The Cornell Center for Hospitality Research report titled “The Mobile Revolution is Here: Are you Ready?” found that travelers are seeing potential for mobile use in hotels. Survey respondents were asked what they would like to see hotels doing with mobile technology, and following are the top five responses.
- Room ready notifications: The number one wish for mobile use is simple; guests want to be notified when their room is ready for them. Most hotel guests are at the mercy of travel schedules, and cannot always plan arrivals to coincide with check in times. This technology allows guests to roam – on site or off – and be alerted as soon as their room is ready.
- Request amenities: It seems that using mobile to make requests is on the wish lists of both guests and staff. Decreasing the need for calls to the front desk makes everybody happier.
- Check out: Understandably, getting out the door in an efficient manner is something guests want to see. Mobile can allow guests to review their bill, rate their stay, and check out of their room with no need to stand in line.
- Room service: Mobile room service ordering makes it easier for guests to browse the menu, add items to their order, and specify special instructions or allergy information, all at their leisure without picking up a phone. And there is an added feature of being able to track progress and know when food will arrive.
- Check in: I found it interesting that checking out quickly was higher on the list than checking out, but mobile check in is quickly becoming standard. Any opportunity to decrease queues should be taken into serious consideration. Not to mention that arriving guests typically have travel frustrations on their mind, and appreciate getting into their room as quickly as possible.