The New Guest Journey

In today’s automated atmosphere, many hospitality professionals worry that added technology will lead to loss of the human touch that is so fundamental to the industry. Furthering this resistance are fears of commoditization of the brand and simply keeping up with the rapid changes taking place.

These are honest concerns and not without merit, and can be addressed across the entire guest journey with adaptable technology that can increase opportunities to connect with guests on a face-to-face level.

• Planning – Today’s guests are taking a more significant role in planning their own journey from start to finish. Use your website and mobile app to give travelers a taste of the experience they should expect at your property using photos and videos to highlight amenities, virtual concierge to showcase the local hotspots, and multilingual functions to ease communications with potential guests.
• Booking – Ease of booking has always been important. Now, travelers expect booking channels from multiple points, including phone, web, and mobile.
• Travel – Let guests know you care before they arrive with weather or traffic updates, as well as maps and location information built into your app.
• Check in – Some studies have shown an 83% percent decrease in wait time for hotels using mobile check in. Nobody likes to wait in line, and cutting down on the check in wait leaves more time for real human interactions for both guest and staff.
• Stay – During the stay, guests can have menus and requests at their fingertips, saving time and effort to find what they need. SMS messaging in multiple languages provides further opportunities to connect with guests, especially those who may otherwise keep to themselves during their visit.
• Check out – Using a mobile app for checkout is a chance to eliminate yet another frustrating queue for guests, but also provides a channel for sending thanks and asking for feedback at the convenience of the guest.

In short, hotels can take advantage of modern technology to increase efficiency, minimize costs, and maintain a personalized connection with guests throughout their entire journey and beyond.