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?

Christine Demen Meier
Christine Demen Meier
Managing Director, Les Roches
Floor Bleeker
Floor Bleeker
Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Accor
Tomeu Fiol
Tomeu Fiol
Global Hotel Technologies Director en Meliá Hotels International
Simone Puorto
Simone Puorto
Founder | CEO | Futurist
Timo Kettern
Timo Kettern
Director Technical Field Services Openings EMEA, Hilton

I'm currently engaged with our HR Teams to plan online-staff-trainings for the re-launch of our hotels. After many months on furlough away from the hotel, we want to give our teams a boost of their technical, procedural, and social skills. We know that our teams have a big impact on guest satisfaction and want to accelerate here. So for me, (social)-distance-learning will be one of the areas where I expect a great deal of innovation.

Marco  Correia
Marco Correia
Partner & Co-Founder, T-Hotel Hospitality Knowledge
Ian Millar
Ian Millar
Manager of Institute of Business Creativity & Senior Lecturer at EHL Hospitality Business School
Max Starkov
Max Starkov
Hospitality & Online Travel Tech Consultant
André Baljeu
André Baljeu
Founder & Managing Director at techtalk.travel
Carson Booth
Carson Booth
COO for EMEA at Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP)
Mark Fancourt
Mark Fancourt
Co-Founder at TRAVHOTECH
George Roukas
George Roukas
Partner at Hudson Crossing
Laura Calin
Laura Calin
VP, Strategy and Solutions Management at Oracle Hospitality
Uli Pillau
Uli Pillau
Founder and CEO of apaleo
Mike Ford
Mike Ford
Founder, SiteMinder
Saikrishnan Ranganathan
Saikrishnan Ranganathan
Co-Founder and CEO of SensorFlow
Klaus  Kohlmayr
Klaus Kohlmayr
Chief Evangelist and Development Officer, IDeaS
Juanjo  Rodriguez
Juanjo Rodriguez
Founder, The Hotels Network

Innovation should come from moving from a room-centered view to a guest-centered one. Look at the full guest journey, since the person starts thinking about traveling (and therefore much earlier than the check-in date). Don't optimize for room prices, optimize for guest value, which requires deep personalization across that guest journey.