No, customers do not need human-provided services in the front desk
I think the idea that clients demand human-provided services is greatly exaggerated, especially today. A prime example of why customers don’t care as much about human-provided services as some in our industry think comes from the vacation rental industry.
No, customers do not need human-provided services in the front desk
Excerpt from PhocusWire
I think the idea that clients demand human-provided services is greatly exaggerated, especially today. A prime example of why customers don’t care as much about human-provided services as some in our industry think comes from the vacation rental industry.
What can hotels learn from vacation rentals?
In 2021, almost a third of overnight stays in North America were consumed in vacation rentals / short-term rentals: homes, villas, condos and apartments. A third! The vast majority of these short term rental bookings were made online through Airbnb, Vrbo, FlipKey, Vacasa, etc.
Just imagine the whole vacation rental experience: you book online, receive online confirmation and pre-arrival information (itinerary, keyless entry information, destination information, etc.); on arrival, enter the unit using the mobile key or keyless entry; Enjoy your trip; pack your bags and leave on the day of departure.
All this while having a completely human-free experience! All human involvement “behind the scenes” remains hidden from real customers: management of seasonal rentals, IT and technological management, management and distribution of income, marketing, housekeeping, public services, maintenance, etc.
Is hospitality ready for human-less services?
The digital transformation, driven by data and next-generation technologies, is changing both guests and hospitality at an unprecedented rate and hoteliers are largely caught off guard. What is preventing the hospitality industry from adopting next-generation technologies such as AI, mobility, robotics, IoT, cloud, etc. to rebuild the hotel’s new technology stack?
I believe that at present there are three main obstacles to the accelerated adoption of next generation technologies in our industry:
- Reluctance to invest in new technology on the part of property-conscious owners and operators, a mindset that has made the hospitality industry one of the most tech-averse industries today
- Misunderstanding and fear of new technologies: “Who will take care of it? I do not have qualified personnel to take care of it. This makes the operations very complex ”, etc.
- Unions in large metropolitan areas with a highly unionized hotel workforce are strongly opposed to any robotization and automation or any technological advancement that could reduce the number of paying members.
In my opinion, none of the above can stop the rapid adoption of next generation technologies in our industry, in the same way that the Luddite movement in early 19th century England could not stop the Industrial Revolution.
Will technology one day replace humans in the hospitality industry? A good question!
Over time, next generation technology will undoubtedly replace or collaboratively increase all mundane, repetitive and dangerous jobs in the hospitality industry such as housekeepers, porters and baggage handlers, janitors, security guards. , line cooks, bartenders, waiters, etc. Technology will not replace Highly skilled hotel jobs like highly skilled and educated hotel managers, revenue managers, digital marketers, IT technologists and managers, CRM experts, sales managers, etc.
Using AI, mobility, cloud, robots and cobots (collaborative robots), IoT and other next-generation technologies, the hotel, especially 4 and 5 star properties, can still maintain a “human facade to customers” but automate all back-end operations, enable intelligent communications with guests and automate and personalize each point of contact with the customer. And of course, add humans with warm smiles to the mix.
How much human labor would a hotel need in the future? In my opinion, five years from now the hospitality industry won’t need half the people it needed in 2019, and the payroll savings will mean investments in next-gen technology pay off.
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