Hospitality: Technological innovations and AI integration

The digital age is undergoing a revolution that is obviously impacting the hospitality sector. It is therefore necessary for students to learn about technological trends to prepare for market developments and opportunities.

AI at the service of customers

The hospitality industry is known for its traditional way of doing customer service. However, the sector is changing rapidly with the appearance of artificial intelligence. For example, chatbots remain available to customers 24/7 for any request. These virtual assistants have various functionalities and advantages such as:

Easy booking and information:

• First, chatbots are able to take care of bookings by checking room availability and confirming them in real time. Thus, the management of reservations is optimised and the customer waiting time is reduced, allowing a better user experience.
• Then, they can also provide information about the hotel’s opening hours, services, activities to do on-site, etc.

Improved room service:

• To allow a quick and efficient resolution, some customer requests can be handled by the chatbot. For example, it can make it easier to order meals, claim missing supplies in their room, solve technical problems, etc.

A personalised experience

AI is not just limited to chatbots. This is because AI can analyse large volumes of customer data, sort it quickly, and draw conclusions about current or potential customers. This data analysis is possible thanks to the collection of information through surveys, customer reviews, etc. Data analytics offers the opportunity for hotels to create a personalised experience for their guests and anticipate their needs.

Initially, AI can help make tailored recommendations. By analysing guests’ habits and preferences, hotels can make personalised recommendations for local activities, restaurants to discover in the surrounding area or other services.

Secondly, AI is a tool for optimising services. By using data to identify trends and pain points in their services, hotels can improve on specific points to provide a better guest experience. AI makes it possible to analyse the reviews left by guests and manage those that are negative, allowing the hotel to gain in efficiency.

Technology to serve the guest and the hotel

Technological innovation, and more specifically the mobile key, makes hotels more secure and improves guest comfort. This mobile key is a smartphone version of the pass or key allowing access to rooms usually in hotels.

Indeed, guests’ mobile phones can be used to unlock rooms, replacing traditional magnetic cards that are often lost or demagnetised. In addition, hotels can reduce the costs of manufacturing and replacing physical cards with Bluetooth.

Therefore, mobile keys represent both an improvement in the guest experience and a financial optimization for the hotel.