When new pressures call for new solutions, industry professionals place their bets on the innovations of tomorrow. More often than not, they have to go all in. The catalogue of 21st century advancements can be traced back to history’s high-pressure periods: Out of the 2008 crisis came Uber, Slack and Airbnb.
The future often finds us slowly, and then all at once. Such has been the case for technological adoption in the lodging industry during COVID-19. A fiction writer couldn’t have designed a more apocalyptic landscape: Global travel restrictions have diminished cash flow in the sector, and the risk of in-person interactions poses barriers to service in almost every aspect of the hospitality experience.
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In the face of these new pressures, we can be certain that sector-shifting change is near. The language of change, in the 21st century, is technology; smart tech has been and continues to be a winning strategy, paving the way for a faster and more forward industry recovery. The market shows resumed demand for domestic travel, short-term rentals and work-from-home away-from-home stays. Hospitality professionals that have made the right technological investments will see outsized returns in the short- to medium-market future. And for some key investments, it’s quickly becoming too late.
Proper Tech for the Post-COVID Guest
Consumer preferences remain volatile, but the primary motive behind their decisions hasn’t budged: people want health, safety, distance and peace of mind as the virus persists. Most of the travelers in today’s market are looking for close-by stays, properties in which they can spend time with their families and benefit from a change of scenery.
More than anything, guests want space—multibedroom accommodations, premium nightly rates, properties within 10 miles of a city but away from too much hotel density, and bookings that last two nights or longer. Their loyalty depends on the policy and protocols they see in place. The extent to which guests can enjoy their get-away without risking in-person contact with staff and other guests is officially the new COVID-era luxury. Smart tech is making that increasingly possible, and some experience enhancements are more urgent than others.
Must-Haves
Contact-free check-ins are becoming a new customer standard. The clearer the path from the car to the room, the better the quality of the accommodation. Integrated app platforms are making this possible: Guests can place their booking online, check in through their smartphone, proceed through a virtual identity verification and gain access to their room with a digital key substitute. Applying the same process in reverse, check-out should be autonomous, independent and staff-free. Not only does this give guests instant peace of mind, it frees up hotel staff to focus on tasks of higher complexity.
Behind the desk, some hoteliers have been leveraging the power of smart tech for their COVID-era marketing. These capacities are increasingly advantageous; it’s only a matter of time before automated marketing becomes a true must-have. Advanced marketing technology can automatically adjust an operation’s listings to fit the shifts of the market; it can autonomously list rooms and properties at a price and stay length that’s optimized for real-time customer demand. COVID-19 has brought generation-defining uncertainty. Smart tech is the best (and only) way to keep up with this rate of change.
Value-Adds
Offering guests a technological infrastructure that supports remote working is a market-leading value-add that’s bound to generate sizable returns for the foreseeable future. Because so much of the current market demand is coming from working professionals, having the technology to support an in-room work day is a valuable amenity. Strong internet speeds, designated office space and "workcation" packages that offer the familiar conveniences of an office—printers and scanners, bottled water, a selection of coffee—are strategies that have seen overwhelming rewards in terms of guest affinity.
Additionally, the kind of technology that will support an autonomous guest check-in has exciting applications down the road. Touch- or face-identification technology could allow a guest to "dine-and-dash"—to authenticate their payment without a wallet or a smartphone. Similarly, integrated guest app platforms will have exciting secondary benefits. In the same way guests could book themselves a sanitized session at the fitness center, they could book a pool-side seat, a dinner reservation and even a choice parking spot out front.
The sky is the limit when it comes to smart technology. But quickly, the baseline of consumer standards is rising and hoteliers who haven’t made the switch are losing time. The post-COVID guest is returning to the market with new needs and expectations: health, safety, sanity and the ability to work from anywhere. The future of hospitality will accommodate these needs by leveraging technology and investing in smarter solutions. The must-haves of tomorrow are becoming clear; hoteliers need to meet the current market moment with an open mind, an eye for progress and a readiness to act.
Emir Dukic is the CEO of Rabbu, a frontier flexible rental asset management platform.