Hospitality is a highly competitive, trendy industry. Therefore, adapting to the latest technology is critical so as not to lose the competitive advantage. Hospitality technology is a term used to describe all technology, e-commerce, information technology, etc. used in the hospitality industry. The purpose of this technology is to provide convenience for employees and improve the overall experience for the guest. And businesses benefit from implementing new technologies not only through cost reduction, and the decrease in employee workload, but also by remaining competitive in the market and increasing their appeal to potential guests.
Contactless Technology
Contactless technologies include contactless check-in, contactless payment, voice-activated appliances, motion sensors and more. These technologies were popular even before the pandemic because of advantages such as improving customer satisfaction, speeding up payments, convenience and compatibility with loyalty programs. But COVID-19 and the focus on limiting human contact increased their importance. Because of the pandemic and experiencing the convenience of contactless technology, consumers’ preferences have changed.
Robotics Technology
Examples of robot technology include robot staff, robot concierge, chatbots, cooking robots and more. While service robots were introduced in the hospitality industry not long ago, their numbers have increased due to the pandemic and consumers’ desire to avoid human contact.
The ability of robots to easily provide 24/7 guest support, further increases customer satisfaction.
And with advances in technology that allow robots to provide emotional and relational elements along with customized service based on customer data analysis, their use in the hospitality industry will continue to grow.
Inevitably the hospitality industry will continue to implement these and other trending technologies to gain a competitive advantage by fulfilling customer demand and reducing operation costs.
By: Daegeun (Dan) Kim, M.S., CHIA
Assistant Professor, Global Hospitality and Tourism
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