Pre-Covid, most guest-facing tech was seen as more of a nice-to-have than a must-have despite its numerous benefits. Many brands were beginning to offer more of it, but it rarely represented a unique selling proposition (USP) that guests would actively seek out.
NB: This is an article from Canary Technologies
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and stay up to date
Take online check-in as an example. In the past, it usually required downloading a hotel’s custom-built native app and creating a user account. This often resulted in a lower guest adoption than most hotels would hope for.
During the pandemic, things changed completely. Contactless services became much more popular since face-to-face interactions were suddenly deemed unsafe. That’s when most guests first began looking for, and even expecting — digitalized hotel services. And as more properties began offering them — travelers came to appreciate the new tech-driven alternatives. In many cases, they even began to prefer them.
The Importance of Hotel Technology Today
Today’s advanced hotel tech can have a massive effect on your property. It can even make the difference between your hotel’s success and barely getting by.
The four key areas where the technology can have the most impact include:
- Guest experience: Modern technology tools — especially those designed to be guest-facing — can dramatically improve the guest experience by enabling travelers to curate their stay, get help quickly and be more independent (e.g. when checking in and out).
- Operations: Many new solutions result in increased efficiency since they are often specifically designed to automate repetitive tasks. That also frees up your team for more quality guest interactions.
- Revenue: Offering more personalized service often creates new chances to drive ancillary revenue. Bringing technology into the mix allows you to easily scale these efforts.
- Security: When it comes to handling payments and other sensitive data, guests want convenience and speed. But of course, security must also be guaranteed. Up-to-date software solutions cover all of these bases.
Top Tech Solutions That Can Help Hotels Improve Guest Experience in 2024
Now that you know all about the new opportunities and benefits hotel technology has given us over time, let’s look at nine modern solutions that bring big results.
Implementing Cutting-Edge Tech Solutions for Seamless Check-In
Contactless check-in solutions create a quick, easy and secure check-in experience for guests. Before they ever set foot on the property, guests receive an email and text message to check-in for their hotel stay (similar to the experience with most airlines today). Then, all they need to do is check-in via their preferred device at their convenience.
This check-in flow saves time for both travelers and staff because fewer people queue at reception.
