Everything mobile-related from Monscierge.
Vacation time is upon us as 2018 comes to a close. On the occasion of the last post before the break, I wanted to speak one more time about the importance of face to face communication even with the continuous advance of technology. Some brands are hesitant to bring technology into guest communication, fearing it will corrode the very essence of hospitality: making guests well welcome, cared for, and at home. Excellence in hospitality must balance human interaction with innovation at all times. Generally speaking, the client base today is saturated with technology and is already used to having even the most personal conversations via text. Educating your staff on the proper application of text in conversation with guests is the secret to maintaining this proper balance. Often you will find that some guests prefer communicating solely through technological means, which frees your staff up for meaningful face to face interactions for those who most appreciate them. Just as important are the interactions with guests who are using the technology. Each room service order, text, or guest request is an opportunity to make a lasting impression on your visitors. Surprise and delight them by using the same tech to personalize …
Over the last nine years, we have worked to connect hotels and guests using various means of technology. When I first started this job seven years ago, we were building software for lobby screens and just starting to branch into mobile apps. I remember conversations with the marketing team that felt like delving into the future while we tried to navigate new territory and guess what would come next. More recently we’ve delved into the realm of smart TV. Our hotel clients are finding that guests more and more want access to their own entertainment while they travel. This means that guests can utilize the same means of relaxation away as they do at home, with the same personalized features and the same recommendations that companies like Netflix and Amazon bring to them daily. Those words – personalization and recommendation – go right back to day one at Monscierge. That is where we started and it’s where we are still working today. New screens are involved, new means of delivery, more features and better access, but the core remains the same. We are making it easy to bring personalized recommendations to guests on the devices they are already using via …
We’ve talked often about hotels using technology to enhance the guest experience through personalization. I wanted to highlight a few restaurant apps who are using their apps to delight guests with custom offers, drive sales with tailored menu items, and remove pain points with increased efficiency and precision. Can you talk about restaurant apps without mentioning Dominos? The pizza chain has been on the forefront of innovation in marketing and technology since their “we’re sorry for making bad pizza” campaign in 2009. They also came up with ordering via Tweet and emoji. Unlimited pizza customization aside, one of the best features of their app is the “Dominos Tracker”, which allows customers to know exactly what their pizza is up to every moment from being ordered to being placed in their hands. Nobody likes to wait, but it’s easier when you know where your pizza is. The Starbucks app took awhile to work its way into a permanent spot on my phone. They had a few security issues in the beginning but quickly caught up to the technology by being one of the first to offer phone payments and location-based services. My favorite feature of their app is that it remembers …
A few years ago, a team of researchers found that happiness, rather than being directly in ratio to pleasant circumstances, existed in the space between reality and expectation. (Happiness = Reality – Expectations) It may sound overly simplistic but it’s a basic premise that has far-reaching applications. For anyone working in service industries, the happiest customers aren’t those whose expectations have been met, it’s those whose expectations have been exceeded. Disappointment, on the other hand, comes when expectations are not met. For hotels, honest marketing photos and reviews can have a great impact on gaining happy (and therefore loyal) guests because they create fair expectations that can be met and exceeded. Another way to raise the sum of happiness is to break through the standard lowered expectations with things like eliminating lines at check in, speedy check out, and personalized experiences. These are some of the reasons we continually speak about using technology to enhance customer service and elevate the guest experience. Click here for client case studies on using mobile technology to increase guest happiness.
We surveyed travelers around the world to discover how they use technology to enhance their travel experience. Some of the most surprising information came from the queries surrounding mobile use during the stay. As expected, use of a hotel’s mobile app to decrease standing in line for check in and check out was a top-rated feature, but we also found that the majority of today’s travelers prefer to use SMS text to make requests such as to maintenance, housekeeping, and room service. Text was named as the number one preferred method of communication by travelers. Considering that text also requires less time than a phone or in person conversation and is easily translated into automated task delegation and follow up, using SMS to communicate with guests is a win-win. What I found most telling was that 94% of people surveyed said they are more likely to choose the same hotel again if technology was used to personalize the stay. This would include location-based offers by means of beacon technology, calling guests by name in communications, and recording and recalling personalization from previous stays such as favorite wine or dining preferences. This recalls to mind a familiar refrain – technology should …