Oracle Survey: Free Up Staff for Personalized Service by Automating Transactional Services

As consumers plan a trip, whether for business or pleasure, there are numerous opportunities for them to engage with hospitality brands. To better understand how hoteliers can make those moments count, Oracle Hospitality commissioned Phocuswright, a travel industry research firm, to survey more than 2,700 U.S. and European travelers to better understand the impact of technology on the hotel-guest experience. The survey, Creating the Coveted Hotel Guest Experience, also provides insights from hoteliers who work at chains and independents to help shed light on their technological pursuits while gauging how well they align with consumers' expectations.
 
Some of the key findings include:
 

• Hoteliers who have invested in their websites and apps will find a good ROI. According to the survey, 52% of U.S. travelers used a hotel's website or app to make their hotel selection, competing favorably with OTAs (53%) and travel search engine websites/apps (44%).
• When it comes to booking hotels, travelers worldwide primarily use PCs. In the United States, smartphone booking is increasing (27%) and Europeans are using tablets almost as often as smartphones. The lesson learned here? Create booking interfaces with a device-agnostic approach.
• Guests value technological advancements at hotels. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. hotel guests said it is "very or extremely important" for hotels to continue investing in technology to enhance the guest experience. For example, guests say hotels should use technology to improve or deliver: capability to select specific room locations (45%), share information on in-destination activities (41%), the check-in/check-out process (39%), and ways to make service requests (36%). Much of what these guests highlighted are fairly transactional activities. Therefore, it seems hoteliers could benefit by finding ways to automate such activities, freeing up staff to better provide personalized service.
• While guests want the ability to use technology for climate and light control in-room, hoteliers – for the most part – reported no plans to introduce technology to address this desire. Similarly, room cleanliness is, by far, the most important criterion for overall guest satisfaction. Unsurprisingly, 35% of guests said they would like to be able to schedule their room cleaning and 26% said they would like a notification that their room was being cleaned. However, hotels are not pursuing guest-facing technology to address such requests. Instead, they are using technology to improve housekeeping staff performance.

 

The survey also addressed the pain point hotels have between deciding when acquiring guest information has gone from personalization to privacy invasion. U.S. hoteliers are more actively pursuing means to connect guests with their favorite brands, but in Europe – especially Germany – hoteliers are more concerned about infringing on guest privacy are using a personalized approach in a much more limited fashion. A similar divide exists between chain hotels and independents.
 
Consumers already believe that technology is an inseparable element of their travels, and they demand hoteliers keep investing in it to improve their experience. Most commonly, guests want more control – especially of their in-room experience. From scheduling housekeeping to selecting entertainment, hoteliers must find ways to facilitate this desire. By offering guests more technology avenues, hoteliers can foster greater guest loyalty and generate greater revenue.
 
To read the report in full, visit: https://go.oracle.com/LP=45265?elqCampaignId=83800