Technology

There are 2 major adoption hurdles for the Metaverse: hardware & interoperability. 1- Hardware: most Metaverses that run on crypto (Decentraland, Sandbox, etc) require a powerful computer, that barely anyone has or can afford.

In the metaverse, we are only bound by our creativity and the resources at our disposal. Because it is digital, anything can be created as long as we set our minds to it. After all, in the digital world, the laws of physics do not apply, even if we interact with the physical world.

I think the answer is the same to the question : "An open internet for an open, decentralized industry" and Web3 is trying to address it. So, rather than looking for a metaverse specific reply, we should treat the problem as a common one (i.e.

The greater opportunity lies not in what to sell, but in how to sell it. Whether we like it or not, there are some best-sellers that travelers prefer and that generate significant revenue and margin for hotels. It's quite hard to come up with new product ideas, but it's quite straightforward to design a better way of showcasing the products hotels already have.

I'm forever surprised by hoteliers who seem to consider that the room booking is the culmination of the guest sales journey, and not, as it should be, the start! The honeymoon period for upselling is at the time of booking, so why not employ tools that are easily accessed by QR codes to advertise hotel amenities and services to help boost spend per customer?

We interviewed a General Manager of one of our resort hotel customers recently. I thought he made an interesting comment "I am not in the business to sell a flower or chocolate deal!, yes it may delight the guest, but it's not really helping my bottomline, given the logistics involved to get it actually all to the guest".

The concept of the "Metaverse" has existed since the 80s, and Full Fledged Metaverses like 'The Sandbox' and 'Decentraland' have been there since 2012 and 2017 alongside Axie Infinity (2018) and of course the oldest mainstream name amongst the bunch Roblox which officially launched in 2006.

Gartner states that emerging technologies for 2022 fall under three main themes: 1) evolution/expansion of immersive experiences, 2) accelerated automation of artificial intelligence, and 3) optimisation of technology delivery.

I think various fields have been doing a lot of research for years in AR/VR, and the idea of the Metaverse gives them a great mass adoption use case. There is also the gaming industry that has been creating virtual worlds for ages, Habbo Hotel is happy to say they were the first Metaverse, and any video game could say the same.

As a general rule the adoption of automation is intended to improve the status quo in any area of a business. Simplified, to be able to do things at the 'speed of data' as compared to the speed of people. Therefore, the best application for automation in our industry is in any place that technology has reached a stage where it can augment or supersede the capability of standing manual processes.

I believe by automation in hospitality, we have to understand and include all of the technology applications and devices that are augmenting and replacing human-provided services: mobility, contactless experience, AI, robotics, etc.

Automation will be the No. 1 focus for owners and operators moving forward as they look to reduce labor costs and meet new guest expectations. The self-service movement has taken off in other traveler verticals, such as air travel and ground transportation, and hoteliers will be best served by relying on digital tools to allow guests to perform many functions on their own devices, such as check-in, in-room dining, lobby purchases, etc.

It's not a question of whether hoteliers will invest. It's they "Must" invest. The digital customer journey is gaining prominence, and the consumer is looking for a more autonomous experience, more fluid, functional and fast. But it's not only investing in guest-facing technology; back-of-house efficiencies using technology must also take focus.

Will the ongoing challenge of committing financial resources toward technology in hospitality continue? Yes. Today's hospitality industry is a real estate business in many of the significant markets around the world. Technology, as a result, is not the most important facet of the business and when it comes to capital/operational funding allocation, technology competes with all other aspects of business for a fair share of allocation.

It is an understatement to say that the hotel industry has had a tough year in 2022. In my view, hoteliers will not only start investing in technology but take it a notch up as well. Innovative hotel businesses have already gone past the crisis and are focusing on reassuring guests, offering great value, providing a safe environment.