Industrial digitization has transformed consumer habits and will continue to do so. The change has been led mainly by evolving technology, popularizing social media and increased emphasis on online retail services. Mobile devices, apps, machine learning and automation allow us to get what we want almost exactly at the moment we need it.
What’s more, these new digital technologies have caused a shift in customer expectations, resulting in a new kind of modern buyer. Today’s consumers are constantly connected, mobile-native, and very much aware of what they can do with technology.
When it comes to hotels, it is no secret that the hotel industry has in many ways fallen short in terms of digitizing its services. There are many reasons behind this- starting with the general reluctance of any changes on the market, fear of losing touch with the customers, finishing with very common old server-based legacy PMS´s, which are hard to integrate and a lack of comprehensive, modern and affordable solutions on the market.
However, the ongoing COVID-pandemic has brought a change in the mindset of the market. More and more hoteliers have started to embrace the power of technology and automation and found ways to enhance their customer experience, by adding a new modern layer of customer technology to the existing one.
Implementing that additional, modern layer of guest experience does not only help the hotels to increase the level of customer satisfaction and incremental sales, but it also enables them to cut down on staff costs and become much more profitable.
As surveys indicate, 70% of millennials would rather prefer a contactless hotel experience. With gen Z customers this percentage is even higher. Clearly, technology is set to become an inseparable part of modern hotel amenities and is changing 21st-century hospitality as we know it.
According to a survey conducted by Criton in 2020, most customers would prefer a digitized experience over traditional hotel services. More specifically, 62% of people who took part in the survey said they would prefer a digitized check-in, 80% were willing to conduct all the operations related to their stay via an app, and 47% said, they would request room service more eagerly if they could do it using contactless technology.
The digital-savvy consumers are well informed- they want relevant and quick information and they know very well how to find it if it is made available and they also share a lot- e.g they are the ones leaving your hotel the reviews, based on their personal experience.
With the growing number of young travellers and travellers with pandemic anxiety, the demand for digital hospitality solutions is set to increase, and its early adopters will surely gain a competitive edge. If you want to learn more about the ways you can enhance your customer experience and gain higher efficiency and profitability, then drop us a line and we will get back to you.