Lodging Trends, IoT and Incremental Revenue Drivers Among the Most-Read Hotel Stories of the Year.
As 2021 comes to a close, we take a look back at the most-read hotels stories on Hospitality Technology. In addition to HT's own groundbreaking research, technology to improve CX and the guest room experience, tools to streamline operations and reduce stress on employees, and imagining future solutions were among the year’s hot topics.
In this special recap, HT counts down the most-read hotel stories of the year.
HT counts down the most-read restaurants stories of the year here.
10.
Fetch.ai Brings Autonomous AI Travel Agents to 770,000 Hotels
By encouraging a direct provider-to-consumer interaction, Autonomous AI Travel Agents deliver significant cost savings of up to 10% for both hotels and consumers.
9.
Five Hospitality Tech Trends Powering Hotels, Short-term Rentals
Trend: 76% of hoteliers plan to reduce front desk staff significantly in the next 12 months. This article details key findings of a survey of 200 hotels and the resulting whitepaper, The State of Tech-Enabled Stays from 2021-2023.
8. Carnival's OceanMedallion Tech: The Wave of the Future
This story continues to track a lot of eyeballs and for good reason. Before wearable tech was a thing and IoT devices existed, one man had a vision to improve the guest experience; 10 years later he accomplished it. John Padgett delivered the keynote at HT-NEXT in Scottdale, Arizona.
HT-NEXT 2020 was a virtual event, and the HTNEXT Highlight Hub lets you explore the educational sessions presented HT’s and HTNG’s virtual hotel conference at your own pace. This hub features dozens of audio tours, keynotes interviews and panel discussions. ICYMI: HT-NEXT 2021 was live and in person in Scottdale, Arizona – December 13-16. Check out the 2021 recap here.
6.
Attribute-Based Selling: A Primer for Hotels
This article details what is Attribute-Based Selling or ABS, what it isn’t, and why you should care about it.
5.
Extending the Reach of Hotel Entertainment
The guest experience is evolving. And when it comes to in-room entertainment, an on-demand experience is a must — no matter the size or location of the property guests choose.
When travelers turn on their in-room tv, they want — and expect — almost instantaneous access to their favorite channels and apps, plus the ability to cast their favorite content. And they want it all with the simple push of a button. Here’s a step-by-step guide to go beyond the basics.
4.
Transform the Guest Journey, from Pre-Stay to Re-Stay
Hospitality business have been challenged to embrace technology and streamlined solutions at warp speed these past 2 years. This interactive infographic illustrates how Amazon Web Services (AWS) helps hotels better serve their guests, enable employees, and achieve their business goals by offering the most services, deepest capabilities, and fastest rate of innovation in the cloud. In these challenging and fast-evolving times, AWS is supporting hotel companies as they look to transform their business. If you haven’t already, check it out here.
3
Critical Considerations for the Hotel Frontline
Guest and employee safety tools are among the most-read stories month after month. This story, explains why guest safety should be at the heart of your brand; you need to ensure your employees are cleared for contact. Find out how, download this essential guide to Critical Considerations for the Hotel Safety.
2.
2021 Customer Engagement Technology Study: Powering Hospitality’s Recovery
The second most-read story of the year is HT’s 2021 Customer Engagement Technology Study: Powering Hospitality’s Recovery. Hospitality is open for business, and this HT study, now in its 10th year, zeroes in on what hospitality customers really want from technology now? (Free Wi-Fi is once again table stakes.) After more than a year of disruption, the human touch — assisted and augmented by innovative solutions — is more in demand than ever. Read the full report here.
1.
2021 Lodging Technology Study: Reimaging Hospitality
Drum roll, please…. The most-read hotel story of the year was HT’s own 2021 Lodging Technology Study: Reimagining Hospitality. HT surveyed hotel IT professionals who together represent more than 22,000 properties worldwide. As you might expect, this study reflects adversity — most notably, the impact of COVID-19 and flat or shrinking IT budgets — but also opportunities to embrace emerging solutions. We noted consensus around technologies that customers demand, including free WiFi and contactless transactions, and a disconnect between relatively modest budgets and hoteliers’ aspirations and positive outlook toward emerging technologies. You can check out the 2021 report here, but while you are at it, register now for the webinar that covers the 2022 Lodging Technology Study here.