How Touchless Experiences & Self-Service Are Transforming Hotels
The hotel guest experience has evolved quickly in response to the pandemic. Big picture, how can technology promote health and safety while delivery efficiency and ROI?
The pandemic has impacted current and future expectations on how hotels will operate. Safety and precautionary standards will become commonplace and can be what sets one hotel apart from another. Guests want to know what safety measures are in place and how it will affect their stays. To build guest confidence, hotels are seeking solutions that offer hands off interactions for both employees and guests, and it all starts at the lobby entrance as the first checkpoint. Businesses are seeking thermal screening solutions to measure temperatures at check-in with self-service kiosks, touchless solutions and occupancy monitoring solutions to meet occupancy guidelines. These solutions allow hotels to continue operations without an interruption in workflow and can reallocate staff to ensure frequent cleanings of guest facing technology. The most important ROI is building your reputation of creating a safe environment for guests and employees that builds trust and confidence.
How can technology provide guests with self-service options?
Hotels are incorporating more self-service solutions that can allow guests to easily check in/out, place restaurant orders, and reserve facilities without restricting the capabilities and amenities that come with the stay experience. These solutions can range from touchless kiosks to mobile tablets in restaurants and open areas that can be easily disinfected with high alcohol rated cleaners as recommended by CDC guidelines to maintain safety precautions with minimal face-to-face contact.
How can touchless technology enhance not only health and safety but also the overall guest experience?
Touchless technology continues to advance in a way that allows guests to safely interact with kiosks without any physical contact. We are seeing many breakthrough solutions that offer different types of touchless technology for self-service kiosks. In the market, you will start seeing more voice command, gesture control, contactless payments and QR scanning to transform your cellphone as a control device for the kiosk. It is all about making the touchless experience as easy and smooth as possible.
How will technology change the guest room experience?
In dining and restaurant areas we are seeing more guest facing technologies such as mobile tablets to view menus, and ordering with contactless payments at the table to minimize exposure risks from items such as paper menus that cannot be cleaned as easily with the proper disinfectants. These same tablet solutions are also extending back to the guest rooms as items that cannot be easily sanitized in a similar fashion such as paper room service menus, tv remotes, and guides. In-room tablets are able to provide an all-in-one solution that can help minimize touch points and allow for quick and easy disinfecting for employees and guests.