Top 10 Latest Technology Trends in the Hospitality Industry.
28 Nov. 2022Find out which hospitality technologies are currently trending, both here in the region and across the globe.
What is hospitality technology ?
Hospitality technology refers to a wide range of IT, e-commerce, and other technology solutions used in the hospitality industry. These solutions are meant to make life easier for employees or improve the overall experience for guests.
Our Top 10 Hospitality Technology
The expectations of today's tech-savvy, hygiene-conscious hotel guests are ramping up the increase in the development of new hospitality technologies. If hotels and resorts don't adapt swiftly, they risk falling behind. Here are 10 technological shifts that are changing the game for hospitality companies:
1. Voice Search and Voice Control
Voice search is becoming increasingly popular among tourists as a means of locating hotels, attractions, and other travel-related services. To cash in on this fad, developers need to make sure booking engines and websites are accessible via voice search and structured appropriately for their proper use. Another use of voice search is integrating the technology into smart speakers in hotel rooms, allowing guests to have full control of the various in-room devices.
2. Contactless payments
Contactless payment options are gaining popularity in the hospitality industry, and for good reason. Hotel managers are aware of the benefits loyalty programs and contactless payments can bring to their resorts, including an increase in brand awareness, positive website reviews, and an increased likelihood of returning guests.
3. Robots and artificial intelligence
Robotics in the hospitality industry is one of the most talked-about topics currently. It is becoming increasingly common for hotels to employ robots, such as AI-powered chatbots to streamline the customer service process or robot butlers to pamper hotel guests.
4. Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is one of the most significant emerging technologies in the hospitality sector. This can make a difference when customers are ready to make a reservation, as it will give them a much better idea of what to expect during their stay. Virtual reality tour videos have advanced to the point where they can be viewed in a standard web browser and to further lose themselves in their potential staycation, users with access to a virtual reality headset will experience a higher degree of immersion.
5. Recognition Technology
Facial recognition is now often used by hotels and restaurants because of technologies like Apple ID and Facebook Deep Face. Check-ins are just one possible application of this innovation, but it also has the potential to provide a more personalized guest experience.
6. Artificial intelligence
To better cope with the increase in customers, traditional front desk service is giving way to automated systems as the number of customers increases, Simple questions can be answered quickly and accurately by chatbots, relieving pressure on human customer care representatives.
7. Internet of things (IoT)
Common household items and machinery can now be connected to the internet through the "internet of things," or IoT. Ordinary devices will be transformed into smart devices by their ability to collect data and communicate over the internet, and a great example of this is when guests are able to control the room’s features from their mobile phones or from a provided tablet. This could let guests control the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems from one place.
8. Big Data
Big data can be used by hospitality businesses to provide more personalized experiences by using travel agents to make intelligent and well-researched destination recommendations based on demographics such as gender, age, budget, and previous locations. When it comes to managing income, big data can be invaluable for identifying trends that can be acted upon.
9. NFT Marketing Technology
Several companies in the hospitality industry have dabbled with NFT technology for membership cards and client loyalty programs. Since every NFT is different, this is one of the tech trends that hotel industry marketers will need to keep an eye on in the coming years.
10. Cybersecurity
One of the most important technological trends in the hospitality sector is the rising importance of cyber security. There has been a dramatic increase in the use of data and IT systems in the hospitality and food and beverage industries. For this reason, hotels must take appropriate measures to safeguard their IT infrastructure, maintain the privacy of their guests' personal information, and guarantee the availability of their data in the event of a cyberattack.
It should come as no surprise that hotels must keep up with evolving hospitality technology to remain competitive, as customer expectations and requirements continue to evolve. Guests crave convenience and value more than ever, and it’s up to hotel brands to align with new demands by creating a cohesive digital experience that ensures customers can seamlessly integrate into their stay and ultimately create a good customer experience within their resort.
Download our industry report here to learn more about how hotels are using hospitality technology to improve their business.
