Top 5 Communication Trends in Hotel Technology for 2018
Long ago, hotels and other hospitality businesses occupied a fairly simple place in people's lives – a place for guests to get their heads away from home. But anyone who has spent time in the hospitality industry in recent years knows that the role of technology in hospitality businesses has grown greatly.
Many of the engaging activities rely directly or indirectly on technology, making information technologies more important than ever to hotel operations and the guest experience.
That's why we're here today to share the top 5 technology communications trends in hospitality.
As a hotelier, check these out. Consider which one makes sense for your business. And if you see an opportunity, you can start planning accordingly.
1-)Mobile Device as Door Key
It's fascinating how a function as simple as a door key has evolved so much. However, what once started as a carefully shaped piece of metal quickly evolved into electronic key cards and began to abandon its physical form entirely. The next evolution of the hotel key could be the ability to turn it into data on a guest's mobile device. Some hotels have already begun using this application.
2-)Service Automation
Today, many people prefer technology over human interaction for simple tasks. Remote check-in and check-out options are becoming popular, and some hotels are starting to work with apps that allow guests to order room service directly from their mobile devices. There are a number of basic guest requests that can be automated with the right technology. This means achieving incredible speed in customer requests.
3-)Fixed Mobile Convergence
Once upon a time, people used room phones. Room phones of the future could serve as hubs for a greater connected experience.
Imagine a guest arrives at your hotel and pairs their mobile device to the room phone. Now they can even control the television and sound system remotely, even if they're not in their room. On the other hand, they can use it to request a wake-up call, but maybe they're not in the hotel room again. Even if your customer is in a distant town for a meeting, you can let them know dry cleaning is ready. Many of these scenarios already exist or are developing.
4-)Location based services
Much of this technology is in its infancy, but the implications are huge. Being able to understand where hotel staff and guests are located at any given time creates all kinds of opportunities to improve the guest experience - being able to understand when guests leave and enter their rooms to serve them increases operating efficiency as well as improving the customer experience.
5-)Technically Efficient Meeting Areas
The modern meeting space has evolved. It is no longer just tables and chairs and nice trolleys. Business people may want to create multimedia presentations and remote participatory meetings via video conferencing, sometimes at the same time.
Smart hotels now recognize that they need these spaces, especially for business travelers, to be as user-friendly as possible.
If you think these types of business needs are limited to boardroom-style conference spaces, you're missing an important part of the picture. Business clients are increasingly demanding the use of technology in ballrooms and event rooms as well.