Mr. Nijhawan

Technology

Meeting the Growing Technology Needs of Guests

By Sanjay Nijhawan, COO, Guoman Hotels (UK)

All of us who work in the hospitality industry are aware that the needs and expectations of guests are ever increasing and changing. Guests are our job and as companies we need to adapt to ensure we are offering the best level of service and keep guests coming back. An area that has seen the biggest and speediest change in the last ten years in my opinion is that of the technological needs and expectations of the guests. Ten years ago it was enough to offer in-room movies and a small business centre with internet access. Now that offering sounds possibly dinosaur.

In a bid to 'keep up' and be a market leader, hotels especially within the premium sector, have fallen over themselves to shout about their building wide Wi-Fi, i-pod docking stations as standard in all rooms and automated check in services. In reality many are merely paying lip service to having these amenities and don't actually have the systems in place to support guests' requirements.

Wi-Fi

Most groups claim to offer this as standard because they feel they should. In reality not many actually have a reliable service provider and guest complaints can become frequent and embarrassing especially within the business sector. Hotels need to be clear that they should invest in secure and robust services that have the capacity to host the band width in line with guests' requirements. If not this could really start to impact on repeat business. Would you recommend a hotel where you have to walk around the bedroom to get a good connection?

It is also imperative that the quality of the Wi-Fi in meeting rooms is the same as the bedroom product. Band width available to the hotel is scalable to the events they are hosting. More and more conferencing guests as using tools like skype and other voice over internet products (VoIP) together with web based video streaming which demands reliable and consistent web services. In fact these types of voice over internet packages can run with the Wi-Fi and be used to give the guests greater interaction with the hotel. For example I have heard cases of hotels giving guests VoIP mobiles to be able to use whilst they are in the hotel to call room service, reception, gym etc. wherever they are in the hotel, rather than a normal fixed handset in the guest's bedroom.

A good service of Wi-Fi in public spaces can also help drive revenue. You will find that public spaces throughout the hotels end up becoming the venues for impromptu meetings; this is especially the case in big cities such as London where people are keen to get out of their office and into a new environment. If they know you have a high standard of Wi-Fi in your hotel's lobby, bars and caf'e's they can become a prime location for such meetings to take place. The great news is the leaders of these meetings often have the benefit of a healthy expenses budget and a meeting can turn into a lunch and eventually using the meeting facilities and so on and so fourth. Something seemingly so simple can kick start a great relationship with your hotel.

The Mobile Office

More and more people are travelling with mobile devices. In new rooms it is a pre-requisite that this trend is catered for. People expect i-pod docking stations and a variety of personal entertainment options in their rooms such as video on demand packages hosted by the likes of BT Vision in the UK. Hotels should also be offering a selection of chargers for laptops, mobiles and MP3 devices - it's an easy win when a guest has forgotten theirs and avoids the hassle of seeking out and paying for a replacement. They remember things like that, don't they?

As technology expands, I think we will see a real growth in demand of guests wanting to view their home entertainment system via a web link on their lap top. This means that a requirement for laptops to be able to be plugged into plasmas and sound systems in the rooms becomes very important. An expensive investment for many hotels but one which will be repaid in repeat business and positive word of mouth.

Check-in, Security & Customer Service

Moving on from the guest's direct needs, there is a selection of interesting questions around the use of technology especially around the check in and out processes. Debate around automated check-in has been around for sometime.

In my opinion there are three key elements to be weighed up. The speed of check in, security and customer service element. Queues at peak times are a challenge for all hotels and in the future the ability to check in to your room before you arrive or have a system in place where it's automated will be continuously attractive. However upmarket hotels do rely on the initial customer interaction to kick start the experience of staying at the hotel which is lost in automated check-ins. Computers haven't yet learnt to smile and ask if you had a good journey! It has to be about customer preferences rather than the hotel blinding guests with technology and showing off.

Security is also a really big factor for guests. Guoman Hotels research has shown that there is still a large proportion of travellers that would rather have an individual behind a desk as a gatekeeper to their room rather than a bag or box of tricks they have to push or press.

There will be a continuation in gimmicky customer service elements led by technological advances, especially in the area of personalised service. Remembering guest preferences is a fantastic tool for a hotel and one they can take advantage of. It adds a real charm to remember a guest's preferred breakfast and newspaper option but it's a clever hotel that captures all elements of customer interaction and thanks them and asks for feedback via email or SMS once they have departed. A trend I feel we will see more and more will be online concierges. It is a service that many of the higher end hotels offer and it's a great way to impress guests ahead of their arrival. I think we will see a move from the kind of service currently offered - booking theatre tickets, providing local information etc. to people requesting a particular scent in their room and agreeing their pillow and duvet type.

However it is critically important that back office systems are built to effectively capture all elements of customer interactions. This means that all hotels can very effectively capture next stay requirements rather than second guessing and imposing the hotels personal preferences on guests as they have historically.

Finally, I thought it worthwhile looking at the implications of social networking and how hotels can utilise it to their benefit. Hotel companies must embrace blog in the same way that they embrace every other element of the customer relationship management strategy. Online feedback and networking are a great way to encourage a sense of community, brand salience and involve customers in current service and product developments.

With extensive experience oin working for some of the biggest brands in the business, including Hilton, Holiday Inn, Marriott and Forte, Sanjay Nijhawan has been in the hospitality industry for over 17 years. Mr. Nijhawan joined Thistle Hotels in 2004 as general manager for The Tower in central London. Earlier this year Mr. Nijhawan was promoted to Chief Operating Officer of Guoman Hotels (UK) overseeing the development of a collection of six international deluxe properties in central London. Mr. Nijhawan graduated from Thames Valley University in 1992 with a degree in hotel management. Mr. Nijhawan can be contacted at 0870 333 9280 or Sanjay.nijhawan@guoman.co.uk Extended Bio...

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