Tech Savvy Hotels are the Future of Travel

If ‘tech savvy’ is on your Must Have list for hotels then you’ll be happy to hear that more and more tech savvy hotels are jumping on the technology convenience bandwagon.  Savvy hoteliers are tapping into technological trends, allowing guests to use their mobile devices to select a specific room, request a check-in time, unlock their room doors, preset the temperature in their room, request extra amenities, check out hotel restaurant menus, purchase services from local retailers, order drinks poolside, book a spa treatment, reserve car service to the airport and check out. With all of these options at the touch of a button on your Smart phone, it’s making the need to call down to the front desk practically obsolete.

Furthermore, in a survey of asset managers representing 3,500 hotels and resorts, two-thirds said mobile check-in would likely be the norm by 2017.

In the future, more hotels are expected to improve their focus on personalizing the experience by tracking customer preferences based on what they do on their mobile device. This notion of anticipating clients’ needs has been a focal point of SMART Cars’ own customer service and technology advance efforts over the past couple of years as busy travelers are demanding more conscientious and customized service.

With the emergence of beacon technology and other on-location technologies, hotel staff can even track guests on property to ensure they are attended to quickly, as long as the guest grants permission via their phone. However, not everyone is going to feel comfortable with this kind of location tracking.

Technology is also important in the hospitality industry because it has the potential to better connect the guest with the hotel staff. That can lead to an increase in brand loyalty. And brand loyalty is something hoteliers are always striving to improve.

In the future, more guests may start seeing hyper-specific notifications on their smartphones as mentioned in the report: “Your room, 569, is now ready for check-in. Per your preferences, it is set to 71 degrees, includes an extra blanket, and is near an elevator. A copy of (insert local newspaper here) will be delivered every morning during your stay.”

And if a guest ever needs to check in at the front desk, agents working there are likely to have a complete profile of them handy, complete with their preferences and special requests.

Guests can also expect more in-room technology that allows them to browse and request amenities like tablets and TV menus, the report notes. An online “progress bar” may even display the average wait time for a specific request.

And, of course, there will be an opportunity to digitally rate the hotel and its service level. This is also something our new app that’s still in development does as well, from a tablet our chauffeured guests can rate their chauffeur and overall experience while paying right from the convenience of the town car or limousine they are in.

Final thoughts from the report said brands that provide a consistently exceptional hotel stay via technology “are not only able to remain relevant, they can also strengthen guest loyalty, motivate return visits, increase average daily rate, and drive incremental hotel revenue.”