Remote Check-Ins, AI, Apps: Tech-Enabled Recovery Strategies for Hotels

Technology is ever-evolving and so are user expectations. Technology is also a key element hotels can use to stand out from the crowd, to better assist their guests, and increase revenue. Sales are a key area in which hotels are always on the lookout for innovative methods to increase their profits. 

As the world becomes gradually more digital, travellers’ behaviour is rapidly changing and hoteliers’ strategies need to follow to stay profitable and raise their income in the long run. The hotel business has become a digital game, where reservation and front-desk managers go hand in hand with tech specialists. Technology is no longer built for one specific task. Instead, it aims to help hotels operate more intelligently and efficiently, as well as helping them provide better guest experiences. Once those benefits are in place, the money they generate will follow.

In The Hotel Revenue Management Landscape 2019, Skift found that more than 80% of hotels worldwide currently don’t employ any advanced technology to help with revenue strategies. As such, it can be seen that opting for technology nowadays is an extremely strategic way in which to stand out from competitors, as well as to gain precious time. Taking the world of finance as an example, it's like having bought Google shares 15 years ago, when the company had only just landed on the stock exchange. Convinced? Then let’s explore the best options of tools to up your game!

Best ways to generate higher hotel revenues 

AI integration - AI can help improve guest experiences and revenue but it is an underutilised technology in hotels. ModiHost, for example, is a hotel management system that utilises AI technology to create ad hoc customer profiles, making guests feel special by predicting their needs and behaviour, and suggesting services automatically. The result is hotels being able to improve customer experiences while increasing sales by up to 25%. Additionally, this system eliminates outdated procedures, reduces repetitive workload and raises staff efficiency, resulting in lower costs, and higher revenue.

Create your own hotel app - Hotels can please their guests by giving them everything they need on their own phones. Apps could include any number of features to ensure guests have a great stay: maps, directions or wifi information, as well as recommendations on the best places to visit, restaurant menus, pool opening hours, spa treatments, and all the other services available at the property.

Moreover, apps help hotels earn more from every booking by promoting services, offers, events, amenities, and more on the app itself.

Predictive Maintenance - It allows hotels to use sensor data to identify wasteful or dangerous trends and alert maintenance staff before a given issue escalates into a problem. So rather than waiting for something to break, IoT technologies enable engineering staff to predict maintenance needs based on system usage, prevent system failures and reduce the costs of operating a faulty system.

A leaky sink can cost up to 800€ per year, plus the cost of any water damage that occurs before the leak is identified. By monitoring water lines with smart, low-cost IoT-enabled water meters, hotels can see a return on their water consumption in as little as about four years.

The same can be done with heating and cooling systems. 

Smart Energy Management - Smart energy-management systems use sophisticated machine-learning algorithms that continuously analyse historical thermodynamics, local weather patterns and peak demand loads to optimize energy usage in real-time. Smart energy-management systems can reduce hotel energy costs by up to 20%. 

Smart lighting technology also enables hotels to better understand their energy needs, automate consumption and adapt to real-time changes in occupancy. For instance, when the Chatwal Hotel in New York retrofitted approximately 1,300 lamps in the hallways, common areas, and its 80 rooms, it saved more than 410,000 annual kilowatt-hours, equating to a 90% reduction in lighting energy consumption. Indeed, the Chatwal Hotel saved around $124,255 in the first year alone.

Remote check-in and check-out - By enabling guests to check-in remotely using their smartphones, hotels can better manage their staffing needs and make considerable savings on labour costs. This technology can also alert hotel staff when guests arrive, enabling them to spend less time on the welcoming process. At the end of their stay, travellers can enjoy a seamless self-check-out experience that also allows them to arrange their preferred method of transportation to their next destination, whether that is a taxi, airport shuttle or a ride-sharing service such as Uber, making further savings on labour costs.

While some of these solutions are easier than others, and some are certainly more time-consuming, they have all proven to pay back the effort invested and increase hotel revenue in the long term.