Technology Trends Redefining the Hospitality Industry

Career Trends: May 25, 2022
Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS

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Content Credit:

• Article by Nico Barawid , published on entrepreneur.com. Original article link.

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After two years of isolation, the desire to travel is as present as ever. What’s changed is not whether we want to travel, but how we want to do it. Travelers now prefer self-service with tech-enabled ease expected at every step — from online planning and booking to contactless check-in and 24/7 digital concierge.

In a Stayntouch/NYU Tisch Center of Hospitality Report, 81.7 per cent of hoteliers surveyed had implemented at least one new technology during the pandemic, and/or were planning to in 2022.

Here are six technology trends reshaping what it takes to survive and thrive in the hospitality industry in 2022:

1. Gamification of travel planning

• As people contemplate their next getaway, hospitality companies can leverage gamification — using game design elements in non-game contexts — to turn travel planning from a chore into a fun activity.
• By interplaying gamification mechanics like challenges, chance and rewards, with elements like points, quests and sharing, companies can capitalise on human motivation.
• Popular European airline Lufthansa introduced Lufthansa Surprise, which allows travelers to choose from nine categories, upon picking top choices from seven to twelve European cities, the destination is only revealed after booking. 
• It is also proven to boost customer loyalty, brand awareness, online engagement and revenue. 

2. Virtual reality tours

• It’s hard for travellers to imagine their next vacation rental before they arrive.
• Through the use of VR (virtual reality), companies can now give first-person digital tours of their space to future guests.
• Atlantis Dubai offers a virtual tour highlighting the hotel’s main features through visual immersion. 

3. Going contactless

• The adoption of contactless technology like self-check-in, in-room technology, mobile keys and digital payments, increased by 66 percent during the pandemic, according to the Stayntouch/NYU Tisch Center of Hospitality Report.
• In the wake of a pandemic-induced hospitality labour shortage, many hospitality companies transitioned to contactless check-in/out to reduce staff dependency.
• Post-pandemic, we can expect human-to-human contact services to be quickly traded for robot receptionists, facial scan check-in, voice guest control, robot delivery and robot concierge assistants. 

4. Chatbot as a digital concierge

• The percentage of hoteliers offering chatbots on their websites is expected to rise to 29.2 percent before the end of 2022, up from only 14.5 percent in 2019, according to the Stayntouch/NYU Tisch Center of Hospitality Report.
• Think of the chatbot as a digital concierge, bringing the concierge desk to the palm of guests’ hands.
• This means a 24/7 ability to engage users, answer their questions and fulfill their requests.

5. IoT for room control and customisation

• When installed in a hotel room or short-term rental, IoT technology allows guests to personalise room settings like temperature and lighting.
• They can even reduce energy consumption by automatically turning off the lights when no one is using the room. 
• IoT allows hoteliers to not only tailor the experience to guests’ needs but also anticipate them.

6. Location-based services

• Today’s travel is all about customised, localised experiences and hoteliers can use location-based services to create them.
• By seeing a guest’s location via their smartphone, hospitality companies can offer more intuitive local recommendations.
• Without needing staff assistance, guests can instantly access local information, such as the nearest grocery store or the best pub in town. 
• Additionally, knowing staff locations means quicker response times for guests, like sending the nearest employee to a guest request on the fifth floor. 

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Have you checked out yesterday’s blog yet?

Balancing Automation with Human Touch for Superior Customer Experience

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(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)

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