The Smart Hotel Of The Future – Transforming The Guest Experience In The Middle East

Regardless of the size or type of property, every hotel operator that wants to remain competitive and relevant will have to embrace IoT devices, and related wireless innovations over the next year to enable next-generation guest experiences.

Technology and the Millennials  

The problem with technology as a term in the hospitality industry is that it’s so ubiquitous that it becomes difficult to single out what developments are the most important for the next five years. Hoteliers have been cautious of technology taking away the human effect from the guest service and experience. Rapid advances and disruptive technology is a constant challenge, where Artificial Intelligence (AI), wearable technology and Virtual Reality (VR) will become the norm when it comes to how potential guests search for and experience a trip. The smart ‘hotel of the future’ will have access to these technologies which have the ability to accelerate service, personalise the guest experience, build resource allocations to support guest requests, enable preventative maintenance and improve employee productivity. Mobile and keyless check-in options, mobile key access, digital in-room controls, virtual reality for booking, and advanced energy conservation systems will become the norm.

We all know reliable Wi-Fi and IPTV are now as vital to guests as much as hot water and clean sheets and these are key drivers for guests of all ages. But if we look at the Millennials, with every passing year their spending power increases, which means more travel and hotel stays. The whole experience right from booking to checkout is expected to be seamless and flawless with as little direct human interaction or contact as possible. Hotel operators will have to take this into consideration in the design stages of their hotels. A fully automated mobile payment system, via an online payment gateway using smartphones along with robust cyber security and tokenized payment methods ensuring complete security of guest credit card data, is becoming essential for an excellent guest experience at the booking stage.

With incorporation of the latest mobility solutions for the workforce, hotels can get real-time intelligence for quick decision making that increases agility, collaboration and productivity of the hotel staff which in turn enhances the overall guest satisfaction.

Artificial Intelligence and Hotels

From booking engines to chatbots and voice command software for room allocations – this may seem like a scene right out of a sci-fi movie, but is in fact a reality today. Customer facing AI robotic concierges and luggage handlers (already operational in some Aloft hotels) are getting a lot of media attention. In Japan, cyborgs programmed to make eye contact and respond with multilingual ability check you into hotels. The question here is that should technology totally replace personal interactions or should the two co-exist? Digital assistants like Alexa and Siri lack human warmth, charm and personal connection, and yet perhaps this is what Millennials want today. And incorporating technologies like this is also a cost saving proposition for hotels. More research needs to be done. But watch this space closely as it continues to evolve.