NB: This is an article by Anton Schubert of eConsultancy.
My aim with these articles is to cover some of the most important needs in hospitality and explore how hotels can use digital touch points to deliver.
I recently relocated my whole life from Helsinki to London with family and all our personal possessions in tow, it was hard work I can tell you.
A few weeks earlier my partner had booked a temporary Airbnb as a stopgap, while we waited for our new London apartment to be refurbished. At the time I hadn’t realised but the wonderful thing about Airbnb is the variety.
London, of course, has more choice than many cities, but it was less about the number of apartments to rent, more about the interiors of those apartments and the visual quality of the web experience. I remember my partner sitting happily for hours on end, looking at different places like she was perusing World of Interiors magazine.
One of the great things about the Airbnb experience, is that you’re in total control.
The photos of the apartments allow you to see small details that strum your emotional heartstrings. For example, a David Bowie picture on the bedroom wall or a kitchen table like the one you had in your grand parents home, the old scruffy teddy bear sitting on the bed in the kids room waiting for a hug.
These items are personal, they have a story and you relate to them in your own way. They draw you in and create a strong sense of belonging that makes you feel like you were always meant to stay here. ‘This is my kind of place’.
The next step of the service experience is even more compelling; you actually get to talk with the owner of these objects and this beautiful apartment. You get a chance to ask about certain details and in the best cases you actually feel like this total stranger is a friend, someone who is there to listen and make every little thing feel just right.
In our case, when we turned up at the apartment we booked, we met a guy called Dorian who was waiting there for us patiently, even though we were late. He gave our tired family a big smile and happily carried our insanely heavy luggage up two flights of stairs.
Dorian showed us around our “home away from home” with great pride and passion. He gave us complimentary gifts, one white wine and one red wine, some bread, cheese, milk and chocolate biscuits for the kids. And to top it all off, after he left he sent us a long list of recommendations for breakfast, dinner, family friendly bars and more. Amazing!
Now that’s what I call personalisation and one reason why established hotel chains are feeling the pain. Companies like Airbnb have blown the traditional market wide open and the most amazing thing about this service is that it owns no assets apart from a really well-designed, digital service.
How can hotel chains compete?
So how can hotels compete? Well it’s simple; they need to up their personalisation game.
As well as re-training staff to increase levels of systematic and ad-hoc personalisation, they can also design new digital tools that do this job for them in multiple different ways and channels.
Take for example what the automotive industry has done recently when it comes to choosing the right car to buy. VW has developed a fun, immersive web experience where car buyers can literally build their car from scratch, choosing model, engine size, colour, wheels, trim and interior.
Personalisation is huge and everywhere and can be big business. The whole iPhone/app concept is built on this foundation.
The phone is not your iPhone until you fill it up with your apps. Everyone’s iPhone is different.
Christian Lunden, Head of Future Business for Nordic Choice Hotels, has seen some interesting examples around the hospitality industry when it comes to personalisation.
Personalisation is what separates a good and a bad hotel experience. When done well, guests will hardly notice. For them, everything just feels right.
It can be anything from being offered a lower floor room in the hotel because the staff are aware you don’t like to use the elevator, to your having your minibar stocked with the ingredients for your favourite drink.
Many things can be done without asking because a hotel should know who their returning guests are, but it should also be possible to customise a stay based on how guests feel right there and then in the moment.
An example of this is the walk-in closet Nordic Choice has in the Clarion Collection Tapto in Stockholm. In a room, guests are given a selection of their favourite clothing brands to try on. If they find something they really like, they can add it to the bill. Minifashionbar.com has delivered a very similar solution.
Imagine entering a hotel room set at the right temperature, the music you had playing in the car is now playing in the room, the lighting responds to your presence and you slump into a perfect mattress and pillow with your favourite TV programs, Instagram feed and social media services easily accessible on the HD screen.
Read rest of the article at eConsultancy
