How Technology Will Reshape the Hotel Industry Post COVID-19

I have been writing about the hospitality industry for the past few years. And the role of technology in this domain is something that excites me.

Lately, hotel tech has witnessed a significant transformation. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the industry hard and has forced hotels and tech vendors to innovate and bring top-notch technologies to the table.

And I feel, as a blogger, I must put forward my opinion about technological transformations in the hospitality sector. In this blog, I will discuss hotel technology post-COVID and how hotels are going to adapt to the new normal and beyond.

The Scenario Before COVID

Technology in hotels isn’t something new. Over the years, it has made irrefutable impacts on the hospitality sector and celebrated countless milestones. The industry is highly indebted to technology in one way or another!

One of the best examples is the advent of hotel PMS. 

It’s an on-premise solution that focused on automating mainstream tasks like taking reservations, check-ins and check-outs.

However, there was something amiss. A hotel consists of several departments and complexities, the traditional PMS wasn’t enough to handle all of them. 

Hotels needed a system that is more organised and can not only automate operations but also increase efficiency and maximize profits. This is when cloud hotel PMS came into the picture.

A cloud-based PMS helps in tackling and solving the complexities of managing a hotel. The system provides integrated tools for streamlining more than just the front office, such as housekeeping, POS outlets, payroll, etc. Not to mention, it is all done from one single dashboard.

That’s not all. Mobile PMS is another advancement that followed. 

The advent of mobile PMS

The proliferation of mobile technology within the hospitality ecosystem was increasing significantly. And it was changing the way people book stays.

Both the hotel industry and the technology vendors were seeing this transformation, and they were quick to understand the impact.

PMS vendors soon equipped their hotel management systems with mobile PMS. And even though hoteliers were a little reluctant, upgrading to a mobile PMS didn’t create any operational upheaval.

To be precise, it rather empowered hoteliers to manage their hotels in the most efficient way possible. Today, they can manage their hotel right from their smartphone, even without being present at the property.

The hospitality industry is evolving continuously, establishments that are more open to adapting to new trends and industry expectations are more likely to succeed in the long run. 

How the Pandemic Pushed Hotels to Adopt New Technologies?

Before I tell you about the transformation, let me share an experience.

Back in May 2020, I had a conversation with a hotelier on LinkedIn. We were discussing implementing contactless technology.

And guess what, the hotelier wasn’t game for any sort of touchless technology in hotels. Rather, he was so against it that he said and I quote:

“Contactless check-in and check-out and all sorts of these services are just a bubble. It is nothing but a way for tech vendors to take advantage of a global pandemic. A hotel business requires a lot of human connection and interaction. And if you eliminate it, it will result in a major downfall.”

This might sound like a script, but the hotel has actually closed its operations.

What went wrong?

The biggest mistake that the hotelier made is that he assumed people would stick to the traditional ways even when there is a pandemic going on. And unfortunately, he faced the repercussions.

To be profitable, hotels must stay open to the latest trends. It’s the consumer that decides a  business’ future. You have to understand what the consumer wants; rather than building products and services based on assumptions.

People today seek to have a contactless arrival experience. They don’t want to stand in a queue to check-in. Rather, they want to choose their room, access their room, stay, and check-out with as minimal human involvement as possible.

Hotels that were quick to adopt these guest-centric services (such as contactless check-in and check-out) are still in operation.

Here’s How Technology Will Reshape the Hotel Industry Post-COVID

Contactless hospitality is already one of the prime technologies that hotels use amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. And it is definitely going to stay in the future, no matter how clichéd it sounds. Be it in the form of a mobile app or a self-service kiosk.

No, I am not saying that this is going to be in every single aspect. It’s just that there are certain areas where human involvement can be reduced.

For example: If I am travelling during this pandemic, I would definitely not want to stand in front of the front desk to check-in or pick the intercom to order a meal or call housekeeping. Instead, I would want everything to be done right from my smartphone.

Further, people also want a quick payment process where they don’t have to go to the frontdesk and pay. It could be a system that sends a payment link to the guests an hour before their check out. They can make the payment right from the phone and leave the property. 

That’s not all

Technology in the hotel industry post covid is also going to play a crucial role in personalisation.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning-powered systems are likely to become some of the fundamental tools. Hotels will need systems that can help them understand guests’ preferences at the most precise level. And AI and ML do just that.

Let me give you an intriguing example.

You are a big-time football fan. And coming Monday your favourite team is playing a qualifier match. But unfortunately, you have to travel for a conference and all your excitement vanishes. 

You can definitely watch it on TV once you’re back in the hotel room. But what if you check into your room and find a gift hamper that contains all the merchandise of your team and a letter that reads “I hope you enjoy the match.”

Sounds fascinating, right!

The challenge of human-technology coordination

In the new normal, the expectation for customer experience is higher than ever, they are looking forward to enhanced tools like live-agent or AI-powered support channels.

However, not every hotel will be able to employ all sorts of advanced hotel technology post COVID.

You ask, why?

Because finding the right blend is a difficult feat. It’s not an easy task to make technology and humans work together seamlessly. There could be clashes between the both. 

However, if everything is tech-driven, the preciseness could increase. But then there comes job loss.

It is a complicated scenario.

To implement technology without any conflict, hotels must find the sweet spot.

Let me give you an example.

The customer service staff at a hotel needs proper training to handle every type of query. That’s not all. Whenever there’s a new policy, the training department has to update the staff and ensure they are trained on it too. 

However, if you employ AI-based staffs, you don’t have to train them in every aspect because they are part of a single algorithm. You can simply make changes in the algorithm and all your staff will be updated at once.