March 7, 2024 | Categories: Industries, Customer Experience
The demand for a more hands-free environment has become increasingly prevalent as we reassess what it means to interact with each other in an ever-increasing digital world. A contactless world was always on the horizon across various industries. The pandemic just accelerated the demand.
Restaurants have adopted QR code menus, grocery stores have begun offering contactless delivery, and bars are serving to-go cocktails. The hospitality industry has been no different in its need to adapt to a touch-free world. It’s what today’s guests expect.
Hospitality providers that deliver a modern and seamless contactless guest experience can better meet guests’ expectations, benefit from operational efficiencies, and drive more revenue. Technology – specifically unified communications (UC) – can help hotels achieve this new gold standard of service.
Why Go Contactless?
The demand for quick access to all facets of life has grown yearly in a smartphone-driven world. That especially goes for the hospitality industry. With the rise of Airbnb and hotel companies offering apps and online services, travelers have been searching for ease when booking a trip. Add in modern-day concerns related to the pandemic, and a contactless experience has become even more critical.
Technology is the primary way hospitality providers can reduce the amount of physical contact between guests and staff. Eighty-four percent of participants in a travel survey stated that technology would increase their confidence to travel by allaying their worries over large crowds and physical touchpoints.
A contactless approach to check-in, room service, and room keys places the ease and efficiency of the hotel experience right into guests’ hands. Minimizing contact between guests and hotel staff provides a sense of independence and safety while allowing guests to interact more modernly with the staff.
Using communications and collaboration solutions to automate parts of the guest’s journey reduces the time spent waiting in line for traditional services and enhances overall satisfaction. It also makes it easier for staff to perform their jobs, improving productivity.
Contactless Solutions for Happier Travelers
Hands-free check-in
Hotels can offer several contactless solutions to ensure a smooth, touch-free experience. The most apparent tech integration is implementing a contactless check-in and check-out process guests can complete through a mobile app on their own devices. Guest satisfaction can significantly drop, even with a short wait at the check-in counter. A contactless process ends wait times, increasing travelers’ overall satisfaction. It also frees up staff members, giving them more time to focus on tasks that can improve the guest experience.
Mobile room keys
The most critical part of physical check-in for guests is collecting their room keys. With smartphone technology at our fingertips, hotels can elevate the contactless experience by offering a virtual room key. Guests can bypass the front desk, head straight to their room, and settle in.
Offering a mobile room key also reduces the environmental impact of plastic waste if cards go missing or get stolen. Without the need to print hundreds of room keys, hotels can invest that money into other environmentally and customer-friendly solutions, like the technology needed for a seamless virtual experience.
Real-time messaging
A full-scale contactless guest experience may mean a guest never interacts with hotel staff in person. But that doesn’t mean guests won’t need to communicate with staff at any given moment during their stay. Hotels can use real-time messaging to serve as a virtual front desk and concierge to assist guests throughout their stay.
For example, guests can use real-time messaging to request fresh towels while they’re out and about the property. The front desk can instantly message housekeeping, so the nearest staff member can deliver the towels before the guests return to their rooms.
Digital payments
The contactless journey doesn’t just start when the guest arrives at the hotel. It begins when they book the room. Beyond the apparent action of a customer paying for a hotel with a credit card, hotels can offer digital payment solutions through an app or card already on file to keep guests in complete control of their interactions with staff. Whether it’s QR codes, virtual room service, or tablets in the rooms, offering more ways for customers to minimize staff contact can elevate the guest experience and help increase revenue since it’s easy to book and pay for services.
A Digital Experience, Better Data
Hotels adopting new technology allows them to put smart data and analytics at the forefront of decision-making. Technology that integrates with a guest’s smartphone or a laptop enables hotels to use real-time personalized data to improve the quality of service, identify patterns to drive profit, and increase customer loyalty.
Frequent traveler guests like to use their mobile app to request a luggage dolly from their car before they get to their room. Hotels can use this information to have this service already waiting for the guests the next time they arrive. Additionally, providers can send targeted information about exclusive offers and discounted rates to former guests most likely interested in a specific promotion.
Today’s travelers want a contactless experience, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to communicate. Modern communications and collaboration technology removes the physical touchpoints while adding ease and personalization.
Norcom Solutions has been recognized by Mitel as a Hospitality Expert in their Hospitality Program. Discover how Norcom Solutions & Mitel can help your hotel set the new gold standard in hospitality.
