Mr. Colaco

Technology: In-Room Solutions

How Mobile Technology is Changing the Pre-stay, In-room and Post-stay Experience

By Pedro Colaco, President & CEO , GuestCentric Systems

With the buzz surrounding mobile Internet usage for travel, many hoteliers are wondering whether to adopt mobile as a component of their strategy both on-property and online. This article is the result of a study of over 300 properties using mobile technologies and discusses the most important items to take into consideration when thinking about the mobile experience whether pre-stay, on your property and what happens after your guests have left:

The mobile mega-trend

Three articles in the last few days have caught my attention:

• Forrester predicts mobile commerce to hit $32 billion by 2016
• Meraki says mobile devices have overtaken PCs in WiFi usage
• Paypal expects to do $3 billion in mobile payments this year

All these articles have caught my eye because they represent different facets of the same reality shift that is happening before our eyes: access to information on the Internet has become truly always on with mobile access. This ubiquitous access means that Internet consumers are increasingly multi-tasking and making decisions on the fly, while they are mobile.

What does this new reality entail in the World of hospitality? Three different realities:

• Pre-stay consumers will rely heavily on mobile access to content to get inspired, gain information and make decisions on where to stay.
• During the stay hoteliers must leverage mobile technology to provide better service, anticipate guest needs and engage guests to provide them a truly unique experience at the destination.
• Post-stay hotel managers must create touch points to maximize possible positive reviews and feedback and be vigilant to stifle negative feedback.

Mobile pre-stay is here now

While many hotel managers are still oblivious of the mobile trend, mobile hotel booking is growing much faster than any other segment of hotel bookings. This calls out for the need to adopt a mobile pre-stay strategy as fast as feasible, relying on solutions that are innovative, fast and easy to deploy.

Three reasons why you should deploy a mobile website for your hotel right now: - 19% of all hotel queries are mobile. Since November 2010 we noticed tremendous growth of mobile traffic. In April 2011, mobile hotel website visits represented already close to 5% of total traffic at most of our customers. Some were as high as 8%. A blog post from Google on named Mobile Insights: 19% of hotel queries come from mobile devices highlights the need to deliver a mobile experience to mobile users. - Mobile traffic is growing exponentially month-by-month. Across GuestCentric’s user base, mobile devices like smartphones and iPads represent already 3% to 8% of visitors, and traffic is growing exponentially every month. The US is more advanced than the rest of the World. In our customer base, mobile visits in US hotels are close to 2:1 more important than in the rest of the World. Clearly the adoption of smartphones and flat rate data plans has been helping. The rest of the World still has to struggle with roaming charges. - 3% of mobile visitors engage the hotel. In the last three weeks since we deployed the solution, we can already see that hotel mobile websites generate an immediate return. A staggering 3% of all mobile visitors engaged with the hotel in some way: many called the hotel or got directions to the hotel via Google Maps. In addition, 1% of all mobile visitors actually booked a hotel reservation consistently across our customer base. Most hotels that deployed a hotel website solution got a reservation within the first few days of deployment. So, return for a mobile solution is instant

WiFi is in-property. But mobile takes it further.

Many properties have come to the realization that WiFi is a critical service that must be offered to almost all users. But WiFi service is just the beginning. Both on-property and off-property there are more needs that need to be taken into account. - Free Wifi is must-have for the roaming guest. Guests are increasingly dependent on their mobile paraphernalia, whether phones, tablets or laptops. Especially when it comes to properties in destinations with a large amount of international guests providing WiFi is the only economical way for guests to stay connected to their mobile lives, because roaming charges can be prohibitive. Hence, providing free and good

WiFi experience is critical.

• Use twitter as a customer service channel. Opinion leaders tweet about everything. Any problem your property may have (a TV remote without batteries, leaking shower head, an unwanted crawling “guest”) may be known to your potential customers before you know it. So, monitor twitter for your property and service your customers using the channel they want. There are ample tools that provide these services, and your guests will be pleasantly surprised at how “connected” you are.
• Leverage mobile concierge and location-based services. With the emergence of Google Local services, 4square and Facebook Places your property is being checked out and “checked in” all the time. Embrace these concepts and engage your guests. Offer sweepstakes that include key points of interest around your hotel. Reward the mayor of your property. Keeping your guests engaged will help your online reputation. Mobile can help your online reputation.

While mobile is really not thought of as a post-stay technology, mobile enables quick and fast feedback on hotel experience. A significant amount of value can be unleashed this intersection of mobile and social networks as long as you provide good service and motivate your guests to spread the good word about your property.

• Candid pictures. Everyone carries a digital camera nowadays: the mobile phone. Best (or worst) of all, it is connected to the Internet. So, if you have great rooms, a great view, a memorable lobby your guests will probably provide free advertising. However, if you were thinking that you could make your property look better by cutting out the dreadful train line from the picture, think again. So, make sure rooms are clean, room fixtures are kept up-to-date and bathrooms are squeaky clean. If not, risk having bad pictures plastered all over the Internet. Remember that there is no second chance make a first impression.
• Facebook and social networks. Over 50% of facebook accesses are from mobile phones. And facebook users’ “virtual life” on facebook is much more interesting then in real life. So, if you provide someone a good experience, expect them to rave about it on facebook after they check-out. So, provide something special at check-out and remind guests to “befriend” your facebook page. Odds are many of your guests will say something nice on facebook with a link to your page. Check-out is the one interaction that may make a difference in terms of your social reputation.
• Tripadvisor’s growth. Tripadvisor’s mobile access is a critical element of posting reviews nowadays. Sending post-stay emails asking guests for tripadvisor reviews can be a great mechanism to spread your online reputation. With easy access to email and the tripadvisor on-the-go application, reviews are growing at an unprecedented pace: currently tripadvisor claims that 23 new reviews are posted every minute!

How to justify mobile?

Unlike social networks that require a strategy (e.g. Listen, Engage, Monetize), mobile is comparatively simple and straightforward. It is just another channel with some specificity. Hoteliers already know how to deal with a World with tens or hundreds of channels, so adopting a mobile strategy for hotels should be simple. And the ultimate good news is that mobile has a pretty straightforward ROI: bookings.

Conclusion

With the buzz surrounding mobile Internet usage for travel, many hoteliers are wondering whether to adopt mobile as a component of their online strategy. Mobile represents a disruption point that can be used to the advantage of the properties that embrace it or can leave properties stranded from high value guests by not adopting the right strategies.

Three realities hotel managers should prepare for:

• Pre-stay consumers will rely heavily on mobile access to content to get inspired, gain information and make decisions on where to stay. Mobile-optimized properties will win in this war.
• During the stay hoteliers must leverage mobile technology to provide better service, anticipate guest needs and engage guests to provide them a truly unique experience at the destination.
• Post-stay hotel managers must create touch points to maximize possible positive reviews and feedback and be vigilant to stifle negative feedback.

So, whether leveraging mobile access to increase bookings, providing a better experience on your property, engaging guests to explore key points of interest, or motivating positive word-of-mouth on social networks, mobile can be a great source of new and recurring business.

Pedro Colaco co-founded GuestCentric Systems and serves as President and CEO. He has experience in networking and software, product development, marketing, sales and channel management in global markets. GuestCentric is in Stamford, CT with offices in UK and Portugal. It is a provider that revolutionizes independent hotel operators' competitiveness for customers. GuestCentric’s Hotel e-Commerce Optimization offers simple, cost-effective ways to create web sites, integrate online booking and marketing to boost revenues, lower expenses and develop long-standing customer relationships. Mr. Colaco can be contacted at 203-517-0721 or pedro@guestcentric.com Extended Bio...

HotelExecutive.com retains the copyright to the articles published in the Hotel Business Review. Articles cannot be republished without prior written consent by HotelExecutive.com.