If you are in the hospitality business and you are struggling to keep up with the trends in technology, you might be losing more business than you might think. Trends in hospitality technology are continuing to change, based on what guests are looking for in a hotel experience, and you need to keep up with them if you want to stay ahead of the game.
Even if you pride yourself on having the kind of boutique hotel or bed and breakfast location that caters to those looking for the old fashioned or the escape from the modern world which pressures them every day to have the latest gadget and technological advancement, you still have to understand the way people are finding and booking their stays.
Maybe your hotel gives every guest a “throwback” experience when they check in with you. That is a brilliant idea, but that experience does not extend back to how they are going to want to contact you and actually book their stay.
Perhaps the most pressing and important aspect of doing business in the hospitality industry is gaining the loyalty of your customers, or, more appropriately, your guests. When a guest feels as though they have been treated well, they are very likely to return again or recommend your location to friends and family.
If you can build loyalty with only 5% of your customers, that would eventually lead to an increased profit of between 25% to 100% per customer. If you can keep up with the trends in hospitality technology to the point where you are using social media, the Internet, and other forms of tracking with hotel software systems, you can build loyalty with your guests and increase your revenue to a spectacular degree.
Right now, most people are finding you and your establishment by using the Internet. In fact, 53% of people will use one of their mobile devices to find travel related information and instructions. Most of them would like to book their stay with you by using that same medium.
Hotel management solutions that are succeeding are doing so because they are offering potential guests the easiest experience possible when it comes to booking their stay. CEB research studies and surveys have determined that 96% of customers forced to expend a “high” effort are likely to be disloyal to a company. This can be especially true in the hospitality industry.
Keeping up with trends in hospitality technology doesn’t mean you have to change what it is that makes your boutique hotel or bed and breakfast so special. What it does mean is that if you want to have more guests come your way and stay loyal to you for years to come, you need to step up your technology game.
