A picture of current guest expectations
by ANJULI NANDA HABBAS
While 2023 was all about improvements to attract customers and retain staff, 2024 is all about using tech to give the people what they want. In a world where AI is all the buzz, how does the hospitality industry use tech to revolutionize and innovate guest experiences?
1. Contactless services add safety and increased usability
It’s all about mobile capabilities. The ability to check-in/checkout, request housekeeping, make payments, or message the front desk, all from an app located on your smartphone. No more in person visits to the front desk required. This allows those who are tired after a long day of travel to simply walk to their room upon arrival and not wait in a long line at the front desk. It also includes a forum where guests can place certain housekeeping requests, such as extra pillows and blankets, or to change sheets. The app even allows for front desk messaging to request a later checkout time or extended stay, as well as the ability to communicate complaints. With technology to store these preferences, there’s also an added opportunity for data insights to enable hyper-personalized offerings in the future.
2. Holistic + tech forward fitness offerings add health and wellness
Wellness and self-care are trending these days, and the hospitality industry needs to listen. This includes the addition of Peletons or smart bicycles and/or treadmills in the gym, flatscreen TVs that allow guests to airplay exercise classes, pre-recorded exercise classes to choose from streamed directly onto the flat screens, and yoga equipment offered in studio such as mats, blocks, cushions, and even essential oils. Prioritizing health-centric experiences means an increase in investment in gyms and spa services that help guests rest and recharge while on the go.
3. Work from home tech-capable stations in every room adds convenience
In a post-COVID world with hybrid and remote work becoming the norm, it’s an expectation that hotel rooms are equipped to offer working from home, or remote working capabilities. Many guests mix work and vacation now because they can. This means hotel rooms need to include a desk space and chair with ample room to accommodate a computer, an HDMI plug in station(s), charging stations, working Wi-Fi, and a hotel landline telephone receiver nearby should the guest need to make calls without their cellphone.
As consumer behavior and market changes ebb and flow, the hospitality industry must always adjust to accommodate. With the increase in technology and AI, 2024 is all about using these advancements to create a more encompassing and personalized guest experience that caters to each person’s individual needs and preferences – something we now have the ability to deploy on an unprecedented level. What will you be doing for guests in 2024?
Anjuli Nanda Habbas serves as a partner at Kapital Partners, a Bay-Area based development firm that owns more than a dozen hotels throughout the Western United States including Los Angeles, San Diego, Palm Springs, Tucson, and Dallas, comprising more than $50M of capital investment. Habbas currently spearheads the real estate development arm of Kapital Partners.
