HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW

January FOCUS: Mobile Technology

 
January, 2016

Mobile Technology: The Game Has Changed Forever

Consider these astounding numbers - it is forecast that in 2016 there will be 196 million smart phone users in North America alone. Worldwide the number of users is expected to surpass 2 Billion. According to hotel internet marketing firm HeBs Digital, currently more than 21% of online bookings and nearly 19% of room nights are generated from mobile devices (smart phones and tablets), while 45% of web visitors and nearly 40% of page views originate from them as well. Consumers are also increasingly using their smart phones for search queries, with more Google searches taking place on mobile devices than on computers in 10 countries, including the U.S. and Japan. Advances in mobile technology have changed the game forever and for hotels, that means having a mobile strategy is now as critical and necessary as having an Internet presence. Hotels must engage guests/travelers on their mobile devices and to add value to their experience. Mobile check-in, mobile payment options and mobile SmartKeys are quickly becoming commonplace features, as is the capacity for guests to place requests for all hotel services directly from their mobile device from anywhere on the property. In addition, some larger chains are creating their own apps which serve to enhance other facets of their operations - marketing, branding, cross-selling and impulse buying - all of which contribute to increased revenue and guest satisfaction. Still other companies are experimenting with the potential uses of wearable technology and the possibilities of geo-targeting promotions. The January Hotel Business Review will explore what some hotels are doing to maximize their opportunities in this mobile space, and will report on the solutions that are proving to be most beneficial for both companies and their guests.

This month's feature articles...

Pedro Colaco

Mobile technology transformed our lives in a way we never imagined a decade ago. According to comScore, compared to 2010, mobile usage has grown +394% and eMarketer predicts that smartphone users will exceed 2 billion in 2016. If you think these numbers are unrealistic, just look around, you probably will see someone using a smartphone. Mobile has become the starting point for most everyday activities, from texting to checking your office mail or online shopping. Chances are that some of these mobile shoppers may be looking for your business, and if you aren't there, you are missing the party. READ MORE

Duane Hepditch

Marketing and advertising is no longer about publishing as many print adverts as possible, or nurturing those relationships with travel agents and OTAs, it's about engaging with customers and guests through the channels that are important to them. Converting that unknown guest into a trusted brand advocate and thereby retaining that business through them, their followers, friends and family is the only way for hoteliers to stand out in this crowded market. So how is this done? Understanding the strategy and knowing what guests want is key but also coming to grips with the concept of spending your marketing budget in the right place will determine which way you go. READ MORE

Darren Panto

The subject of this article is the most common complaint I've been hearing for the last few months, from hoteliers who are unhappy about their number one supplier: the OTA (Online Travel Agency). As an enterprise platform developer to the hospitality industry, we are in the privileged position of hearing the most up-to-date requirements of hotels and their guests from a technology and guest facing point of view. We are also amongst the first to hear their complaints and issues and this includes the current dominance of the hotel booking market by the OTAs such as Priceline and Expedia. READ MORE

Megan McManaman

Mobile technology's impact on the travel and hospitality industry is far greater than the ability to check in on your smartphone; it's impacting how we collect, understand and implement the insights we collect from our guests. It's also changing how we respond to guests with issues. In this article, CMB's travel and hospitality practice leader explores some of the exciting opportunities mobile technology presents for hotel guest insights - with the reminder to focus on the customer not on the technology. READ MORE

Alastair Cush

Hospitality press is full of stories on the growing popularity of mobile keys and the apps that support them. Much of the publicity leads hoteliers to believe that all their guests need is a mobile phone or wristband to do everything from unlocking guestroom doors to ordering cocktails by the pool. Surrounded by media pressure, many hoteliers today are mystified about how - or even if - they should commit the resources to develop mobile key guest access services for their properties. The major chains make this decision for franchisees, but not for independents. This paper offers guidelines on how operators can make an informed mobile access decision and intelligent implementation plan. READ MORE

Marcus Robinson

Cornell's Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) recently published The Mobile Revolution Is Here: Are you Ready? They surveyed several hundred travelers and asked about their expectations regarding a mobile offering from their host. The findings support what progressive hospitality brands have been suspecting - that we exist in an industry built on the assumption that guests desire a drawn out welcome as they walk in the door - but that's not what guests say they want anymore. What are they saying? They want what Uber and AirBNB are giving them. They want to know when the car's going to arrive so they don't have to wait. They want to know when their room is going to be ready. READ MORE

Sara O'Brien

Dynamic Content Personalization for hotels includes delivering unique and relevant textual, visual, and promotional content based on a variety of things: demographics, location, how the visitor is navigating the website, their past booking history, reward program affiliation, and type of customer (leisure, business, family, meeting / event planner, etc.). Today, most hotels still operate in a one-size-fits-all approach and serve the same version of the website to the visitor, regardless of what we know about them. However, we don't just have visitors anymore, we have unique personas with a unique profile or virtual biography. READ MORE

Timothy Shea

In recent years, the hospitality industry has experienced a surge of interest surrounding the ability to provide guests with convenient alternatives for interacting with properties and their services. While maintaining a priority on offering the latest in security innovation, hotels have also experienced an ever-increasing demand for greater convenience and personal preference in the way that guests gain access to their assigned rooms. This has resulted in security access technology evolving in a manner that now provides the industry with some of the most guest experience-enhancing solutions to date. READ MORE

Amy Abatangle

Mobile threats are surging in hotel environments and elsewhere. From specialized infections that target hotel guests to spyphone apps that monitor a guest's location and communications, malware is proliferating in the mobile space. What's more, the devices that are used and characterized as "mobile" are more diverse than ever. Anything used to connect to a public wireless network, including laptops, tablets and phablets are all fair game for mobile malware. Products like the Microsoft Surface are used and classified as mobile devices and are now becoming a significant target. READ MORE

Tony Heung

Whether it's guest facing or hotel internal operations, mobile strategy is happening amongst all the major brands and quite rightly so. Whether it's mobile booking, mobile check-in and mobile key access, or check in via a tablet and reporting room clean status via tablet and mobile PoS device, surround mobile becomes key to the hotel industry. It is predominantly the “during” experience that becomes the key differentiator between brands. In order to facilitate an excellent stay experience, the key foundation is a purpose-built and consistent wireless/wired network that allows all different applications to effectively and securely operate on a single converged network. READ MORE

Tom Moore

In hospitality, the concept of guest engagement has changed dramatically over the last decade. Today, it's all about the quality of the connectivity you provide and empowering guests to interact with your hotel in new and meaningful ways. The experience you deliver means everything. So, imagine if you could identify when a particular guest was arriving at the front entrance, send a personal message to his device that welcomes him back to the hotel and allows him to skip the check-in line and go right to his room. Your ability to cater to guests' needs from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave will determine the quality of that experience - both good and bad. And it takes technology to do it right. READ MORE

Pam Angelucci

The quality of cell phone reception at hotels and resorts is critical to guests. Ppopular online review sites even have categories such as: best hotels with cell phone reception. Why is this so revealing? Because many hotels don't offer good cellphone reception - and that it's a big consumer concern. READ MORE

Bill Cune

Property managers are adding mobile check-ins, smartphone room keys, and mobile concierge services but do not necessarily have the infrastructure to support all of these new services. What considerations do hotel owners need to make to support this "mobile white space" in the hotel IT ecosystem? With the right solutions in place, hotel owners and managers can fill a significant gap in service-the gap that occurs as property owners shift to digital interactions and smartphone applications to help control guest experiences. This gap has become known in the hotel industry as the "mobile white space." READ MORE

Anthony Maggio

A new era of business-to-customer communications is taking shape and, in this new world, fast, intimate, service-oriented communications are eclipsing traditional broadcast marketing. In a world where service experiences are instantly made public on TripAdvisor and where communication is increasingly integral to service delivery, real-time interactions with customers are now essential for service brands. Consumers expect to engage and receive service through the mobile channels where they live their lives. Effective, Real-Time Customer Relationship Management (RTCRM) turns customers into brand advocates and results in the development of world-class brands. READ MORE

Mark Hoare

There is no scarcity of impressive numbers and statistics espousing the exponential growth in the use of smart-phones and other mobile devices across the globe. Equally we have abundant access to these same data-points professionally refined and indexed specifically to the Connected-Traveler, also known as our addressable market. However, as an industry do we adequately understand how to intersect this market with highly relevant guest-facing mobile solutions? In this article we review where we came from, the challenges we have overcome, where we are now, and most importantly identify initiatives to improve adoption and subscription rates to our guest-facing mobile offerings. READ MORE

Agnes De Franco

The hot topic of late has been on how to engage guests through their mobile devices, and thus hopefully establishing a new group of loyal customers. Beyond engagement, we decided to take it a step further, looking into how much they use mobile media as a payment tool. Since mobile payments are used in the retail market already, what do our hotel guests have to say about mobile payments in hotels? Do they use mobile payments now? Will they use mobile payment methods to settle hotel payments? What about buying that cup of coffee at the coffee bar or the souvenir t-shirt at the gift shop? READ MORE

Ric Leutwyler

Dear Hotelier, I know it's hard to hear, hoteliers - but your guests are just not that into you. In the movie, "He's Just Not That Into You," a young woman is regularly disappointed when she misreads signals from men. These days it seems that many hoteliers are either missing or mis-reading signals about how the ever changing nature of our mobile experience is affecting guest expectations. READ MORE

Scott Watson

For over 20 years, hoteliers have practiced MBWA (Management by Walking Around) to facilitate open, timely communication with associates and guests. With the advent of mobile technology and a flood of new ways to communicate, leadership becomes more challenging in an always-on, always-connected workplace. How does a hospitality professional lead a team in a digital world while holding true to the core competencies that make for a great hotelier? READ MORE

Scott Morrison

With guests bringing increasing numbers of Wi-Fi devices to hotels for business and pleasure (now including wearables), how will hotels accommodate them? From guest engagement and entertainment to internal operations and hotel services, Wi-Fi enabled devices can take hotels and their guests from check-in to check-out and everything in between. By understanding what applications are on the horizon, what can be done with the right technology and with an eye towards the future of Wi-Fi, hotels can increase RevPAR by optimizing operations, increasing efficiencies, and elevating guest engagement. READ MORE

Zoe Connolly

Employee appreciation programs are critical in retaining top talent and maintaining morale. While it's easy to dismiss “perks” as something only millennials care about, it's important to note that 1) it isn't just millennials who like to feel appreciated, it's everyone; 2) employee appreciation programs have been around since far before anyone who fits into the 'millennial' demographic was born, and; 3) even if it was just a millennial issue, most organizations in hospitality are hiring millennials, after all, where else are hotels recruiting their next workforce generation? READ MORE

Rahul Razdan

Data and social media are the twin forces of change within the hospitality industry. Maximizing the power of these tools - for the good of workers and guests alike - is (or must be) a hotel executive's principal responsibility. Of equal importance is the democratization of these commodities: The accessibility, and increased affordability, of online marketing and promotions to a diversity of travelers. With the help of the right experts, and with an uncompromising eye toward quality and excellence, hotel executives can benefit from the application of data and social media. Now is the time to seize this opportunity of technological significance and business success. READ MORE

Marcus Nicolls

Have you ever found yourself asking the question, “How did that (poor service, long wait, missing items, wrong room, discourteous service - fill in your own guest complaint) happen?” Maybe you've discovered a scathing 1-star TripAdvisor review that you know will impact occupancy. At that moment you might be asking, “Who's accountable? What happened here? How do I fix this?” READ MORE

Simon Hudson

The hotel industry is constantly searching for the perfect formula to provide guests with addictive experiences, and, as such, music-themed hotels are becoming increasingly popular, particularly in big cities. This article focuses on these kinds of upbeat boutique hotels, from the Beatles-themed Hard Days Night Hotel in Liverpool, to the rock-themed Backstage Hotel in central Amsterdam, to Hotel BPM, a music-themed hotel in New York City. The keys to success for these hotels? Authenticity, superior customer service, and staying true to the music theme. READ MORE

Peter Friedman

Travelers love to tell stories: the snorkeling trip they took in the Molokini crater in Maui, or the fabulous dinner they had at a hole in the wall in a far-flung city. They regale their friends and family with stories of their adventures, showing them pictures, recommending their best spots, and warning them off bad experiences. Some of them will post on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, sharing their good - and bad - encounters with your company on their journey. READ MORE

Janet Gerhard

We've all traversed the same bumpy social media path over the last several years. What can we anticipate for 2016? Is the battle for social dominance a worthy endeavor in light of the new disrupters taking headlines, and profits, from the hotel industry? What does it mean for the brands and our customers? READ MORE

Michael Koethner

The next few years, and the distant future, will see the profession of alternative therapy (i.e. naturopathy, homeopathy, physiotherapy, psychotherapy, energy alignment, soul healing, fitness, exercise and the likes) in much higher demand than at any rate and time before. The increasing demand for complementary therapies will unfold itself through the yet unseen energetic forces of the soul and spirit. These two entities will ignite a fire with the human body volcano to release deeply repressed and unresolved issues; regardless of the mental, spiritual and/or physical condition of the individual. It is going to happen across the globe, stretching into every tiny corner of society; the business environment must be ready to accommodate its demand and be open to new opportunities, not the other way around. READ MORE

DJ Vallauri

People are used to being treated like crap. Have I gotten your attention? Let me explain further. We all “get” social media and understand how powerful platforms like Facebook, Twitter and others are vital in both building customer loyalty and engaging customers. With this in mind, hoteliers have come to understand that social media marketing is not free. While setting up accounts and pages on the social media networks are free, in order for the hotel's branding and visibility to benefit, it requires constant attention which costs money as it relates to hiring people to leverage the social media networks. READ MORE

Ken Hutcheson

To keep up with brand standards, hoteliers know they need to invest in renovating their hotel's interior every two years. Just as a hotel's interior features begin to age, the landscape also begins to show signs of aging and looks tired overtime. One of the biggest mistakes hotel property owners and managers make, however, is investing an immense amount of time and money into a lifeless landscape. In order to collaborate effectively, hoteliers should think about their long-term and short-term goals so they can invest wisely. This will also help determine which contractors they will need to involve at various points in their plan. READ MORE

Bonnie Knutson

To really appreciate our guests' requisite for personalization we can go back to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs that we learned in school. Maslow taught us that people are motivated to achieve certain needs; when one is fulfilled, they move on to the next one. By definition, a hotel satisfies the first two levels of physiological and safety needs. It provides shelter, water, in many cases food, and of course a safe place for guests to stay. The third level includes guests having a sense of belonging and acceptance, of being part of something special. But it is Maslow's fourth level where this personalization trend really kicks in. He called it Esteem and loosely defined it as our desire to be valued by others and to be recognized as an individual person. In this article, you'll find the ABCs of moving your marketing strategy from globalization to personalization. READ MORE

Adam Gillespie

Hotel properties have suffered from a dramatic loss in guest service revenues starting with the in-room telephone, high costs for low rates of bandwidth to dwindling pay-tv take rates. Device mobility has allowed for guests to continue to circumnavigate the ways hotels can charge for sponsored technology services using everyday applications such as Skype, personal Wi-Fi hotspots and entertainment services such as Netflix and Hulu. This is leaving hotels scrambling to find superior ways to introduce new applications that can capture the guests' attention and accelerate immediate purchase decisions. READ MORE

David Tossell

Comscore reported in April 2015 that 60% of digital media time is now spent on mobile devices. Mobile devices are now commanding a greater market share than desktops and laptops. And while 21% of Millennials do not use desktops or notebooks to go online, the fastest growing segment of mobile users are age 55 and older. Is your mobile strategy in good shape now that we are past critical mass for mobile commerce? With technology investment, there always looms the question of "do I want to be on the leading" edge of a trend. Many hoteliers ask this exact same question about the technology that they have in their hotels. READ MORE

Brandon Dennis

There are countless website solutions out there these days. You could go the SaaS route and pay a monthly subscription for your website, or you can hire an agency to make a website for your hotel. Both have their pros and cons. There are some hoteliers, however, who want to make, host, and publish their own websites by hand. And for them, there is no argument--the best tool to use is Wordpress. With this 7-step guide, I will show you how to make a basic but fully functional hotel website with Wordpress. READ MORE

Ashish Modak

Steve Jobs has been an icon for millions and even after his death continues to inspire many around the world. 'Apple' brought in a revolution from the very beginning in everything it did. Steve Jobs and his beliefs and practices remain very relevant even today in the ever-evolving hospitality industry. This essay elaborates on some of the guiding principles followed by Jobs in his career and their correlation with the hotel industry with apt real life case studies from a luxury resort in the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. His legendary address at Stanford is the basis of this article. READ MORE

Nicole Perrotta

Many articles provide tips on how to deal with angry customers such as “don't take the angry outburst personally”, “sympathize with the customer and get them to calm before solving their problem” and “maintain an assertive, positive and calm attitude”. All are excellent tools and your team will achieve high customer service scores if they apply them. However, do you have a plan to deal with the anger that creates havoc “behind the scenes” when the customer isn't looking? If you don't, you are probably dealing with high turnover rates and wondering how to fix it. READ MORE

Simon Hudson

The lines between business and leisure travel are becoming increasingly blurred. Fueled by the proliferation of mobile devices and the ability to stay connected, over half of business travelers now extend their business trips into leisure trips. This presents new opportunities for hotels, but they need to configure their services to be flexible. Conference and meeting planners also have to be cognizant of these changes, ensuring that they incorporate an element of leisure when they plan their meetings. This article will focus on hotels around the world that are responding to the blurring of business and leisure travel. READ MORE

Stephen Hall

Several surveys conducted over the years by the author from several hundred hotel managers indicated strong interest in the practice of ethics by employees at every level. Managers believe a comprehensive program of ethics would greatly benefit the bottom line by enhancing repeat business and word-of-mouth advertising. Yet fewer than 10% of the hotels surveyed indicated they have a program of ethics in place. The basic question is ” why, if the need is so great, are there so few hotels with a program for ethics?” READ MORE

Anne-Juliette Maurice

On a quiet tree-lined street of the Upper East Side is where you will find the Hotel Plaza Athenee, nestled among genteel residences and lavish townhouses at 37 E. 64th Street between Park and Madison Avenue. Combining cosmopolitan luxury with the intimacy and services of a boutique hotel, Hotel Plaza Athenee has created a home away from home for royalty, world leaders, celebrities, executives and sophisticated travelers from all around the world since 1984. READ MORE

Susan Tinnish

Meetings are an essential part of organizational life; a manager's ability to run effective meetings is a critical part of business success. And yet business meetings and staff meetings are often viewed with disdain and disregard. This article provides practical tips to enhance meeting skills and breathe new life into meetings. READ MORE

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