Hotel technology: a context for the rise in personalisation

Hoteliers have always focused on the guest experience, but never before has a guest’s experience outside of the hotel room mattered almost as much as their experience within the room. Guests now rely on peers and online recommendations rather than traditional star ratings to make their booking decisions. Today, 95% of leisure travellers report spending an average of 30 minutes reading reviews prior to booking a hotel and they are quick to say what they think on social media platforms. They expect their hosts to provide them with a holistic experience, not just a great hotel room, and they expect a level of personalisation within their interactions with the hotel pre, during and post stay.

The new normal

You only have to look around to see the importance of mobile and the reliance now placed on that information. Hoteliers need to find a way to get their brand on their guests’ phone. As consumers increasingly move online, the travel industry is naturally progressing towards digital as a way to personalise the guest experience. According to Statista, mobile app downloads are projected to reach 205.4 billion in 20182.

A few years ago, several of the hotel chains invested heavily in loyalty and booking apps to encourage direct bookings. It's well known they were not widely embraced by guests, with little in it for them. However, the chains are now refining their apps to include messaging, in-room ordering and they are now becoming the norm. They will become mainstream as digital key and IOT become prevalent in refurbishments. Fortunately, independent hotels now have access to technology to easily create and maintain a white-labelled app within which they can wrap all guest-facing technology.

Real-time and targeted

According to SiteMinder research, hoteliers believe that prioritising guest personalisation and experience will be key in future years. What’s more, 33% will place the highest focus on mobile technology this year. With that in mind, creating an app will enable hoteliers to enhance the guest experience by providing access to personalised, real-time content.

Ensuring it works on both smartphones and tablets, hoteliers can add content that was not possible with traditional guest directories, including videos – for example, explaining how to work appliances – images, links to social feeds and more. Hoteliers can provide recommendations in the local area, the hotel location using GPS and even the ability to book a table in the restaurant or in-room service while on-the-go.

They can also enhance their engagement with guests, as they can use the app to communicate with staff – such as in room orders and late-check out requests – as well as upsell with tools such as geofencing and location-based push notifications that allow hoteliers to send custom messages, special offers or reminders according to their location.

Apps for all

This technology is not reserved to big hotel brands and chains anymore. Now creating and maintaining a digital concierge app is no longer costly or complex, as it requires no expertise and the accommodation provider owns the content, that can be adjusted and updated at any time. This creates a level playing field in the travel industry and enables all accommodation providers – large and small – to engage with their guests on a personal level and enhance their experience. In addition to this new opportunity, probably the most important aspect of a hotel app is that operators can wrap all guest-facing technology within it, meaning that don’t need to ask their customers to download an app for messaging, one for the digital key, and so on. With one single platform they can reach and engage with their guests on their own phone.  

How Criton can help you

Criton is an award-winning technology provider which enables hotels and serviced apartment operators to take the guest experience to the next level with a sophisticated mobile app. Criton helps hotels to streamline the entire guest journey and maximise in-stay revenue. Get in touch today to find out how we can help your business.