Self Check-in, CRM and super powerful Wi-Fi: how technology can help small hotels, B&Bs and holiday homes.
With the advent of digital technology and continuous technological advances, tourist hospitality has evolved, meeting new services designed both to guarantee guests maximum comfort and to help operators to manage their work in a simpler and more organized way.
A particularly effective example is Self Check-in or automatic check-in, which allows guests to enter the room directly without having to interact directly with hotel, B&Bs and holiday homes staff, but instead use home automation tools and solutions made available by the accommodation itself.
So let’s see how technology can help small Hotels, B&Bs and Holiday Homes work more efficiently and offer guests an innovative and intelligent service at the same time.
Contactless technology increases traveler confidence
A recent article published on PhocusWire aroused particular interest and curiosity due to its provocative title:
But do guests really prefer contactless solutions to services offered by real people?
And if so, what will become of customer service and the very concept of “hospitality”?
A pretty concrete example of the fact that guests don’t care about man-made services is right in front of our eyes and comes from the vacation rental industry.
Imagine the vacation rental experience: the guest books online, receives confirmation, instructions for the Self Check-in and all necessary information before arrival. Once on site, they enter the apartment independently, enjoys the destination and packs their bags on departure day: All without any human intervention.
Meanwhile, the team or property owner is working meticulously on housing care, optimizing physical and digital services, revenue management and distribution, marketing efforts, housekeeping, maintenance, on-site customer care and more.
This “behind-the-scenes” approach by the property team is particularly pleasing to guests who adore this form of independence for their holidays and greatly increases their confidence.
Just look at the statistics from 2021 on the total revenue coming in from the vacation rental industry in the United States, which reached $13.3 billion. It is also interesting to note that about one in eight people has been a guest in a holiday home. It is projected that by 2025, nearly one in five people will have stayed in a vacation rental.
This data is important because it confirms that many travelers have already experienced hospitality without people and are ready to continue this new way of enjoying travel.
Some technologies that will improve the management of tourist facilities
The goal of technology in the Hospitality world is to do more with less time, money and resources, while always making guest satisfaction a priority.
Here are some technologies that can significantly improve the management of hotels, B&Bs and holiday homes:
- Self Check-in, to reduce lines and waiting times at the reception;
- Chatbot on the website, to provide 24 hour assistance;
- CRM (Customer Relationship Management) to follow the entire Customer Journey of the guest from the request for the quote to when they return home;
- Fast Wi-Fi, to meet the needs of increasingly hyper-connected travelers;
- Home automation solutions to manage the facility in a smarter, more efficient and sustainable way.
The list could go on and on because the technologies that exist today can significantly reduce staffing requirements and labor costs at all stages of both physical and digital service delivery, from pre-arrival customer engagement to on-site guest services and post-stay retention.