Hotels need to be much more than just a place to sleep to outrank their competitors. They should be a destination, a social hub where guests can share experiences from around the world. And it is the quality of guest experience that separates them from their peers, influencing how travel reviewers rank them.
Today’s rapidly advancing technologies have introduced new opportunities for hoteliers to deliver high-quality experiences to their guests beyond just standard room services and restaurant menus. Hotel owners and managers need to stay ahead of their competition, offering new ways for guests to interact with them and each other. One such innovative approach is digitising hotel amenities via a smart guest experience!
UNDERSTANDING SMART GUEST EXPERIENCE
A smart guest experience is a hotel’s ability to use new-age technologies to deliver innovative solutions that improve the overall quality of their stay. This can include improving communication and interaction between guests or using intelligent tools and platforms to provide enhanced services and amenities.
UX and UI design is an essential part of enhancing hotel guest experiences as they provide the foundation for three key components that define a smart guest experience:
1. Mobility – The ability to provide a smooth and seamless transition from one device or platform to another with minimal disruption.
2. Personalisation – Tailoring services and amenities based on each guest’s preferences, needs, and behaviours.
3. Analytics – Understanding guest behaviour and needs at a granular level so hotels can provide personalised, tailored experiences that drive business results.
THE BLINDING LIGHT OF DATA
Hoteliers should use technology to identify problem areas, not the other way around. And once they do that, they should list out the essential smart hotel ingredients.
UX In Mobile Apps
Most customers today use mobile apps to research and book hotel rooms.
Some hotels have already designed mobile-friendly websites, but more need to join the mobile development bandwagon. It is time for designers to look at new solutions to create fast, intuitive UX/UI designs that seamlessly load on any mobile device. Such independent designs make it easier to develop products without limitations.
Predictive Maintenance
Today’s guests expect a lot from their hotels. They want access to the room’s latest amenities, want their bathrooms to be spotless, and like all of their requests fulfilled. To deliver on this expectation, hoteliers need to embrace predictive maintenance programs so they can monitor and fix their equipment in real-time, even before issues crop up. The right UI/UX provides stakeholders with the flexibility to streamline their equipment maintenance.
Smart Reserved Parking
One of the most significant sources of frustration for guests is when they can’t find parking during their stay. To address this issue, hotels need to install smart reserved parking solutions that help them control and reduce avoidable expenses.
This type of solution empowers hoteliers to manage and monitor their spaces while increasing revenue through dynamic pricing. Once these systems are in place, hoteliers can use their UIs and UX design to inform guests about the availability of spaces and prices so they can choose the best options.
Remote Check-in/Check-out
For today’s travellers, the ability to check in and check out from a hotel room remotely is vital. UI designers can create mobile portals with this functionality to avoid long lines at the front desk. This will, in turn, provide a better guest experience. Similarly, customers can be allowed to check out from the comfort of their rooms. This will give them the flexibility to avoid crowds during the morning rush.
Mobile Room Keys
Mobile room keys are similar to hotel key cards, but they offer guests added convenience. Today, it is possible to create virtual keys that use Bluetooth or
Wi-Fi technology. They will allow customers to access their rooms without the hassle of carrying an actual key card around.
Hoteliers can also use these designs to add value by offering features such as room entry monitoring and alerts. As a result, hoteliers can reduce avoidable expenses and create a better overall guest experience.
Smart Room Service
Hoteliers can use smart room service solutions to track and monitor guest orders while giving employees more control. These can help front desk managers prevent costly mistakes such as overcharging guests or failing to complete the order altogether.
By creating smart room service solutions, hoteliers can also add value by delivering entertainment and lifestyle content with their orders. This will make customers feel like they are getting more personalized services.
AR-enhanced Experience
Another big issue that hotels face is guest attrition. Today’s travellers want to feel like they are part of a unique and immersive experience while staying at different locations. To take this experience to the next level, hoteliers can install AR technology in their spaces so guests can interact with 3D objects and content.
Connecting Guests to Local Markets
Hoteliers can help customers connect with local markets and attractions. By offering discounts or free entries, they can create a better guest experience while also promoting the businesses in the surrounding community.
Hoteliers can also use their premises as event venues for weddings, business meetings, parties, and conferences. And marketing such amenities requires the support of an excellent UI UX design team.
Provide Consciously, ‘Green’ Tech
The last way hoteliers can create a better guest experience is by providing consciously “green” tech to their customers. To do this, hoteliers need to install green technologies in their rooms that deliver sustainable benefits such as reduced energy costs. By creating products that use renewable sources of power or waste management systems for the water system, hotels can access a broader range of benefits.
Hoteliers can improve the guest experience by installing smart tools and platforms in their properties. To do this, they need to focus on UI/UX designs that provide solutions to the problems their customer’s experience. Additionally, they can create better experiences for their guests by embracing new-age technologies. These will ultimately allow them to reduce guest churn and increase the ROI for their business
