HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW
JANUARY FOCUS: Mobile Technology

The Future Hotel Guest Experience

By Nadav Cornberg Co-Founder, Virdee | January 2023

The hotel guest experience is undergoing a revolution.

By 2025, experts predict that artificial intelligence will power 95% of customer service interactions.

For hoteliers, this means consumers will become accustomed to using mobile technology in all areas of their lives - and they will expect the same standards in hotels.

The rate of tech adoption in the hotel industry was already advancing considerably before the pandemic. Still, there's no doubt that Covid-19 has accelerated the digitization of customer interactions and travel touchpoints in the hotel space. Not only did the pandemic change travel, but it irrevocably changed consumer behavior, expectations, and preferences - so much so that 77% of consumers say that the amount of in-person interaction required at a business will influence their decision of whether or not they visit moving forward.

The new and evolving demands of guests in a post-pandemic landscape have led hotels to reassess their strategies, and as such, the hotel tech stack has come under scrutiny. Poor integrations, clunky booking systems, and admin-heavy applications have been found to hinder and damage the guest experience - and as a result, hoteliers are seeking streamlined, efficient solutions that simplify and enhance both guest-facing and back-of-house operations.

While these two factors alone are enough to drive the guest experience revolution, the hotel industry also faces headwinds from another direction: a major labor shortage and a staffing crisis. According to AHLA, 87% of hotels are currently experiencing a staffing shortage, 36% severely so.

There's no doubt that it's a challenging time for the industry. But, I do believe the digital era is an opportunity for hotels to transform the guest experience.

Re-Imagining the Hotel Guest Experience

Guests have realized they don't need to interact with staff at every touchpoint in their hotel journey. Many have learned that the labor-intensive nature of hotels slows and hinders their experience - whether it be waiting in line to check in, visiting the front desk for extra towels, or stopping by to pay at the end of a stay.

Today's travelers want instant, on-demand, one-click services they receive in other industries (think on-demand transportation services, instant payments, and self-service check-outs). As such, the future of the guest experience will be driven by automation to provide efficient, convenient, and personalized touchless hotel interactions.

With 78% of hoteliers stating they will increase their investment in tech over the next three years, here's how I predict the industry will leverage mobile and SaaS-based technology to provide a frictionless guest experience...

1. Digital Hotel Experiences

Research shows that there are some considerable disparities between what businesses think customers want and what consumers prefer. 53% of companies believe their customers are very satisfied with their self-service offerings, but only 15% of consumers agree. 81% of consumers expect more self-service options, but 40% of businesses think they already have enough.

To stay ahead of the curve, hoteliers must bridge this gap, understanding that embracing mobile technology doesn't mean abandoning guests; it means meeting their needs by providing flexibility, choice, and convenience. It doesn't mean replacing the human touch; it means empowering hotel staff to focus on delighting guests in other areas.

We can expect to see digital experiences leading the guest journey from start to finish. Small touches like 3D room tours and interactive maps will give guests greater choice and control before they book. In contrast, self-service gift shops and voice-activated guest rooms will provide seamless, personalized experiences for guests.

2. Virtual Check-in

The hotel front desk is already on its way out, but over the next few years, it will disappear altogether. Nearly two-thirds of branded and independent hotels will be offering mobile room keys and more than three-quarters will have implemented self-service check-in options - including contactless kiosks and mobile check-in - by the end of 2022.

Long waiting lines and back-and-forth conversations will no longer restrict check-in; instead, reception will exist in a guest's mobile phone, or a kiosk in the hotel lobby.

Virtual check-in won't just mean skipping the line in the hotel lobby; utilizing mobile technology to streamline the check-in process enables hoteliers to curate a guest experience that can be personalized at every touchpoint. Guests can add late check-out, attach extras to their stay, request to be notified when their room is available, and collect their digital hotel key without visiting the front desk.

This does not mean that hotels will become less personal. On the contrary, the shift to digital interaction tools means that hotels will be able to repurpose staff to provide more personal touchpoints like concierge services. Guests will be able to choose how and when they interact with staff. For hoteliers, removing staffing from mundane manual tasks, like check-in, opens the door to in-depth interactions with guests, creating a more welcoming atmosphere.

3. Digital Identity

Providing proof of identity at every touchpoint on a trip is standard - from boarding a plane to hiring a car, checking in at a hotel, and even ordering an alcoholic beverage to a hotel room. In the not-so-distant future, guests' facial features will be their unique identifiers, enabling them to walk right through these touchpoints without having to dig out their physical ID.

Not only does this empower a frictionless guest journey, but the future of digital identity opens many new doors, fostering hyper-personalized experiences for repeat hotel guests. Data collected from guests' previous stays will allow hotels to recognize, reward, and customize their offerings based on a guest's history and profile. It will also enable hoteliers to identify frictions in individual stays, empowering hoteliers to create 5* stays for each guest.

For example, when a guest heads to their hotel room, it will already meet their exact preferences that have been stored and analyzed since their last stay: a bed that has adjusted to the right firmness, the right room temperature, news updates from preferred outlets, customized artwork projected onto the wall, biometric bathroom tiles that report on a guest's health, and shower water already at the right temperature and pressure. The opportunities to create a hyper-personalized stay will be endless.

4. Mobile Wallets

With guests no longer expected to carry physical hotel keycards and identity cards, mobile wallets will deliver instant and seamless communication between guests and hotel staff - and added transactional security.

Cash and credit cards will become a distant memory, and fast, secure contactless payments will become the preferred payment method - something we're already seeing, with 76% of US hoteliers providing contactless payment options for guests.

The mobile wallet will go further than tap-and-go digital payments. Hoteliers can incorporate dedicated customer loyalty programs into their mobile payment platforms, send promotional material to guests (in the form of spa or restaurant vouchers, for example), and even provide suggested itineraries and guides for the area. Mobile wallets are an opportunity to further connect with guests, providing those digital touches that enable a comfortable and frictionless stay.

5. Mobile Apps

Recent years have seen an increase in hotel apps - no surprise, considering a post-pandemic study found that nearly 90% of travelers would rather interact with a mobile app than a human to manage their hotel stay.

Apps will drive the future of the hotel landscape, providing guests with the complete hotel experience in the luxury of their own pocket.

However, with 2.1m apps currently in the Google Play app store, it's likely guests won't want multiple different hotel apps clogging up their phones. Instead, guests will expect versatile, streamlined apps that enable guests to check into multiple hotels from one centralized platform. Rather than having to download different apps, re-enter personal information, and submit their preferences each time they visit a different hotel, guests will benefit from singular apps that integrate seamlessly with individual hotels and store personal information for future stays.

It will also be important for hotels to provide web-based interactions as much as possible to avoid requiring an app download, especially for check-in. Web portals reduce the friction of checking in digitally, which will in turn result in higher guest satisfaction.

6. Ancillary Revenue Opportunities for Hotels

The average American hotel generates 65% of its revenue from rooms, while 25% comes from food and beverage, and 10% from other outlets.

When executed correctly, SaaS and mobile technology can enhance the visibility of ancillary products at every touchpoint for the guest.

For hoteliers, digitizing the hotel guest experience is an opportunity to upsell and increase ancillary revenue - simply by putting instant upgrades and requests at guests' fingertips. For guests, having the flexibility to add to their stay at any time (whether it be a drink delivered to their room, late check-out, or a last-minute dinner reservation in the hotel restaurant) elevates their experience - and for hoteliers, these small upgrades make a difference.

Compared to airlines, the hotel industry lags in this sense - but new mobile technologies will enable hoteliers to upsell to guests at each stage of their hotel guest journey.

The Digital Guest Experience: A Turning Point for Hotels

With the above in mind, the digitization of the guest experience doesn't just benefit guests; it's a significant opportunity for hoteliers too. An opportunity to increase revenue, reduce operational costs, improve efficiencies, and enhance service quality.

Automating tasks such as checking guests in and out, accepting and processing reservations, sending guest communications, and performing data analysis is a way to optimize operations, but it's also a necessary hotelier strategy to combat the current labor shortage.

With the hotel industry still facing challenges stemming from the pandemic, a major staffing crisis, and heightened guest expectations, expect a period of significant change and opportunity within the industry. Moving forward, hoteliers will realize it is simply unviable to hire hotel staff for a job that technology can automate - and guests will come to expect technology at every touchpoint of their journey.

The front desk will disappear, mobile wallets will replace physical cards, our facial features will become key, and the hotel guest experience will become incredibly personal. I do believe that investing in mobile technology is critical to meeting guest expectations while tackling labor shortages, and we should expect to see the industry playing technological catch-up over the next few years.

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We can be reached via telephone, email, or online at our contact page. When you visit our site we do not log any information regarding your domain or email address. Information Sharing: We do not share user information with any third parties other than via press release distribution as described below.

Hotel Newswire is a newswire service that distributes press releases on behalf of our users. If you decide to submit a press release for distribution through our system we will transmit your entire press release including any personal information therein contained to our media contacts and online distribution points including search engines. This is the only redistribution of your information that we engage in. Your submission of press releases through our system indicates consent with this policy. The information we collect during your registration process is used to notify users about updates to our service and inform users of any special events hosted by Hotel Newswire. This information is not shared with other organizations for commercial or non-commercial purposes.

Cookies: Our system requires the use of cookies to enable the user to log back into our website to access information from the newswire, without having to log in each time using the required username and password.

If you do not want to receive email from us in the future, please let us know by following instructions included in our communication with you. Users who supply us with telephone numbers online may receive telephone contact from us regarding their account, or informing them of new products and services available on the HotelExecutive website. If you do not wish to receive such telephone calls, please edit your account and remove your phone number from your account profile. This can be done from your user account menu.

Ad Servers: We do not partner with or have any relationship with any ad server companies. From time to time, we may use customer information for new uses not previously disclosed in our privacy notice. If our information practices change at any time, we will post the policy changes to our website to notify you of these changes and provide you with the ability to opt out of these new uses. If you are concerned about how your information is used, you should check back at our website periodically.

Upon request we provide site visitors with access to all information (including proprietary information) that we maintain about them. Users can access this information by logging in to their account.

Security: We always use industry-standard encryption technologies while transferring and receiving user data exchanged with our site. We have appropriate security measures in place in our physical facilities to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of information that we have collected from you on our site. We do not store credit card information in our systems.

If you feel that this site is not following its stated information policy, you may contact us.

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Reviving Hospitality: How Upskilling Can Reclaim Lost Pandemic Workers

By Gurpreet Singh, Group Vice President, InStride

Few industries suffered a bigger blow during the pandemic than hospitality. And with approximately 500,000 unfilled roles, the sector has yet to fully recover. Following widespread layoffs and pandemic shutdowns, many workers who were forced to leave the hospitality industry have yet to return. To win this talent back and stem further losses from turnover, hospitality businesses must find ways to improve their employee value proposition: the distinct benefits and cultural values employees can gain from joining a specific organization. One promising way to do this is through professional development and education programs or upskilling. These programs allow employees...

Harnessing Emerging Technology for Enhanced Hospitality - from AI to Iot

By Jim Abramson, Vice President of Product Management, Cvent

It’s been a very good year for meetings and events. Industry conferences like IMEX experienced record-breaking numbers (often in both attendance and meeting space required), Cvent recently reported a 21% year-over-year growth in room nights sourced through the Cvent Supplier Network, and ‘healthy’ group business demand has bolstered hotel performance as leisure demand slowed. With a new year right around the corner, early signs point to the continued growth of the sector in 2025, with 40% of planners planning to produce more events and expecting higher attendance next year. With more events, more attendees, and most certainly higher expectations...

Emerging Trends That Will Inform Hotel Design in 2024

By Sergio Saenz, Arq., Intl. Assoc. AIA, HKS

In this period of rapid environmental and social change, adaptive design and innovation are increasingly important topics for consideration within the hospitality industry. As we navigate the challenges of climate change, shifting work paradigms and evolving guest preferences, the industry is witnessing a transformative shift in how hotels are conceptualized and built. This article explores key trends shaping the future of hospitality design, from embracing climate resilience and reconnecting with nature to adapting to the burgeoning Work-From-Hotel movement. Each trend reflects a response to immediate needs and a forward-looking approach to creating sustainable, functional, and memorable guest experiences. ...

Cultivating Efficiency: Harnessing AI for Hotel Management Optimization

By Jeff Pedowitz, President, The Pedowitz Group

The hospitality industry finds itself at the forefront of a groundbreaking new era, where emerging technologies are poised to redefine the guest experience in extraordinary ways. Among these technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) takes the lead, presenting unparalleled opportunities to revolutionize hotel operations, interactions, and services offered to guests. As we look ahead, the innovative potential of AI-driven advancements holds the key to propelling hotels into a hyper-personalized, efficient, and undeniably futuristic dimension. These next-generation smart hotels effortlessly harness the power of AI, enabling them to create seamless, anticipatory, and tailor-made experiences for every guest while simultaneously optimizing and streamlining behind-the-scenes...

Measuring The Effectiveness of Your Hotel's Commercial Team: KPIs and Metrics

By Nicholas Tsabourakis, Founder & Managing Director, Bespoke Revenue Management

Introduction to Commercial Team Effectiveness Measurement The effectiveness of a hotel’s commercial team plays a pivotal role in driving revenue, attracting guests, and maintaining a sustainable business. Therefore, understanding and measuring its performance is crucial for achieving success in the market. The significance of measuring its effectiveness lies in its ability to provide insights into various aspects of the business operation. Key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics serve as essential tools for measuring the effectiveness of a hotel’s commercial team. KPIs are quantifiable measures used to evaluate the success of an organisation or specific activities within it....

Recruitment Resources and Frameworks: Talent Management and Outsourcing Opportunities!

By Robert O'Halloran, Professor & Director, Hospitality Management, East Carolina University

Work force needs, recruitment and staffing have long been significant challenges in the hospitality industry. Despite its role as the main contributor to the national income in many countries, the hospitality industry has been facing issues linked to low productivity, high turnover and limited personnel capabilities. This issue has also been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery to pre-pandemic employment levels is still a goal. Lodging decision makers and recruitment specialists need to plan and assess recruitment and staffing models, agencies, costs, environment, morale, and the effectiveness of talent acquisition alternatives. David Kong, former CEO of Best Western...

Sustainability Trends: Strategies and Tactics Considered

By Robert O'Halloran, Professor & Director, Hospitality Management, East Carolina University

Sustainability, eco-friendly, green, and other descriptors are marking what appears to be a sustained business trend. The headlines are continually using the term sustainability. However, my perception is that the term needs to be explained if not defined. What is sustainable hospitality? Sustainable hospitality involves integrating eco-friendly practices into every aspect of the industry’s operations, encompassing waste reduction, conserving energy and water, sourcing local and organic products and adopting responsible tourism practices. The landscape of travel and hospitality in general is being reshaped by a growing commitment to sustainability through eco-friendly accommodations, green transportation options, community-centric tourism, carbon offsetting...

How Digital Nomads Could Reshape Global Work Dynamics, Business Ecosystems, and Travel Culture

By Jungho Suh, Assistant Professor of Management, The George Washington University School of Business

As AI accelerates remote work, digital nomads are reshaping the global workforce and the travel industry. This article explores the evolving digital nomad culture, its impact on organizational structures, social policy, and entrepreneurship. 1. Why Digital Nomads Matter Now Digital nomads have transitioned from niche adventurers to central figures in a rapidly evolving global labor market. Prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work became mainstream, compelling businesses to adopt flexible, location-agnostic structures. Governments worldwide are responding strategically, creating specialized visas to attract these mobile professionals. As of 2025, over 73 countries, including Italy and South Korea, had introduced digital nomad...

Is NIMBY Hurting Your RevPAR?

By Bonnie Knutson, Professor, The School of Hospitality Business/MSU

We have all been there. Call it the rise of populism, the growth of grass roots movements, or the increasing recognition of environmental change, NIMBY – Not In My Back Yard -- is impacting us in both our personal and “hotel” lives. Take, for example… It is no secret that, in the US, there is a national housing shortage, so the local Zoning Commission wants to rezone a major parcel of land next to an exclusive suburban single-family community to accommodate large multi-unit, multi-storied apartment complexes. We need more housing but NIMBY! While wind energy is...

The Overlooked Amenity: Why Air Quality is Essential for Guest Experience

By Haley Payne, Head of Commercial, Pure Wellness

The wellness travel sector is experiencing unprecedented growth, with the Global Wellness Summit predicting spending on wellness tourism to reach $9 trillion by 2028. This surge reflects an evolving consumer focus on health, relaxation, and holistic well-being, as travelers increasingly seek experiences that allow them to recharge mentally, physically, and emotionally. Hotels, in turn, have responded by integrating wellness-focused amenities—such as state-of-the-art fitness centers, spa services, nutritious dining options, and mindfulness experiences—into their offerings. But while these amenities are crucial, one important factor is often overlooked: air quality. Beyond offering basic amenities like air conditioning and standard HVAC systems,...

HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW JANUARY FOCUS: Mobile Technology

The Future Hotel Guest Experience

By Nadav Cornberg Co-Founder, Virdee | January 2023

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