The front desk is the heart of any hotel, from the moment guests enter to the second they leave, the front desk is always there. So how do we make the front desk stand out from the rest?
The hotel front desk has grown immensely over time from a small call bell to hospitality robots. We are in an age where technology is advancing rapidly so keeping up with the top technology trends is a must in the hotel sector, it will make you stand out above the rest and encourage customers to choose your hotel over a competitor.
How Is Technology Used Within The Hotel Industry?
Phone Apps
One way technology has evolved is that we can use our smartphones for almost everything even when it comes to staying at a hotel. Omnitec explains how they use this technology to make everything accessible on your smartphone from checking in to opening the room door, the possibilities are endless.
Some customers like to keep themselves to themselves and although we love to give the best face-to-face customer service, having a hotel app can help achieve and cater for everyone. Guests will be able to use their smartphone to check in/check out, open hotel room doors, open and pay for minibar products, lock and unlock the safe, allow access to guest-only facilities. They could also use the app to contact the front desk in live time, so they don’t have to leave their hotel room.
Robots
We saw back in 2014 the robot butler making its appearance in the hotel industry. This revolutionary piece of AI allowed guests to order amenities such as food, razors, towels, toothpaste, etc. Once ordered a robot butler would bring these to the guest usually within 15 minutes. The robot butler features in many hotels around the world, however, it is seen as more of a novelty addition rather than a practical member of staff.
How Does This Technology Help The Staff?
Help The Staff Focus More on Customer Service
When it comes to implementing technology into a workplace many fear that it will make humans obsolete. This is not the case, having this type of technology allows the staff to be more focused on their guests. It will free up time to check-in/out guests which helps the check-in/out process run more smoothly, rather than quickly ‘dealing’ with customers during busy times.
The front desk staff do much more than just signing in guests, sometimes they will have to be away from the desk. Having the smartphone app allows the staff member to always be present and ready for every customer.
Helps Cut Out The ‘Middleman’
Whenever a customer has an enquiry or issue the first place, they will go is the front desk. It is not usually the front desk’s job to bring extra towels or fix a light, they would have to take the time to issue a work order to the relevant member of staff and often will spend time chasing and calling the guest to see if the order was fulfilled. Having this on the app will cut out the middleman and send a work order straight to the relevant person, the guest can then check on the status and see when it has been completed.
How Does This Technology Help You Achieve 5* Reviews?
Keeps On Top of Customer Care
Every hotel wants to achieve 5* reviews and this has always been done by providing great customer service. You will want to know whether your guests are enjoying their stay, usually, the staff would ask how the guest enjoyed their stay at the end of their stay. This has some errors, as some guests won’t share an issue they have had until this point, making it harder to resolve. With an app, you can keep on top of this by having notifications set for certain times throughout the stay to check on the guest. The guest can then use this time to query any issues, giving the staff ample time to resolve them.
Creates Ease for The Customer
Having this technology in place for your guest will help make their stay a smooth and easy process. It’s a perk that most guests will instantly enjoy and be impressed with. When developing this app, the hotel will need to ensure it is compatible with all devices and software. Some guests might have IOS products and others might use Android, making sure everyone is catered for is a must when aiming for 5* reviews. Constant updating and reviewing the website to ensure it is running smoothly and efficiently is a must to achieve those 5*reviews. Customers don’t want to be frustrated with the app and then having to visit the front desk to sort it.
So, when it comes to updating your front desk technology there are a lot of factors to think about. Look at the structure of how your hotel runs its front desk and decide if implementing this technology will hinder the customer service or greatly improve it.
