Last year I participated in the research and illustration of the last 100 years of hotel technology in our series "The History of Hotel & Travel Technology" (read article). In many cases, we've seen hotel distribution and technology change during or after a global crisis. But is this a trend that will continue? And what could be the innovation from these crises?

Up until the early 2000s, managing the guest experience was still a very human to human experience, yet today the experience happens primarily through technology. Human interactions still hold value, but with the incredible growth of the internet, smartphones and an always-on lifestyle, people are no longer willing to wait very long for their desired outcome.

Hotels have so many touchpoints where customers interact with the property and staff, and this is what has set a hotel experience apart from a retail experience, hoteliers recognise this. They excel at delivering guest service. Yet more so than ever in today's climate, we need technology to facilitate many expectations that guests are not only used to but also expect. Today's hotel guests expect a quality experience from before, during and after their stay.

We all agree that people will want to travel again as soon as possible for holidays and business trips. Until travel resembles anything to pre-covid times we have a chance for innovation.

Looking beyond the obvious needs to support health concerns, 'contactless technology', how should we prioritize the data and innovate from what is available - what innovation will/should come from the current crisis?

Carson Booth
Carson Booth
COO for EMEA at Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP)

It is very apparent that a sizable consumer behavior shift towards contactless/mobile-first guest experiences has accelerated as a result of the pandemic. Airlines, banking, and nearly all industries have already embraced these shifts, however, the hotel industry has significantly trailed in adopting a mobile-first self-service strategy - some of this is due to archaic rules about identification, whereas most of this is due to archaic beliefs that guests only arrive in the afternoon and leave in the morning. Right now, hotels should embrace all solutions (tech and operations) to getting guests back in the building and prepare to service the guest with mobile-first experiences, for example allowing check-in on their schedule by mobile phone at any time and driving greater room revenue by selling rooms by partial day.

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