AI can deliver guest service but Only Humans Can Deliver Hospitality
New tech always moves the needle for hotels, but only goes so far
As I read the headlines in lodging publications and in social channel posts lately, there are countless experts touting the advantages of using AI to improve guest experiences.
This is especially true since Large Language Model (LLM) versions of AI have come out in recent months, such as OpenAI’s “ChatGPT” and Google’s Bard AI. Surely, these will have a significant impact on the processes by which hotels deliver guest experiences, as have preceding technologies.
For years now, IVR (interactive voice response) has used voice recognition software, allowing guests dialing up a call center to obtain information and access basic details. More recently, AI-assisted, voice-powered guest messaging systems used for both advance reservations and for in-house guests have allowed callers to ask questions just as they would with a live human and to receive detailed, personalized responses.
Surely, as these and other technologies as yet unimagined come to fruition, the basic needs of guests may be met with increasing efficiency. Those of us who have been in the industry for two decades or more have already seen how technological advances have improved the efficiencies of guest experiences.
There are so many things I do not miss about those “good old days” as a hotel worker and guest. I definitely do not miss having to call down for a wake-up call and being placed on hold while an over-taxed operator fields calls from guests in dozens of other rooms who all called down right at 11 p.m. when the 10 p.m. prime time show ended. I definitely do not miss having to stand in line at 8:30 a.m. to receive a “zero balance” guest folio.
However, while the tech providers and the hotel owners all say that these technologies are going to free up staff to be able to deliver the personalized services still needed, I fear there is a thinly disguised strategy to simply shave off payroll costs and reduce human contact.
Part of this is driven by the tech companies who continue to sell what I have called the “Millennial Myth,” which I now call the “Gen Z Myth.” The myth is basically that “You know, young people today all grew up with technology and they prefer to do everything themselves on their phones versus having to deal with humans.” The entire concept of summing up the preferences of a population of humans based on their birth year seems to have started with Strauss–Howe generational theory and its successors.
Alternatively, I do not believe you can stereotype the needs of any population, and when it comes to predicting the preferences of guests this way, these theories are about as relevant as zodiac signs.
Guest expectations are more situational than generational. Let’s remember that we baby boomers also grew up with technology, and on top of that, we had to learn to navigate it long before it was “plug and play,” so we’re pretty good adopters, too.
Surely, most all guests across any demographic would rather have a pleasant, AI-assisted voice response system to help reconfirm or change a room reservation, book a table, massage appointment or tee time.
Likewise, guests of all ages want a human to be just one click away when we really need help with a special need, situation or circumstance such as when we need an opinion or merely some reassurance to help us overcome “choice overload that so many consumers experience today.
That AI voice can tell us the square footage of a room and its amenities, or state the specials on the menu tonight, but it cannot engage in interactive questioning that makes humans feel heard and understood and it cannot therefore offer needs-based recommendations, suggestions and local insider’s tips.
AI can dispense a room key card or QR code, but it cannot ask in a caring, heartfelt way, “How was your trip in to the hotel today?” and then listen with empathy as guests share their travel dramas. It cannot make a guest feel welcomed or special.
Yes, AI can deliver guest services, but only humans can deliver heartfelt hospitality.
Having spent years on both sides of the front desk, I have both delivered and received that warm, fuzzy mysterious feeling that humans have the unique capacity to feel when we make a truly personalized, authentic connection with others. It’s a connection that is shared on both sides of the desk, bar, phone call or dining room table. It is both given and received simultaneously by human conversations.
While in Western cultures, we don’t have a word for this, one can be found in the ancient Sanskrit language. The word is kama muta, which means “being moved by love.”
Doug Kennedy is president of the Kennedy Training Network. Doug is a leading provider of hotel sales, guest service, reservations, and front desk training programs and telephone mystery shopping services for the lodging and hospitality industry. He continues to be a fixture on the industry’s conference circuit for hotel companies, brands and associations. Since 1996, Doug’s monthly training articles have been published worldwide, making him one of the most widely read hospitality industry authorities. Contact him at doug@kennedytrainingnetwork.com.
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