Self-checkouts at supermarkets, online banking, and online flight check-in are just a few examples of industries that have embraced automation. Seldomly implementing technological advancements, the hospitality industry has also become more willing to take advantage of automation.
One of the main propellers of this shift was the outbreak of the global pandemic in 2020, which left hotels with depleted resources and reduced personnel. The need to meet stricter requirements with smaller teams while keeping the same levels of efficiency heightened the need for digital technologies like automation and artificial intelligence (AI).
Some hoteliers may still be reluctant to introduce automation for fear of losing the human factor, but hotel automation is not about exchanging guest personnel for robots. On the contrary, automation aims at optimizing efficiency by eliminating tedious and time-consuming tasks, offering machine-proof operational reliability, and pointing to any deficiencies. Doing so will ultimately enable teams to concentrate on the most essential: providing guests with exceptional service and experience.
Automated alerts and rules can eliminate confusion and delays in teams’ performance. Each team member will be aware of their responsibilities, when, and how to perform them. Furthermore, hotel automation enables process standardization. Thus, minimizing individual interpretations and ensuring all internal quality and service standards are kept.
Walkie-talkies and WhatsApp groups might help handle guest requests, but they do not provide any visibility on the type of incoming requests and their resolution status. Not only can a hotel automation system do this, but it can also give broader insights. It can point to any efficiency weaknesses such as unfulfilled within the stipulated timeframe guest requests, too many unhandled requests, and repetitively reported issues. Thus, providing a better understanding of areas requiring improvement.
Hotel automation can go in various directions from different departments to different areas of the guest experience. Some examples include automating hotel tasks management, guest feedback management, and guest communication.
Among the most common causes of not fulfilling guest requests is they get lost. Guests tend to ask the first person they see who rarely is the right one for the task. A hotel task management system can send automated alerts and rules for incoming requests, which will enable teams to concentrate on their specific tasks and handle them quickly and accurately. Adding an escalation system can further improve efficiency by sending notifications to management whenever a deadline is missed.
When it comes to guest feedback, it is essential to address it no later than 72 hours. The reason is the majority of prospective guests will check only the latest reviews placed at the top. Many hotels experience difficulties in responding within this time frame. An automated guest feedback management system can help them by sending an alert and creating a task whenever a guest leaves a negative review. Furthermore, if the review remains unresponded, the task can be forwarded to the next level of customer care.
With regards to guest communication, answering simple but repetitive questions is inefficient and time-consuming. According to research conducted by ReviewPro, a hotel management software solutions provider, 63 percent of all communication of a chain comprising 30 hotels was about the same eight questions. Automating guest communication and having chatbots handle the most common queries can reduce the time spent on responding to them and facilitate a prompt and exhaustive response.
Outgoing communication can also benefit from automation. By setting up communication rules, hotels can connect with their guests before, during, and after their stay. They could provide them with detailed information and improve their overall experience.
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