The Portier team has been talking about hotel tech at events all around the SE Asia this past month. The Smart Hospitality Forum in Bangkok was my turn and gave me a great opportunity to learn and discuss with some great panelists how the guest experience will change in the era of hotel tech.
In the era of hotel tech, how do we define “luxury travel”?
Luxury means different things to different people. Fluffy pillows, poolside service and massages on demand are now considered a given at hotels that are far from high end. My definition of luxury might be very different from yours. So the challenge is to put together a framework that helps us to better understand the concept of luxury travel.
Exceeding guest expectations was once much easier
Fifty years ago the romance and charm of a luxury hotel’s facilities (along with those those fluffy pillows) went a long way towards exceeding guests expectations. A world class concierge was able to guide you towards an exclusive experience that you would never have been able to experience on your own.
As the travel industry transformed itself into the US$8.5B market, guests expectations evolved too. Luxurious facilities and amenities became standard for all hotels, while Google and Trip Advisor can unlock experiences for travelers at all budgets.
So even as hotels constantly race to increase their standards, guests standards continue to increase at a greater pace.
Blending technology to the guest experience
So if the hotel industry is in a never ending race to uphold guests expectations from a facilities and amenities standpoint, perhaps it would be easier to build processes to build experiences that exceed each guests expectations.
Hoteltech exceeds guest expectations by ensuring that guest experiences are more personalised by ensuring that internal systems and processes are automated and streamlined giving the hotel more time and capacity for emotional intelligence and human interaction.
And this is the true opportunity for hoteliers. Hoteliers are naturals at blending emotional intelligence and human interactions. Imagine a future where hotel staff would not only be able to constantly use your name in conversation, but also have quick access to your likes and personalized tastes. Technology allows hotel staff to understand a guest so well that the staff member will be able to not only recommend a restaurant type for a guest (fine dining, type of food) but also a specific dish that meets the guests dietary requirements and sense of adventure.