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The hotel industry has experienced exciting leaps in technology over the past few years in an effort to keep up with increasingly tech-conscious guests. The right technology can boost hotel revenue by enhancing the guest experience to the point where guests are keen to come back for more.
A survey of the latest trends in hospitality, commissioned by international branding and interior design agency I-Am, revealed that consumers are looking for more control at all levels of their hotel experience.
The research found that 88% of guests would prefer to reserve, check in and check out through a smartphone app, which neatly correlates with our own research that found 86% of guests would be 'very likely' or 'quite likely' to utilise technology during the check-in process at a hotel.
We also discovered that 68% of guests would be 'very likely' or 'quite likely' to use technology to make extra purchases - such as items from the minibar and room service - when staying in a hotel that offered this facility. More specifically, the I-Am research discovered that 77% of guests would prefer to request these extras through a mobile app.
A significant 91% of guests stated they would like to select their room in a hotel in the same way you can choose a seat on a flight, and 85% or respondents believed it's important that hotels provide them with the opportunity to link to their streaming devices such as Netflix or Spotify for that true home-away-from-home experience.
The desire for technology isn't just limited to the duration of the stay. The study revealed that 80% of guests would like to take virtual tours of hotels before booking and 64% believe it's important that a hotel can bring deliveries to their room on arrival. When used to best effect, hotel technology delivers seamless convenience to guests both before and during the guest experience.
The report concludes by highlighting the fact that times have changed in the industry. Whereas in the past 'the hotel experience had to live up to the hotel brand', now the reverse is true. The guest experience is central to the creation of the hotel brand.
