January 29th, 2019 | Updated on June 29th, 2022
The hospitality industry is undergoing complete metamorphosis. A range of alternative accommodation providers is increasingly competing with hotels for the same guests.
These days, guests make informed decisions, know the kind of services they want and are quick to leave their feedback and voice their opinion online.
Undeniably, technology is one of the biggest factors that have led to the hospitality industry’s evolution in recent times.
While trends keep changing, it’s important to stay abreast of the latest technological advancements to ensure proper management of the hotel staff, operations, which ultimately lead to enhanced guest experiences.
If you are a new hotel owner or have plans to venture into the hospitality industry, here are tips that you may need to keep in mind before stepping into this segment.
1. Adopt The Latest Technology
With smartphones and the Internet of Things has deeply penetrated the hospitality industry, it is imperative to make smart business choices.
Adopt technology that can save time, cost, efficiently manage tasks and staff, and provides real-time data in no time.
The rise of the Internet has led to an increased booking of hotels online, providing customers with tailor-made solutions during their stay.
Integrating your hotel’s booking engine with intelligent hospitality software solutions give you the power to understand the entire gamut of activities in a ‘single click’.
PMS gives the status on room occupancy, current reservations, manage billing, Point of Sale, delegate tasks to housekeeping and other departments, update pricing, predict customer behavior, and much more.
2. Go Mobile
The use of smartphones and multiple applications caters to users and their preferences.
As a property manager, you need to stay ahead in terms of having responsive websites and apps that offer a plethora of services to attract more customers.
More and more people are making bookings via mobile phones and hence neglecting mobile platform can definitely dampen your business prospects.
Going mobile with mobile-enabled hotel management systems will ensure your staff has all the information handy and they can then communicate and distribute tasks in no time.
3. Adding The Personal Touch Factor
It’s important to attract new customers and retain the already existing ones. This can be done by lending a personal touch during their stay.
By effectively leveraging technology, you can save a guest’s preferences be it food, drinks, and services they asked for, track their likes/dislikes, and so on.
Smart hotel management solution will help you and your team to predict all this and much more and create a “Wow” factor for guests. It’s not enough to meet and exceed your guest’s expectations; the new wow is ‘customer ecstasy’.
4. Online Payment Gateway
While we’ve stressed enough about the importance of going mobile, having secured payment gateway is essential for any new hotelier.
You will certainly not want the visitors to go away from your website just because you did not offer a secured payment gateway.
With secured online reservation software – one of the many hospitality software solutions out there – you are ensuring your guests with a feeling of assurance and a heightened sense of security.
This can even lead to faster reservations and drive incremental revenue.
