But Why is Technology Important in the Hospitality Industry?

Travelers, today, are now more inclined toward services that are tech-driven, simple, and deliver personalized experiences. These changing needs and wants of travelers are defining the way hotels operate.

Further, it’s not just only delivering the guest experience, but certain technologies have also made hotel operations really seamless. Tasks that once required a lot of manpower can now be done in minutes with little to no human involvement.

To stay ahead of the game and expand business in this extremely competitive industry, technology is definitely a weapon in the arsenal of hotels worldwide.

Phil Davidson in interaction with GuestRevu said:

When it comes to managing a hotel, there are many forms of technology and the needs are very universal. Whether they’re being used in different regions or different types of accommodations, hotel technologies have undeniable benefits in terms of streamlining operations, informing operational decisions, increasing bookings, and maintaining high standards of customer service.

Gavin Philipp, VP of Operations, Charlestowne Hotels said: 

When a guest stays at a hotel, they expect their personal devices to do whatever it is they need it to do automatically – hotels need to be able to deploy the technology to do that seamlessly. They must focus on ensuring personal tech is integrated with the hotel itself.

Example of Hotels Making the Best Out of Technology

To help you understand better the role of technology in hotels, here are some examples of hotels that have turned to hotel tech and are reaping the benefits.

Boutique Hotel Palacio, Dominican Republic

Boutique Hotel Palacio in the Dominican Republic is a great example of how hotel technology increases revenue.

The hotel incorporated a cloud hotel PMS and an integrated channel manager in the tech stack as it was looking for a way to cut down on the hefty commissions to the OTAs. With the channel manager connectivity, they quickly witnessed significant gains in terms of direct bookings.

Cremorne Point Manor, Australia 

Cremorne Point Manor in Australia is a 4-star Boutique Hotel. The property was looking for a simplified process of their day-to-day routine.

They deployed a robust cloud hotel PMS along with some integrations. What did they achieve?

They have not only streamlined their hotel’s end-to-end operations but have also witnessed a 21% hike in their revenue.

Zostel, India

India’s first chain of backpacker’s hostels, Zostel is another great example of a property making the best out of technology.

Zostel is using a channel manager that allows them to control rates, and distribute inventory from a single dashboard. Also, they are able to monitor occupancy rates constantly to eliminate under bookings and boost revenues.

Palm Oasis Boutique Hotel, Thailand

Having a system that lets you strike the correct balance between OTAs and direct bookings is really important for a successful hotel business. And Thailand-based, Palm Oasis Boutique Hotel is a great example of that.

Palm Oasis deployed a hotel management system with an integrated channel manager and booking engine. They quickly witnessed the benefits it presented.

They are now able to take care of commission-free bookings from the website as well as bookings from my travel agents. And they can view all of that from one single dashboard.

How does Technology Increases Your Hotel Revenue?

We cannot emphasize enough how important technology is for modern hoteliers. And having a great hotel technology stack increases revenue. But how does that happen? Just because you have a certain tech in place, will your sales go through the roof?

Well, that’s not exactly the case. 

Smart technologies make the guest journey simple and help deliver personalized experiences. The more customers feel valued, the more they will spread the word and this drives your bookings.

Now to help you understand better, let us show you 6 ways hotel technology contributes to your revenue.

#1 Streamlines your booking process

Technologies like a cloud hotel PMS, mobile app, booking engine, and channel manager make your entire booking process really simple. The scope of error reduces significantly, which in turn saves you from booking losses.

• A hotel PMS makes your frontdesk more efficient as most of the tasks get automated. Your frontdesk staff can quickly take reservations and check-in guests. 
• With a hotel mobile app, you can manage hotel operations right from your smartphones. You can accept bookings, check-in and check-out guests, and perform a lot of other tasks. 
• Direct bookings are commission-free and contribute to your overall revenue. And a booking engine helps with just that. It provides guests with the opportunity to reserve with your hotel directly from your website and social media.
• Overbookings might cost you business. And this is where a channel manager comes into the picture. With a channel manager, you can sell your rooms on multiple OTAs at the same time. Also, it updates your inventory on all the channels in real-time, reducing the risk of overbooking.

Simply put, hotel technology allows you to accept bookings from multiple avenues in an error-free manner. Also, it makes the entire process guest-friendly which is a major factor in bringing more business.

#2 Helps you upsell and cross-sell better

You cannot neglect upselling and cross-selling at any cost when it comes to increasing your hotel revenue.

But what do you need to improve your upsell and cross-sell game? It’s DATA such as the guest’s preferences or purchase history. 

There are certain technologies that let you gather the right data in the right form, analyse them, and target guests who are more likely to buy your services. 

So, incorporate those systems in your hotel’s infrastructure, sell better, deliver a great experience and enhance your revenue.

#3 Increases staff efficiency

When hotels work towards increasing revenue, they mostly overlook their staff. It is really important for hotels to ensure staff efficiency because this enhances guest satisfaction and that ultimately contributes to your hotel revenue.

Today, technologies like cloud Hotel PMS, mobile app, automated staff training systems etc. have made the daily operations of a hotel much simpler.

Hotel’s staff now have more time to focus on guests, rather than getting busy sitting in front of the systems.  

For example: If your hotel frontdesk is equipped with an OCR-powered management system, then you don't have to manually enter all your guests’ details. You can scan the guest IDs and auto-fill the required details, making the entire process fast and simple.

#4 Makes your marketing more effective

Marketing is really crucial for a successful business, irrespective of the industry. And the hotel business is no exception. 

However, hotel marketers need to have the right metrics if they want to deliver more. This is where technology in hotels steps in.

Here’s how it helps:

• It allows you to gather and store huge data in the right form and from the right sources.
• You can use that data to understand your target audience.
• You can deliver more effective campaigns — be it an email, or an in-message ad or just an ad post on your potential guests’ social media feed. 
• Platforms like Google Ads and Facebook ads also improve your digital marketing efforts. You can run your ads based on your audience understanding, preferences and location.
• Then there’s WhatsApp marketing which has gained a lot of traction lately. You can drop personalised text messages right into your former/existing/potential guests’ WhatsApp inbox.
• Further, with technologies like beacon, you can send targeted adverts to people based on how near they are (or their device) is to your location.

#5 Helps you make informed decisions

The price you charge for your hotel rooms is vital for your business and it requires strategic decision making.

Technologies like revenue management systems and hotel PMS can make this process a bit simple for you (if not completely). A revenue management system allows you to analyse the market and helps you determine the rates that are being offered at competing hotels.

And when you have this information handy, it becomes much easier to make an informed decision which helps in boosting your hotel revenue.

#6 Improves guests’ experience

A guest is always a hotel’s priority and technology helps extensively in improving their experience. Also, the happier your guests are the more likely you are to increase your returns.

There are a lot of guest-facing technologies that are being used by hotels today. Let me help you understand with examples.

Example 1: Amid the COVID pandemic, guest safety is of utmost priority and with contactless technologies, you can avoid compromising with it. When you have a contactless system in place, you can allow your guests to bypass the frontdesk and go to their rooms directly with little to no human contact.

Example 2: Kiosk is a great way to let the guests check-in in a much simpler manner. Guests can go to a kiosk, scan their IDs, get their temperature check and check into their rooms. They don’t have to come in contact with anyone else in the hotel.

The hotel industry is anyway ever-evolving, and with the COVID pandemic, the industry is forced to transform all over again to fit into the new normal. In this entire transformation, technology is at the centre.

Hotels that are keeping abreast with the latest techs are more likely to stay profitable in the long run.

Different Ways You Can Use Technology In Your Hotel Operations

Now that we have seen how hotel technology increases revenue, let us look at some ways to use technology to increase hotel revenue.

• Frontdesk: Incorporate a cloud hotel management system that automates your hotel’s end to end operations. This will help you minimize wait time and increase your staff’s efficiency.
• Mobile App: Introduce a mobile app for your hotel to let your guests have easy access to all your services. You can also equip it with in-app messaging and AI-chatbot to communicate with your guests.
• Touchless Hospitality: Allow your guest to self-check-in at your property. The more concerned you become towards your guests’ safety, the more you gain guest loyalty.
• Direct Booking: Integrate a booking engine to your website and Facebook pages to drive more direct bookings and do away with third-party commissions.
• OTA Bookings: Have a channel manager in place to update your room inventory in all OTAs in real-time and avoid overbooking.
• Point-of-Sale System: A POS system integrated with your hotel PMS helps you streamline all your F&B services.
• Online Reputation: Get reputation management and feedback management system to strengthen your online presence. A feedback management system will help you discover how guests experience your services and a reputation management system will help you monitor guests’ reviews.
• Revenue Management: Revenue management is crucial for hotels to stay profitable. Having a revenue management system in place helps hoteliers in using data from their own hotel and from the market at large to predict consumer behaviour and sell the rooms and services at an optimal price.
• Financial Accounting: Hotel financial accounting empowers hotels to make better decisions and bring in good fortune. When you have a system that deals with your hotel finances, you can be more efficient in budgeting, forecasting, and planning future costs.

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