Today, technology drives or supports nearly every touchpoint in the guest journey. Technology is playing a pivotal role in personalizing the guest experience, connecting hotels and restaurants with their guests, and allowing guests to more seamlessly connect with each other. Ultimately, if a hospitality company wants to be guest-centric, it has to embrace the change that comes with technological transformation
– Hospitality Net Sentiment Survey
Hospitality Net’s Hospitality Technology Sentiment Survey Report has been released for 2019, containing feedback from 540 respondents from around the world. From IT spend to the shift towards self-service in the guest experience, the survey reports some interesting insights about the future of technology in the hospitality industry. Here are some key excerpts.
IT Spend
Not surprisingly, the influence of technology in the hospitality industry has had an influence on IT spend. As guests demand a more “connected” and digital experience, 43% of respondents indicated that their hotel’s IT budget was increased accordingly. However, over half of respondents were “somewhat” and “very” concerned that they do not have appropriate access to IT resources and talent in order to achieve their hotel’s IT goals in the coming year.
For those respondents who were considering new IT spend in the coming year, the biggest emphasis was placed on investments in Guest Experience (47%), with Operations (34%), Technology Stack (26%) and Marketing (24%) followed.
Most interesting was this section of the Sentiment Survey reporting the top-priority products being considered for purchase and for replacement by respondents. Here’s a breakdown of some of the top products from each list:
Top Priority Projects being Considered for Purchase
- Self Check-in
- Private Cloud
- Mobile Key
- Guest Experience
- Guestroom TV upgrade
- Operation
- HR Software
- CRM
Top Priority Projects being Considered for Replacement
- Wifi
- Technology Stack
- Legacy PMS
- Room IT Facilities
- Point of Sale Tech
- App for Hotel Guests
- Financials ERP
- Quality Management
Future Growth
Over half of respondents stated that they are “very confident” in the hospitality industry’s revenue growth potential over the next 12 months.
Guest Experience
In terms of the guest experience, respondents were asked to detail the top features and frustrations that guests face when staying at a hotel:
Top Tech-enabled Features:
- Wifi
- Climate Control
- USB plugs
- Guestroom TV
- Self check-in/out
- Streaming on Guestroom TV
Top Tech-enabled Frustrations:
- Slow booking process
- Poor Wifi connection
- Non-functioning door key-cards
- Repeating details at check-in
- Poor mobile apps
- Lack of digital payment
Modern travellers expect convenience, so traditional or antiqued services or room features cause a lot of frustration. Thus, the Sentiment Survey recommends smart room controls, self-check-in, IoT, voice- activated assistants, and mobile keys as “promising technological investments“.
Conclusion
Big picture analysis shows that the hospitality industry knows that it lacks in technology, and it also shows some great promise with streaming, voice recognition, AI, and BI, as well as with the adoption of cloud-based services.
– Hospitality Net Sentiment Survey
By focusing more on hotel technology as something integral to delivering frictionless and memorable guest stays instead of just a backend system that’s behind the scenes, companies will quickly gain the true value of hospitality technology and its potential.
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RoomKeyPMS makes it easier to provide the best guest experiences, increase revenue and reduce costs, through a cloud-based, better-supported property management system. Book a demo and learn more about the RoomKeyPMS tool and its offerings.
Photo Credit: Adeolu Eletu on Unsplash
