By Larry Mogelonsky, MBA, P. Eng. (www.hotelmogel.com)
The need for product differentiation in hotels is readily
clear these days, especially in the light of the COVID crisis which has
rewritten the rules on where your customers will be coming from for the
remainder of the calendar year 2020.
Despite all the new trends such as staycations and the
desire for activities related to physical distancing, hotels are still under the pressure to give guests a remarkable ‘reason to visit’ over what all these
other players have to offer. Besides technology’s ability to boost team
productivity and tighten the purse strings, devices and their supportive
software is now a lucrative means by which to maintain a hotel’s relevancy
amongst customers.
This is why HITEC is perennially my favorite tradeshow of
the year. Postponed until the final week of October due to the coronavirus,
this convention gives hoteliers a glimpse into what the future holds for their
properties while also providing a clear and present solution for many of our
woes – nowadays the foremost of those being the need for software to facilitate
enhanced cleanliness protocols, social distancing, contact tracing and better
interdepartmental communications.
In this particular instance, let’s focus on how you can
deploy various technologies to increase the guestroom experience, especially
now that the ‘internet of things’ has become instrumental for maintaining
service delivery while limiting in-person contact with onsite staff.
Part of my job as an asset management consultant for hotel
properties is to evaluate technology vendors to then decide which will have a
meaningful impact on back-of-house operations and the front-of-use guest
experience. Needless to say, COVID has amplified the need for connected
management software to the nth degree. To this end, I’ve sat in on demos for a
fair share of IoT devices that can advance the in-room experience so as to
compensate for a lack of person-to-person interactions.
Besides the push for new energy and water management systems
that can save big on overall utility costs when it comes to what visitors see
and interact with, I’m still looking for that wow factor. Technology can help
you maintain that irreplaceable charm that was previously offered by your teams
who were trained to deliver service with a smile.
To truly impress guests with your in-room technology
nowadays, though, you cannot proceed in a one-off manner or simply offer a
bandaged solution to the challenges presented by the coronavirus. That is, one
new device isn’t going to leave an enduring impression because it won’t appear
as wholly embodying your brand’s theme as a purveyor of guestrooms that
ostensibly better than a home.
Instead, you must make this a semi-perennial investment with
a team in place to devise the rollout plan for each successive feature
installation. With a solid strategy, you would then go about setting up a
cluster of IoT-enabled amenities that together will let you market the rooms as
unquestionably progressive and tech-forward while also delivering a meaningful
experience once guests arrive.
The other fear is that, with hotels all over the world
experimenting with customer-facing IoT integrations, these features may soon
lose their marketing pizzazz or, worse, become the expectation where you are
then compelled to play catchup. Looking beyond any base requirements for viral
safety, for these front-of-house upgrades, you can consider phone-enabled
lighting, motorized drapes or blinds, smart thermostats, door locks and door
sensors with do not disturbs features. Many of these also tangentially benefit
your housekeepers because these infer fewer physical touchpoints in the room.
These are relatively simple additions, but the added benefit
is that they can inevitably help with operational efficiency. For instance, a
DND control through a guest’s phone will one day not only cause a light to ping
in the hallway to notify passing room attendants but also send a notification
straight through to the housekeeping management software’s admin dashboard so
virtual task boards can be seamlessly adjusted. And vice versa for when that
DND is switched off to indicate that the guest has left his or her room.
While smart thermostats are already widely recognized as a
proven means of reducing the energy bill by helping correct the needless
temperature modulation of a vacant room, such prearrival control functions also
help increase comfort, maintenance scheduling efficiency and, eventually,
security as only a registered phone signal will be allowed access to given
rooms or floors. As previously implied, with most of these IoT controls synced
to the guest’s phone, BYOD (bring your own device) will mean an easier
post-checkout sanitization job by your room attendants.
The overarching idea here is to give travelers a reason to
yearn to stay in one of your rooms versus all the other options that one can
find on the internet. Some hotels achieve this through outstanding artwork,
décor, or interior design. Others do it through impeccable service or F&B.
Technological installation should be one more tool in your arsenal and for that
I would highly recommend you attend this year’s postponed HITEC in San Antonio
then start evaluating your options in advance of the budgetary planning cycle
for 2021.
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| Larry Mogelonsky |
About Larry Mogelsonsky
One of the world’s most published writers in hospitality, Larry Mogelonsky is the principal of Hotel Mogel Consulting Limited, a Toronto-based consulting practice. His experience encompasses hotel properties around the world, both branded and independent, and ranging from luxury and boutique to select-service. Larry is also on several boards for companies focused on hotel technology. His work includes five books “Are You an Ostrich or a Llama?” (2012), “Llamas Rule” (2013), “Hotel Llama” (2015), “The Llama is Inn” (2017) and “The Hotel Mogel” (2018). You can reach Larry at larry@hotelmogel.com to discuss hotel business challenges or to book speaking engagements.
One of the world’s most published writers in hospitality, Larry Mogelonsky is the principal of Hotel Mogel Consulting Limited, a Toronto-based consulting practice. His experience encompasses hotel properties around the world, both branded and independent, and ranging from luxury and boutique to select-service. Larry is also on several boards for companies focused on hotel technology. His work includes five books “Are You an Ostrich or a Llama?” (2012), “Llamas Rule” (2013), “Hotel Llama” (2015), “The Llama is Inn” (2017) and “The Hotel Mogel” (2018). You can reach Larry at larry@hotelmogel.com to discuss hotel business challenges or to book speaking engagements.
Media Contact:
Larry Mogelonsky
Email: larry@hotelmogel.com
Website: http://hotelmogel.com/
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