Hotels are transitioning from a ‘people serving people’ model to a high-tech, low-touch approach that mphasises digitalisation throughout the guest journey.
Words by Dr. Chekitan S Dev
Hotels have always been a high-touch, low-tech business. Today, and into the foreseeable future, hotels are moving away from the pure ‘people serving people’ model towards a more high-tech, low-touch business, and doubling down on digitalisation. In this article, I envision ways in which technology can innovate and enhance the guest experience throughout the six-stage hotel journey: Imagine-Book-Stay-Report-Recommend-Return as shown in the figure below, with the overlapping circles representing the overlap between stages, so, for example, guests book while they stay (for in-house or off-property services) and report while they stay:
The six-stage hotel guest journey
- Imagine
- Book
- Stay
- Report
- Return
- Recommend
Imagine
Hotels are going to take back the Imagine part of the guests’ journey from OTA, search, and social platforms by carefully curating informationally and emotionally engaging messages, beamed directly to past guests using sophisticated customer relationship management (CRM) systems via software providers like Salesforce.com, and to future guests who have clicked on, liked, or forwarded their messages on multiple legacy and social media channels. Helping guests imagine themselves in the hotel or resort via augmented reality will enable them to pre-experience their stay.
Book
With ‘book direct’ campaigns going into overdrive at most hotel companies, building a one-to-one relationship to enable a smart and customised ‘one-click’ Book capability via mobile apps is going to be more the norm than the exception. During the reservation process, and at check in, instead of agents trying to get guests to sign up for the brand’s loyalty programme, they will be incentivised to have guests download their app instead. Repeated use of the app will result in more customised content using machine learning.
Stay
Self-service, a frowned upon brand standard for hotels, especially at the high end, for example: espresso machines in luxury hotels, already prevalent in several luxury hotels, is going to be much more prevalent during the Stay stage enabled by intuitive, tailored, and easy-to-use smart technology of all kinds. Geolocation technology can help pinpoint and amplify guests’ social media posts and create opportunities for hotels to surprise guests by offering value-added amenities to enhance the occasion (birthday, honeymoon, anniversary, promotion and deal closing, among others) about which they are posting.
Report
Real-time guest feedback systems via instant messaging systems, attended to 24 hours, for example, a text message I received as I checked in to my stay at The Breakers Palm Beach, will become the more prevalent form of dialogue between guest and host hotel staff to report all requests, service failures and overall satisfaction. Enabling dialogue in this way will move hotel guests away from having to report their problems on social media sites, no longer having to publicly name and shame the hotel to get their attention, and instead offer them a direct, two- way and real-time private communication channel. Big data will enable hotels to anticipate guests’ requests and service failures to optimise each stay.
Return
Well-timed, thoughtfully constructed collage of pictures and videos, including messages from staff from the prior stay to evoke memories, deeply personalised (same room, same amenities, same special food and beverage orders, some surprises) same period next time (SPNT) or ‘call back’ campaigns will be designed, coupled with rich three dimensional dynamic experiences placing the guests and their favourite service providers virtually in the hotel via the metaverse, will motivate guests to Return to the same place by giving them compelling reasons to do so.
Recommend
High value incentives to Recommend the hotel to all family, friends, and colleagues of the guest, enabled via lucrative, targeted, and easily claimed offers (no fine print) generated with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems which the guests’ can upload to their LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok feeds, will be much better thought out and executed.
Conclusion
In one sense, the hotels of the future will be like hotels of the past: intimate, personalised, and welcoming. In another sense, everything in the hotel will be different: better, smarter, and faster, enabled by technology.
“Big data will enable hotels to anticipate guests’ requests and service failures to optimise each stay.”
About the author
As Professor Chekitan S Dev puts it: ‘My professional activities include teaching, research and consulting, what I refer to as my three-legged stool, with each leg reinforcing the other two to keep me upright. Because I teach, I think I am a better consultant who can explain things clearly. Because I teach, I think I am a better researcher because I focus on asking questions to which my students want answers. Because I do research, I think I am a better teacher because I have something new and interesting to share. Because I do research, I think I am a better consultant, since I’m doing work that’s creating knowledge with impact. And, because I consult, I am both a better researcher and teacher, since I get to ask questions with both intellectual and pedagogical value’.
A highly accomplished professional with an experience of over 45 years in the World of hotels and hospitality, Professor Dev started his career with Oberoi Hotels as a Management Trainee in 1979.Over the years he did his Masters from Institut de Management Hotelier International in Paris. Subsequently he did his Ph.D at Virginia Tech after which he became a professor at Cornell University where he has served for 36 years and earned the highest attainable academic rank. Notably he has taught over 15000 students working in over 100 countries.
Professor Dev shares his views on the brave new future of hotels, in conversation with Hotel Talk.
“Dr. Dev’s efforts have been recognised with numerous teaching awards, showcasing his dedication to nurturing next generation of hospitality professionals.”
