Hotels are only just beginning to deploy
chatbots and smart speakers but these early experiments herald the beginning of
a major shift in guest communications finds The Future of the In-Stay Experience report, which is free to download now.
The hotel of the future might become an
interlinked artificial intelligence that can speak back to the guest through
speakers and chatbots to suggest activities to the guest, answer their queries
and solve their complaints says the report.
Using AI-powered voice and chat capabilities to do these tasks provides more
convenient channels for guest interactions that can not only improve
satisfaction with their stay but also drive revenues.
Both chatbots and voice systems working
through smart speakers can be integrated into a whole system, recording all
requests and integrated into a Property Management System (PMS). Largely these
early investigations into interactive AI are as smart concierges for hotels,
with both big and independent chains deploying the tech.
“We created a
conversation concierge so that people can get all of their informational
experience through channels they are more used to operating. It delivers
specific responses very quickly. It positions the hotel as a trusted advisor,”
says Charles Cadbury, Co-Founder of Dazzle Technology, a start-up that
implements and operates smart speakers for the hospitality industry.
“Hotels are able to
listen to what the guests want and get real time data of who is asking for what
and when. Then they can make real time adjustments to their product or services
to cater to those requests.”
The other benefit of offering these
services out to guests through voice or chat interfaces is that hotels staff
are alleviated of a lot of mundane tasks and can really focus on delivering a
high quality of service to guests.
Jeffrey Parker, Vice President of
Hospitality Systems, Red Lion Hotels Corporation, says that, according to
experts, between 50-75% of guest questions can be responded to by a Bot. “This
can relieve questions to the desk staff and other departments. The appropriate
way to do it is to also link to your service app infrastructure and have a warm
hand-off to a real person.”
“Conversation allows
you to ask very specific answers in a type of communication you are most
comfortable with,” says Cadbury. “And because it’s not a live conversation, you’re
not tying up staff on the phone.”
However, Parker has a warning: “Don’t ever
let your app pretend to be a real person. Be transparent with your guests.”
(For more on chatbots
click here for our free report).
The human element is also still highly
relevant in creating the background that can make these interactive AIs
possible. Humans are necessary to create a culture of recording and measuring
guest interactions and building up the background data. IHG used their customer
service call centres to help build up their Alexa offering, for example.
“The best way to build a picture of the
guest is to leverage the hotel’s greatest assets, their people, to capture
every seemingly relevant detail humans need to build personal relationships,”
says Armand Rabinowitz, Senior Director of Strategy and Workgroups at Hospitality
Technology Next Generation (HTNG).
Similar to putting a data strategy in place,
hotels need to think about the individual guest when implementing voice and
chat functions. Hotels can’t just charge in and introduce voice to every room
and client, privacy issues are at play too. “We need to take clues from the
guest and offer services based on what profile we think they are, but not to
the extent we ruin that relationship,” says Parker. Hotels need to offer guests
the choice and respect their decision if they ask for connected devices to be
removed. Chains such as Marriott and IHG are working closely with Amazon to
develop solutions that provide the guests with a seamless experience while also
protecting their privacy. Data collection and privacy issues will only be
highlighted as the EU’s GDPR regulation comes into force warns the report.
We have also covered voice technology and
its implications for travel in a dedicated new report on the topic, which is
free to download now here, as well as chatbots, which can be
downloaded here.
