Balancing technologies... think like a geek/behave like your customer
Today’s extreme business environment demands hotels to remain cutting-edge, if they want to be competitive. The recent pandemic, according to reports, has accelerated digital transformation in the hospitality industry by ten years, with today’s travelers progressively becoming digitally and tech savvy. Technology is no longer a ‘nice to have’… it is a necessity.
A Mckinsey study spoke of talking to industry leaders about what they considered digital to mean? Some viewed it as the upgraded term for what their IT function does. Others focus on digital marketing or sales. But very few it seems have a broad, holistic outlook of what digital really means.
The writer of the report views digital as ‘the nearly instant, free and flawless ability to connect people, devices and physical objects anywhere’. While that is a very apt description, it also hints of a moving target - since technology is in a constant state of flux. Thus, hotels have their task cut out leveraging technology to stay ahead of the competition. Done properly though, there is an opportunity to not only be in front of the competition, but, to also plug the labour gap and meet the demands of the guest.
For standalone hotels, choosing a digital solution can pose problems. Firstly, making sure that the hotel’s various systems will work together is fundamental. Secondly, some digital aids that look robust in theory, struggle in practice - asking for diverse information in real time can cause disruptions. Thirdly, choosing a system based on one’s budget and level of service can be a headache – with so many products in the marketplace, ’vendor fatigue’ can set in and even disorient decision-making. Fourthly, and most importantly, hoteliers need to balance digital resourcefulness with a human touch.
But in an industry still grappling with highly manual and repetitive processes, all is not lost. With severely depleted teams, the challenge is how to utilize existing resource more effectively by automating mundane tasks that add little value. Value is the key word here. Getting caught in the “digital rush”, many hotels value digital transformation ahead of focusing on how they will create and capture value with digital.
Organisations need to understand the three different types of digital value; value from customers (cross selling, increased loyalty, enhancing the customer experience); value from operations (improved efficiency, automating processes, freeing staff from mundane tasks); and value from ecosystems ( networking with partners for both access to more customers and wider range of products / services).
More and more of guests enjoy doing things on their own…quickly and easily. Going to the front desk, to stand at a queue until someone is free to attend to them, is not on their agenda. For instance; they want to use their smartphones to fast track the check-in process and / or to request for services – be it for more towels or toiletries or ask questions. They want to be able to handle those issues swiftly on their phones using either QR codes on display in the hotel room, a smartphone app, or the hotel’s website. This gives them a sense of being in total control.
Hotels that pivot towards understanding both the customers and its needs before embracing the power of technology will only then be truly “future ready”.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier
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