrough technologies like face recognition, cardless payments, cybersecurity essentials etc. are still making a mark in hotels. Come back again for more interesting hospitality reads, and do remember to share this article with friends & colleagues.