It seems like nowadays, everything can be done on a smartphone—texting, shopping, ordering food—now, you can even check in and out of a hotel on your phone and not talk to a single person.

While this isn’t what everyone prefers, it’s just one of a slew of options that are important to offer in the ever-changing hospitality industry. Technology doesn’t need to take over in-person processes, but it can help immensely with efficiency, service, and overall better reviews.

It’s not just hotels 

Since the invention of the computer, technology has been rapidly increasing in our everyday lives. In fact, over 500 billion people now use the internet on a daily basis, and the capability of computers hits double features approximately every 18 months. That’s a lot of rapid progress!

From restaurants to shopping, vehicles to higher education, almost everything has an online component, and hospitality is no different. In fact, when surveyed in 2020, over half of hospitality leaders surveyed said that new technology tto better serve customers and/or suppliers was a priority for their business.

Whether it’s mobile key, guest messaging, or even tablets to order food in the room, hotels are headed towards the tech.

Hospitality technology

There’s been tons of advancements in hotel tech over the years, but perhaps the most common in current hospitality systems are mobile key applications, digital guest messaging, and work order systems that can be integrated into other PMS and messaging systems.

Mobile key, whether in a separate app or within a branded hotel app, allows guests to check-in to their room and access a digital key. Oftentimes guests can also choose which room they want from the app. Once checked in, guests can use their phone to unlock and lock their hotel room via Bluetooth.

This can help guests avoid misplacing keycards, increase hotels’ sustainability efforts by decreasing the amount of keycards needed, and overall personalize the guest experience.

Hotel guest messaging is another way technology is revolutionizing the hotel stay. Through digital messaging channels such as SMS, Google Business Messaging, or WhatsApp, guests can communicate seamlessly with hotel staff for requests, maintenance, and more. 

Hospitality messaging is also helpful for hotel staff to find out about issues before the guest leaves a subpar review, overall increasing the guest experience and making for more efficient service recovery.

Work order integrations with hospitality PMS systems are transforming the industry by streamlining hotel operations. Front desk staff can create orders that go straight to the team that needs to see it (think housekeeping, maintenance) and it can be resolved in minutes. More positive reviews!

How to implement 

So, it’s clear that hotel technology is improving the hotel industry. Where to begin implementing these tools?

A great way to start is to figure out what the needs of your hotel are, and fill those gaps with tools that can help. Wnat to increase efficiency? Try a work order integration and hotel guest messaging. Want guests who are still staying safe during the pandemic to have a contactless check-in? Time for mobile key!

There’s lots of tools that work well together, too. Learn more about hotel tech integrations and hotel guest messaging today.