From Information to Interaction, A Modern CMS Revitalizes the Guest Experience
The hospitality sector is in its post-pandemic revival. Deloitte predicts 2024 will be the year that venues and hotels will fully rebound. As the industry rallies, the stakes for delivering exceptional guest experiences are higher than ever. Decision-makers must differentiate themselves with exceptional guest and employee experiences.
Selecting the appropriate technological solutions for modern venues and hotels is crucial, but it’s only the beginning of what digital transformation can do for hospitality. Enhancing technology with future-proof content management software (CMS) can truly enable hospitality decision makers to meet the needs of guests and employees alike. An ecosystem that offers visually engaging content informs, entertains and guides the user’s journey – a crucial bundle for building a competitive advantage in the new year.
For Guests: Connected Experiences Remain Imperative
In 2024, hospitality decision-makers should prepare for heightened guest expectations: 61% of customers eagerly anticipate more immersive, interactive experiences. An integrated CMS can provide a solid foundation for guest experience success, allowing managers to maximize the potential of displays throughout the facility and provide visitors with multiple touchpoints to fulfill their needs.
A CMS distributes content to any connected device in the ecosystem, including screens, kiosks, or tablets in the lobby or corridors. For hospitality, this is particularly useful for maintaining room signage and reader boards, displaying up-to-date information about scheduling, events, space availability, menus, etc. By centralizing these updates, hospitality staff can empower guests with on-demand information about local attractions, travel tips, check-in procedures, interactive maps and itineraries.
The platform can also enhance the actionability of the content by deploying automated chats – powered by conversational AI and machine learning to deliver answers to questions, recommendations and intel on demand. More options than ever exist for incorporating multilingual data and accessibility features for all guests, too, ensuring that all guests can benefit the same.
A CMS can also enhance interactive wayfinding – one of the fastest-growing digital experiences across industries. Wayfinding tools empower guests with on-demand directions to navigate the facility, empowering independence and comfort through convenience. The tools can also extend access to information to an on-the-go mobile experience, with app integrations or QR codes capable of seamlessly transferring directions and content to mobile devices. A comprehensive CMS partner can help hospitality leaders enhance their wayfinding experience with dynamic floor plan mapping, GPS navigation and relevant information pop-ups.
When integrated with meeting space management tools, hospitality venues can also allow guests to book catering, audiovisual, floral, and other services; approve floorplans for events; and request tech support or other services through an app or display, better accommodating business, conference, and event needs. With these integrations, guests enjoy comprehensive planning, navigation, and customer service solutions in one place.
For Staff: Back-of-House Upgrades Increase Satisfaction
While these guest resources are crucial, an intelligent content backend can also improve operational efficiency, reduce the need for constant staff involvement, and enhance workplace satisfaction. Nearly half of employees report less stress and burnout when their companies automate repetitive tasks.
Leaders can simplify employee workloads and reduce communication hassles using a CMS with rich APIs in their back-of-house operations. Integration with hospitality software like DELPHI, EMS, Micros, Envision, Tripleseat, Ungerboeck, etc., can centralize management to a single backend, making updates, scheduling, and analysis simple. CMS-connected sensors can be integrated into meeting spaces and common areas to help staff keep track of meeting space no-shows, allocate resources, schedule extra cleaning for high-traffic areas, and identify areas that need service.
With the emergence of AI automation tools, decision-makers should also evaluate how their CMS can improve staff efficiency and customer support. AI tools can be beneficial in recalling important information for customer requests, training and policies. Meanwhile, AI tools can also act as a virtual concierge, providing real-time support through digital chat to free up bandwidth for management teams. All this information is easily accessible on back-of-house signage and employee apps, making it easier for staff to manage resources and provide a better customer experience – without compromising employee satisfaction.
For the Bottom Line: Partnering for Longevity
An effective CMS is crucial for improving guest experiences, streamlining operations, empowering employees, and future-proofing businesses in the competitive hospitality industry. However, selecting a CMS partner can be complex due to the evolving expectations for technology’s role in hospitality.
On one hand, leaders will naturally favor cost-efficient, reliable software. On the other hand, they’ll need to consider how their solutions will support evolving technology needs, security, and long-term maintenance. It’s essential to evaluate how a CMS partner can provide unified, seamless experiences across all touchpoints while prioritizing these needs.
The following questions can help decision-makers choose the right partner:
- Is the software hardware-agnostic? Will it provide consistent, reliable control across new and existing hardware?
- Will the CMS enable easy, facility-wide control and content distribution?
- Is the CMS scalable? Will it adapt and grow seamlessly with our organization, team, and customers?
- Will it deliver easy-to-customize, intelligent content management experiences that support our brand and business objectives?
- Does the provider offer maintenance and expansion services?
- Is the platform secure?
The revival of the hospitality sector post-pandemic presents a unique opportunity for venues and hotels to prioritize exceptional guest experiences. By partnering with a future-focused CMS provider, decision-makers can create immersive and personalized guest experiences while streamlining operations and enhancing employee satisfaction – a critical foundation for meeting customer expectations in 2024.
About the Author
Tomer Mann, Chief Revenue Officer at 22Miles, boasts a 15-year track record in the fast-evolving digital signage sector. Committed to revolutionizing visual communication across diverse sectors, Tomer channels his expertise to support 22Miles as it simplifies complex digital content while consistently elevating user experiences.