HOTELS: What are the digital challenges?

Introduction

Is a hotel simply a place of passage or a destination in itself? This is what we are going to find out in the next few years. Thanks to the adoption of new technologies, hotels are standing out and attracting more visitors. Not because of their geographical location but because of the discovery of their premises.

Past hotel trends

Whereas 30 years ago, the big changes for hotels were: web-based reservations, in-room internet access and wireless technology. These innovations of the past have now become totally indispensable.

The arrival of the Internet has changed tourism considerably, in large part for hotels. They have had to adapt to satisfy their customers.

Wifi, which used to be an additional service, is now free and available to all guests...

Nowadays, if a hotel has a bad website or does not offer online booking, it systematically scares away potential customers.

The speed of these technological developments is incredible, sometimes even difficult to follow. Hotels used to be renowned and coveted for the unique services and experience they offered that could not be found at home. Today, a private individual can equip his or her home with connected tools and home automation so easily and so quickly that the hotel industry is struggling to keep up. Indeed, obtaining a budget or the agreement of the management takes time and means that the equipment can already be outdated. This is a barrier to the deployment of new technologies in the hotel industry.

This disadvantage for hotels creates a delay, compared to individuals who may be disappointed with their stay if they do not have a "better experience" than at home.

Current hotel trends

Since the health crisis, the limitation of human contact is ultimate so most hotels are making changes and going digital.

They are seeking to become connected and intelligent hotels, here are some examples:

• Speakers in the rooms so that travellers can ask questions from their room without going to the reception desk or searching for information in the hotel's documentation, and get an instant answer.

• Home automation to control room equipment by voice or telephone (lights, heating, air conditioning, television)

• Virtual reality ranks among the most exciting trends in hotel technology, providing potential hotel guests with the means to experience what their environment will look like.

• Mobile check-in and check-out, no more need to go to the reception. Fill in all your details on your phone and get your room key dematerialised.

• Augmented reality: point your phone at objects and places in the hotel and get the information. In the hotel restaurant, see the menu in augmented reality.

• Tablets in every room and in the common areas of the hotel, giving access to Netflix, Spotify, Deliveroo, all these applications used daily by most people.

• 3D meeting rooms for business travellers who are constantly meeting.

But why so much change, so much dematerialisation? It's because the new target audience for hotels is the millennials and generation Z. This ultra-connected generation is constantly looking for novelties, unique experiences and especially new technologies.

What about hotel staff?

They too benefit from new technologies to make their work easier and more productive.

"Smart Hotel Solution" is a tool launched by Siemens. It allows staff to manage spaces, secure them, detect forgotten luggage and analyse energy and sustainability performance via a single platform.

Check-in kiosks are placed in some lobbies allowing guests to check in autonomously, leaving staff free for other tasks where human intelligence is required.

Future hotel trends

But if all these technological revolutions are current, what can we imagine for the future?

Don't worry, they are never short of ideas!

The metaverse is currently at the centre of discussions and in a few years it will be at the heart of our lives!

A world with all places represented in 3D, hotels, restaurants, monuments...

But what are the advantages of this?

For organisations, hotels equipped with powerful artificial intelligence will be able to provide information to anyone entering their hotel virtually.

And for potential customers?

An immersive and fun experience, as guests will enter different hotel rooms and be able to select the one that suits them best, all thanks to the metaverse. It allows you to project yourself.

We need to exploit technology as a business accelerator.

In the near future, technology will be at the heart of the hotel experience, both before and after the trip, within the hotel and in the rooms. This trend will lead to the development of new concepts and more innovation in the industry.

Hotels are learning to see change before it happens.

Organisations need to strengthen their artificial intelligence capabilities to better anticipate future developments.

Mistakes to avoid

In 2015, a 100% robotic hotel was created in Japan. More than 240 machines to manage it permanently. The idea was appreciated by the customers, but in 2019, after numerous bugs in the equipment, these employed robots were fired...

The baggage handler who can't go up or down the stairs, the digital assistant who wakes up customers when they snore, the butler who doesn't understand the customers' questions... In short, catastrophic or almost catastrophic.

Even if this concept was totally innovative and attractive, the customer experience was not. Because of the multiple malfunctions, many costs were incurred for the maintenance of the equipment, and the hotel failed to retain its customers.

Although technological advances, artificial intelligence, connected objects, etc., are blending perfectly well into our world, they are still far from monopolising it.

Conclusion

Digital technology and digital tools have not finished surprising us and will continue to transform the customer experience.

By embracing and integrating new technologies, hotels will arouse the curiosity and interest of their potential customers.

Providing their travellers with a unique, sensory and fun experience will help them build loyalty.

Of course, that's only if it performs better than humans!