hotel chatbots
Smart Travel

Here’s Why You Need Chatbots for Your Hotel Business

In the past, people had to use a travel agency to find a hotel, but the Internet has changed the way people search for things. Now, it’s easy to book directly from the hotel, but what happens when someone has questions or wants the feeling of talking to a person?

Hotel chatbots are one of the increasingly popular ways for hotel staff to talk to customers without having to pick up a phone. They use machine learning and AI, which improve the guest experience tremendously.

Whether it’s to book a room or automate inquiries and requests that guests often have, these chatbots can be advantageous. In fact, every hotel should have a chatbot, but what are the benefits, how do they boost your business, and what are some examples?


Benefits of Using Hotel Chatbots

In a sense, hotel chatbots are designed to simulate a regular conversation but with artificial intelligence, and with that comes many advantages, such as:

Saving Time and Automating Processes

Most people have common questions or concerns that a chatbot can easily answer. When hotel staff can delegate those things to the bot, they can do other tasks or answer more complex questions.

Typically, hotels are using chatbots to keep inbound calls to a minimum, which leads to more productivity or the ability to hire fewer people.

24/7 Support

Though hotels often have staff available 24/7 for emergencies, it might be hard to call and book a room during odd times of the day or from a different time zone. With hotel chatbots, there’s no issue because the bot can answer most questions, helping customers feel that you care about their needs.

Digital Payments

Many messaging platforms, including Facebook Messenger, let people make in-app payments, which saves guests from going to the website to complete their transaction. Plus, they have the option of saving their payment information and storing it in the app to make it easier to purchase rooms in the future.

No App Development Necessary

Most people don’t like to have tons of apps clogging their smartphones. If you don’t want to develop an app strictly for your hotel, you can still use chatbots. Customers can visit your website or social media page and use the chatbot from there.


Examples

Though hotel chatbots aren’t new, many places haven’t implemented them yet. Still, the top chains often have them, such as Hyatt Hotels. It started using chatbots in 2015 to answer questions, check room availability, and make reservations. The brand knew that connecting and engaging with customers on platforms they use is crucial.

Another great example is GRT Hotels and Resorts. It’s a 4-star hotel chain in South India and has many customers. This brand wanted to boost engagement and entertain guests with a self-serving solution. It used the GReaTa chatbot through Trilyo, adding it to every website page. In only a few months (2.5 to be exact,) the chatbot exchanged more than 175,000 messages.


What to Look for in Hotel Chatbots

Many companies are offering chatbots in the hotel industry, and they all seem the same on paper. However, some chatbots are basic, while others are capable of more complex interactions. There are a few things to consider when creating yours:

  • Use a specialist
  • Focus on security
  • Don’t rely solely on AI
  • Offer different languages
  • Understand what customers want

Customers want to feel like you are trustworthy, so security is always a concern. Though it’s possible to create hotel chatbots yourself, it’s best to work with a specialist. They know what the competition is doing and can help you ensure a smooth user experience.


Conclusion

Even though hotel chatbots aren’t new, they are starting to become more popular. This is a change that many hotels aren’t ready for, but AI adoption can transform the way everyone communicates and streamlines many processes.

Many people prefer to communicate through messages instead of phone calls, so this is a great way to give users what they want. With that, hotel chatbots are becoming even more personable and allowing customers to enjoy the experience of booking that brand for their stay.

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Tourism 4.0 Ecosystem
Smart Travel

Designing a Tourism 4.0 Ecosystem for the Future

Countless tourism businesses quickly transformed during the pandemic shutdown to go more digital so they could be prepared to offer a more modern experience known as Tourism 4.0. Travel and lodging entities were financially challenged due to the shutdowns, but investing in new technology with greater social awareness is helping the tourism industry build a sustainable bridge to the future.

Related: How AI is Driving Industry 4.0


How Tourism Is Changing

The definition of tourism 4.0 reflects an adoption of modern interactive technology and a vision that strives for social solutions such as equal opportunity, fair treatment in the workplace, and promoting a healthy environment. While embracing cloud-based digital technology is a core fundamental to this new paradigm, corporate governance and addressing social concerns have become more emphasized in the 4.0 industry model.


Patterned After Industry 4.0

The new tourism paradigm has its roots in following the Industry 4.0 model pioneered by utility companies and manufacturing plants. The immediate goal of Industry 4.0 is to cut energy and other operational costs by measuring processes, detecting vulnerabilities, and studying alternatives. The broader goal is to make an operation more efficient and sustainable.

The concept of human-centered design (HCD) methods plays a major role in the shift toward a more open and transparent business model. HCD methods can improve staff interaction while reducing stress levels and training costs. Some of these strategies include selecting user-friendly software, using smart voice assistants, and training employees to build trust between the guests and the hotel’s technology.

Keep reading: 4 Ways to Digitally Transform Business Models with IoT Technology


Smart Tourism Technology

The term “smart tourism” is growing in usage to reflect advanced technologies with embedded interactive sensors to measure organizational processes. Here’s a look at how these smart technologies are contributing to tourism:

IoT Sensors – IoT devices contain RFID chips that communicate with a central location where data can be analyzed. Sensors can be used for safety monitoring of indoor air quality and many other factors that affect comfort for travelers.

Cloud Computing – The cloud is the key to offering a wide range of internet services – enough to make guests feel at home. Thanks to the cloud, companies can hire remote workers who collaborate from different locations around the world.

Automation – Replacing redundant, boring, or unsafe work with automated software helps an operation become more efficient.

Artificial Intelligence – The use of AI, particularly machine learning software, can help speed up problem-solving. It’s useful for scheduling events and monitoring activities.

Virtual Reality – This immersive multi-sensory experience while wearing a headset simulates the physical world and makes a person feel they are part of a virtual environment.

Augmented Reality – Similar to virtual reality, augmented reality mixes the physical and digital worlds, allowing the user to control digital elements like physical objects. Modern video games deliver this experience, which hotels can offer as entertainment.

Blockchain – This emerging technology has been ushered in by cryptocurrency, but can be used as an official ledger for confirming transactions or as a way to store data securely.

3D Printing – A 3D printer can automatically build products based on programmed instructions. An upscale hotel might use a 3D printer in its business center to attract high-end clients.

Read more: Understanding the Internet of Things: What are IoT Solutions?


Avoiding Techno Overkill

Despite the exciting opportunities that new technology brings to the tourism industry, it’s also important for companies not to overwhelm tourists with too much technology. If tourists spend hours immersing themselves in the digital world, they won’t have time to enjoy the physical world.

The traveler’s journey can become somewhat dehumanized and not as personalized as the tourism industry is aiming for. Other potential problems with highly interactive technology include privacy violations and increased level of risks associated with cybercrime. Outsourcing to seasoned security experts can help resolve these concerns so you can focus more on your business.


Conclusion

Adopting tourism 4.0 is becoming increasingly important for the hospitality industry. Many hotels have already made some adjustments to allow for social distancing and more digital solutions should another pandemic occur. Investing in the right interactive technology is one of the main challenges ahead for tourism companies so that they can deliver more personalized guest experiences with problem-solving capabilities. Businesses in the tourism sector should consider working with system integrators and other technology experts to ensure a successful and effective deployment.

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IoT Applications Hotel Industry
Smart Travel

Applications of IoT in the Hotel Industry

The increasingly omnipresent Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the major technological advancements for the hotel industry. Among the main benefits of adopting IoT is the enrichment of the customer experience and the optimization of operating expenses, two priority objectives for hoteliers.


What is IoT?

It is the materialization of the Internet in the real world. It concerns all objects, cars, buildings, and other elements connected to the internet by an electronic chip, or a sensor, allowing them to communicate, collect and exchange data.

Related article: How IoT Technology Data Collection Devices Are So Effective, Convenient, and Even “Intelligent”


From Smart Home to Smart Hospitality

One of the best-known applications of the IoT is home automation in the context of the Smart Home. Thanks to connectivity, it is possible to remotely control most of the home’s installations (light, heating, shutters, video surveillance, etc. ) and easily create automation scenarios to increase comfort, promote entertainment and generate energy savings.

The connected home market has been growing for several years and should mature quickly. Hospitality professionals are interested in this “IoT smart hotel” philosophy which, once adapted to a collective environment, meets four concrete needs for residents and managers of establishments:

  • Improved customer experience
  • Cost reduction
  • Personalized offers
  • Customer knowledge

Read on: Travel Industry Embraces Tech Innovations Amidst the Pandemic


What Are the Applications for IoT in the Hospitality Industry?

Using IoT in hotels and residences is not only for the development of the connected room; there are also several business cases that hoteliers can generate from the use of IoT.

Improved customer experience

Thanks to IoT, hotels can allow customers to connect all their personal equipment (smartphone, connected speaker, PC, etc.) to the WiFi network to enjoy their devices just like they would at home.

By equipping the room with connected thermostats, lamps, and blinds, the customer can control them remotely via his smartphone or a provided in-room tablet.

Common areas can also take advantage of IoT, whether it is to provide customers with useful information on screens using digital signage or to let them know if the treadmill in the gym is free.

Enhanced Customer Security and Protection

With IoT, the hotel industry can develop intelligent surveillance and use equipment such as connected cameras, presence and object detectors, intrusion detectors, etc. This also applies to fire safety via connected smoke detectors allowing an alarm triggering in two stages (manager for verification then general alarm).

Access supervision can also benefit from IoT development in the hotel industry, particularly through connected locks, allowing centralized and easy access management that also enables door openings to be detected.

Optimized energy consumption

Optimizing energy consumption is a major environmental and financial issue for hoteliers. Thanks to new IoT devices, this is now possible. The new systems make it possible to carry out measurements and trigger actions that optimize energy expenditure and generate savings.

Check out: IoT Devices Will Change the Face of Our Future


Building an IoT-Ready Hotel Infrastructure

Integrating IoT within an establishment does not only mean equipping the environment with various connected objects. Indeed, the strength of the IoT lies in the interconnection and communication between connected devices. Thus, suitable network infrastructure is essential to power the IoT environment and allow it to function properly. It is obviously possible to deploy equipment dedicated to IoT, but there is a more interesting alternative.

Almost all hotels and residences have a WiFi infrastructure. Today, manufacturers of wireless equipment specializing in WiFi have developed IoT-ready ranges, allowing the existing LAN network for IoT to be used in parallel with WiFi. These access points are compatible with the main market standards: Zigbee, LoRa, BLE, etc.

This, therefore, makes it possible to couple the hotel’s WiFi infrastructure with the IoT infrastructure, allowing savings on material costs (cabling and switching in particular), deployment, and maintenance.


Future-Proof Your Hotel with IoT Solutions

As the hospitality industry runs smarter and leaner, hoteliers must continue to adapt. By increasing efficiencies through smart hotel technology and creating cleaner environments through IoT solutions, hoteliers can remain competitive by keeping up with changing customer expectations.

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Hospitality Industry
Smart Travel

5 Latest Tech Trends in the Hospitality Industry

Hoteliers, tour operations, and airlines alike continually searching for innovative ways to stay competitive.

Listed below are the five most important emerging technology trends that businesses in the hospitality industry should watch out for and invest in:

1. Smart Hotel Rooms

The concept of smart hotel rooms has been in focus for several years, but so far, it has failed chiefly due to the high costs of technical implementation. This is likely to change soon, however, as more and more companies bring simple, inexpensive solutions to market.

In a smart hotel room, guests can control lighting, curtains, room temperature, fans, and other devices from a single device – a great way to increase guest comfort.

Read more: Applications of IoT in the Hotel Industry

2. Digital Check-In / -Out

Digital check-in and check-out is another development that has been on the market for several years but has not yet fully caught on. The lack of success so far is primarily because the solutions mainly were too cumbersome and not intuitive and user-friendly. Ideally, a digital check-in / out solution should, of course, fit smoothly into the customer journey. So, why should that change in the next few years?

The beginning of the coronavirus pandemic the past year made it clear to everyone the importance of contactless processes. The market has responded with offers that are simpler and more user-friendly than ever before.

In addition to the apparent benefit of avoiding contact during a pandemic, digital check-in and check-out also have other advantages: Hotel guests arriving late, during peak hours, or who are in a hurry benefit enormously from the digital check-in and check-out option. From the hotel’s point of view, this extra service also relieves front desk staff, saving personnel costs and resources.

3. Streaming Technology

Our television consumption has changed fundamentally in recent years. Given the new, extensive, and flexible offers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney +, the typical free in-room premium cable offerings will probably not convince hotel guests for much longer.

So, what do you offer a hotel guest who wants to feel at home during their stay? Quite simply: the possibility of streaming content from their own subscriptions services using the existing hotel internet connection accompanied by a Smart TV.

Such streaming services will undoubtedly be included in the standard range of hotels amenities because of their low costs and the straightforward implementation.

Check out related: 4 Ways to Digitally Transform Business Models with IoT Technology

4. Sustainable Hotels

Sustainability is undoubtedly one of the long-term trends for the hotel industry, and technology can provide good support here. For example, digital in-room tablets are already replacing paper forms of spa brochures, menu cards, and guest information in the hotel room. They offer guests the option of reusing towels, sheets and foregoing room cleaning altogether as part of labor-saving “green practices.”

So, keep an eye out for digital solutions that will make your hotel more sustainable and achieve a return on investment (ROI) at the same time.

5. Big Data in the Hotel

The movement and actions of any single individual generates a lot of numbers and statistics. The discussion about big data is omnipresent and also a topic in the hotel industry. The digitization of countless hotel processes means, for example, that hotels can collect, save, and use existing data while being completely GDPR-compliant.

For example, hoteliers can send guests interested in in-house spa treatments customized push messages directly into the hotel room. It is a great upselling opportunity and, for the hotel, also the chance to increase the guest experience even more.

Related blog: How Big Data Analytics Can Massively Impact Your Business


The Coming Years Will Be Exciting for Hotels

With all of these technological trends in mind, the following years should be exciting. After the end of the peak phase of the pandemic, which is slowly becoming apparent, innovation will be needed to stimulate the hospitality industry again in the long term. Technological innovations will also play a decisive role for hotel operators to maintain their position in the competition with new services for guests to enjoy.

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New Technology Self-Service Travel
Smart Travel

How New Technology Advances Self-Service Travel

The concept of self-service travel has seen rapid innovation due to challenges the tourism industry faced during the pandemic. Social distancing and touchless technology became top concerns for hotels to prepare for future unpredictable health scenarios. Here’s a look at the direction self-service is moving for travelers.


Self-Service Evolution

Early usage of the self-service experience traces back to the first supermarkets of the twentieth century. Prior to choosing products and taking them to a cashier, it was typical to hand a list to the clerk, who then walked around the store gathering the items for purchase. In 1916 the first self-service grocery store opened in Tennessee and completely changed the grocery shopping experience. Following this model today, bigger stores can accommodate more products and larger aisles for browsing and the movement of shopping carts. Vending machines, ATMs, and self-checkout stands added later helped take self-service to a new level.

Related: Travel Industry Embraces Tech Innovations Amidst the Pandemic

Early pioneers of online booking in the travel industry were websites such as Priceline and Expedia. These online booking platforms set the stage for conditioning modern travelers to utilize self-booking tools. These days, cloud services and automation are game-changing technologies contributing to self-service travel. Now, travelers can plan and adjust journeys through an application on their mobile device at any time from any location.

The massive popularity of smartphones has led to the rise of self-tagging kiosks at airports and the ability to check-in to a flight through a web portal. This technology contributes to more efficient travel planning as well as more choices and control for the traveler. Hotels participated in the early adoption of online booking and many now offer electronic check-in through a digital key.


Better Customer Experiences

Thanks to self-booking features, customers no longer need to spend time waiting to speak to a human assistant on the phone. Air travelers can also initiate their own check-in through a web portal up to a few hours prior to the flight takeoff. This capability is particularly convenient for travelers who do not plan on checking any luggage and can therefore skip the check-in line.

Standing in line to buy a flight ticket is no longer necessary since travelers can purchase e-tickets with their smartphones. In the process of going paperless, travelers no longer have to worry about losing physical tickets.

Another way hospitality businesses can become more connected with customers is to provide a real-time calendar that allows room availability to be displayed online. A hotel can add to the travel experience by allowing guests to communicate with the front desk through a simple web portal. The more guests can order food, entertainment, or other services on their own, the more they will appreciate the feeling of control and independence.

Keep reading: The Future of Flight with Advanced Digital Technologies


Improving the Booking Experience

The booking experience is becoming more seamless from the research to action phases through making post-booking adjustments. Tourism companies are investing in online booking software for travelers to set their own schedules. User-friendly customer dashboards have become an integral part of this experience. To maximize self-service efficiency, the 24/7 dashboard should be intuitive and allow customers to earn rewards by promoting referrals through sharing a promotional code.

While some tourism destinations like museums might still use human tour guides, they are also exploring audio guidance technology such as apps in different languages. The booking experience can be further enhanced when travel companies ask for feedback through email or social media. It’s now common for travelers to leave reviews on travel sites such as TripAdvisor without being told.

Related article: Designing a Tourism 4.0 Ecosystem for the Future


Conclusion

More and more tourism companies are turning to self-service travel technology to create greater conveniences for travelers. Offering more choice and control at a faster pace is helping encourage people to get back into travel. Allowing customers to plan and make decisions with their smartphones opens up wider possibilities for developing online revenue streams.

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Travel Industry Innovations
Smart Travel

Travel Industry Embraces Tech Innovations Amidst the Pandemic

While the pandemic just happened like a nightmare, many were able to get through it and saw it as an opportunity. As a matter of fact, despite a global health crisis, studies show that there is a surge in new businesses. Economic uncertainty led to a sudden shift in perspective which prompted entrepreneurs to take action. Travel is one of the sectors that are greatly affected but have successfully dealt with the challenges caused by the pandemic. Hotels and other lodging outlets are embracing new technological innovations to create a more seamless experience for guests.


New Concepts for Serving Hotel Guests

The pandemic has forced hotels to rethink their business models and how they engage with their target market. The need for more flexible urban mobility, which is making populated areas more interconnected and walkable, is part of the transformation to a fuller package for travelers.

Social distancing is a concept that will likely last beyond the pandemic, at least as a preparation plan for another outbreak. Travelers currently think about social distancing as a deciding factor in choosing hotels, since everyone is trying to avoid crowds during the pandemic. That means there will continue to be a need for allowing more space for social engagement, especially in dining areas. Plastic partitions are helping these amenities remain open.

The pandemic will have a lasting impact on how technology plays a role in future consumer relations. Check-in and check-out processes will be geared for smartphone users. Hotels can take advantage of the AI trend by using automated bots to answer guest questions. It will speed up both the booking process and enhance guest experiences with more agile services.

Two key technologies the hotel industry has focused on developing during the transformation to more digital solutions are keyless access to hotel rooms for guests using mobile devices and visual recognition software. Facial recognition technology may eventually be used for identity verification and has already become helpful in tracking down criminals. Even with everyone wearing face masks, the software has still been accurate at identifying individuals.


Technological Breakthroughs

Robotics have already been used for industrial applications and are starting to enter the hospitality industry. The combination of robots, AI, and IoT will create a more personalized experience for hotel guests and serve as a stand-in for hospitality services. Hilton Hotels has experimented with an AI-based robot named "Connie" that can occupy the front desk to answer guest questions about the hotel and neighborhood.

These robots will help fill in the gaps created by staff downsizing due to budget cuts. Another emerging technology that's ideal for hotels to embrace is virtual reality (VR), in which headsets let guests explore a city visually without leaving the hotel. VR headsets have already been implemented at Atlantis Dubai Hotel and Les Roches in Switzerland. VR creates memorable experiences, especially for travelers who aren't sure where to go after they check into their hotel room. VR can be used for entertaining guests by taking them on virtual tours, as well as for training hospitality employees.

Hotels will further transform to meet new hygiene standards and requirements for clean facilities. A greater emphasis is now placed on sanitizing door handles, elevator buttons, and anything else touched by humans. Guests will have less physical contact with hotel personnel but more ways to communicate electronically.


Conclusion

While the future and length of the pandemic is uncertain, companies that rely on the travel industry can use this interim period to innovate and renovate. Connecting with an emerging smart ecosystem will help improve tourism during and after the pandemic period. Hotels that resist investing in innovation may be upstaged by competitors that do. Lodging properties that mix new technology with personalized solutions will have the greatest advantages moving forward.


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