As we progress in 2023, we will continue to see hotels leverage technology to not only increase operational and staff efficiency, but also meet changing guest expectations for a high-value, but relatively low-touch experience. Read on and explore the technologies that will likely continue to transform the industry this year.
Robotics and Automation Top American Hotel & Lodging Association List
The front desk always has been the epicenter of the hotel property, where guests begin and end their stay experience and often touch base in between. But with the rapid rise in automation and use of contactless solutions, from mobile keyless entry to self-service check-in kiosks – especially during these pandemic times – the guest journey is no longer following tradition. Which raises the question: Are you still meeting your guests’ needs at every touchpoint?
In a push to recapture revenue and rethink hotel operations during a crippling labor shortage impacting some markets, hoteliers are quickening their pace to adopt tech solutions. After all, automation and artificial intelligence, for example, sound like the perfect answer for hospitality’s current needs to reduce employee workloads and satisfy guests’ desire for self-service options. But the rush to technology often isn’t accompanied by a critical query.
With the growing influence of technology such as artificial intelligence, what you’ll increasingly witness in 2022 is tech that feels human. The personalization of technology will take a leap forward as hoteliers automate tasks with solutions, such as chatbots, that not only ease workloads for understaffed teams but enhance the guest experience.
If Covid-19 has clarified anything about the importance of meetings and conferences, it’s this: Virtual events are vital and cost-saving, especially when travel is out of the question. But nothing can replace the value of in-person contact
At a recent industry conference, Marriott International CEO Tony Capuano spoke bluntly about one of the biggest crises facing hospitality: 20 percent of employees in travel and tourism globally have left the segment permanently.
For hoteliers, the process of minimizing waste, conserving natural resources, and making less of a 'footprint' on the planet amounts to more than just doing the right thing. It’s essential for business success, especially when there’s such a priority to recapture revenue in a post-pandemic marketplace. In other words, going green is taking on a whole new meaning – as in improving sales and profitability.
Proprietary hotel technology, for many years, has remained the domain of global chains. Only they possessed large, in-house development teams that could design custom-built solutions addressing their specific business needs. But marketplace changes, heightened by the COVID chaos of the past two years, have fundamentally altered the nature of hotel tech development.
Labor shortages will also affect hotel technology investments in 2022.