In the past, companies were particularly successful when they were ahead of their customers’ wishes. Those who had already thought of tomorrow were well supplied with customers in TODAY. Digitalization is changing the world and its habits.
Even though digital transformation is a topic of the future, it is much more about being here and now, BEING FOCUSED IN THE CLIENT instead of being ahead of him. It is precisely at the moment when the customer has a need and wants to express his wishes or problems that companies and service providers must be today. Through the development of Artificial Intelligence, companies and consumers are growing together more than ever before. Side by side with the consumer and always connected to him through new customer experiences. Guests and prospective customers for hotels are no exception and require efficient service providers on both sides.
From a hotel perspective, there is no way around services and IT infrastructures in the cloud. This is where the training software for artificial intelligence can perform necessary big data analyses and make forecasts. This is where the data from the intelligent chat bots, which support the hotel guest from the very first second of the booking process, his queries or an extra request, are sent. Chat bots act like service partners, like customer service employees, and at the same time provide many data sets for later analysis and training. With each additional request, the intelligent chat bot receives even more details about customer behavior and booking habits. Service on demand, i.e. always where it is needed at the moment, is a major challenge for hotels in times of virtual influencers.
In times of digital influencers…
Influencers do not always reveal themselves in advance, others travel to the hotels and receive money for advertising. Regardless of how one feels about digital role models, hoteliers should not neglect them and, above all, pay attention to them.
The mail or post of a single influencer goes viral and can cause enormous damage. On the other hand, behind each of the hottest profiles there is a large group of potential new guests for the industry. Targeted marketing includes all viral media and channels and keeps an eye on the influencers that are important to hotels. Digital influencers travel extensively, reporting from even the remotest place in the world and always keeping an eye on their target audience. This is exactly what hotels must be able to do in the future and bind their target group permanently to the company through the central management of guest profiles or optimal booking processes.
How artificial intelligence can help
Artificial intelligence can also contribute to the more effective design of internal workflows and operational processes. In more and more hotels, intelligently programmed systems are taking over the optimization in accounting, revenue management or the issuing of work orders. Seamlessly integrated technology must always work perfectly behind the scenes and learn with each new data set, so that employees in the foreground can understand and satisfy the needs of their guests even better. Concentrating on core tasks, prioritizing activities and introducing mobile solutions, such as self-handling at check-in, is breaking open unknown potential among employees.
A central core system takes over data control and security with the help of individualized programs and a networked cloud system. Hotels with more than one operation will face great difficulties in terms of interoperability in the future. Only if guest profiles flow centrally across brands, hotels and booking systems into one system will direct added value be created. The HMS Property Management System from Infor provides such a cloud solution. Designed specifically for the hospitality industry, hotels and businesses benefit from the system’s high level of security and high availability via the integrated interface of Amazon Web Service. The customizable user interface can be easily integrated into existing hotel solutions such as EzRMS, Epitome, Starlight, Sunsystems, or Infor systems, providing 24/7 mobile access for employees.
The AI-driven user experience fosters continuous innovation, enabling global supply chains, network-based analytics and adaptable solutions that can drive business results. In addition, the new Artificial Intelligence technology enables highly accurate forecasting for dispatching and enables important financial decisions to be made at any time and with any device.
Social media is also important in this relationship
Just as the car or the light bulb have changed our world, digitalization will have an impact. This can also be seen in marketing under the influence of digital tools. With Oktopost, companies from all industries can expand their advertising reach across a wide range of social media channels. This is because real-time social listening tracks down the needs of the target group quickly and effectively. Our society is going digital and with it the requirements of customers and their wishes. Companies that invest in cloud-based applications now are already profiting today from the tasks of tomorrow’s digital age. And it has never hurt to get to know your customers better. Where else, if not in the hotel industry, is the personal relationship between host and guest so crucial for the next booking?