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Staffing shortages aren't a new problem for the hospitality industry. The pandemic merely brought attention back to this legacy issue. Though there have been some undeniable improvements in the last 2 years, hoteliers are still contending with limited staff.

Thankfully, the industry has shifted focus toward finding a sustainable solution. It’s led to a trend in technology adoption. It’s no surprise that the right hotel technology lowers costs, boosts guest satisfaction, and reduces staff burnout.

In short, technology enables a positive impact with a leaner workforce.

Here we’ll share how to leverage technology to empower guests, elevate your staff, and enhance the guest experience amid ongoing labor challenges.

Give guests the personalized experiences they want

Along with the mass exodus of veteran hospitality professionals, this new normal delivered what we now call, revenge travel — the desire to travel more to make up for lost time during the pandemic. This has put further pressure on the industry to solve the labor shortage.

Technology can help fill this gap. This is good news for guests who want more control over their experience. Here are 2 ways to give guests greater autonomy over their travel:

Leverage mobile solutions

Guests rely on their cell phones. Translating your services to mobile makes them reachable at any time.

For example, allowing guests to check in and check out via their mobile devices creates a seamless, contactless experience that they’re in charge of. It also means you don't need a fully staffed front desk.

Room service can also be ordered with a mobile device. Guests can choose whether their order should be delivered directly into their hands or left at the door.

You can even communicate with your guests through a text messaging solution or through off-site call center agents to help with understaffing.

Use contactless technology

If you have an on-site restaurant or eatery, guests can order through an on-table point-of-sale (POS) system using a QR code. As a result, an order can still be placed if a server or bartender is occupied with other guests. This saves time and effort, and increases guest satisfaction.

Remember that when a guest has a poor experience, such as waiting too long for an order, they may not return. That can be expensive. According to research, acquiring new customers can be 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining existing ones.

And today, guests are more sensitive to health and safety practices. Providing QR codes for a list of services, menus, events, and maps of the local area is a simple way to meet these concerns.

Supporting your staff to focus on the guest experience

Your staff needs to feel supported so they avoid burnout and focus on the guest experience. This starts during the hiring and onboarding process but should be maintained at all times so that staff feel empowered every day.

Here are some practical ways to ensure your staff is truly prepared to focus on the guest experience:

Increase their perks

More than half of hospitality professionals who left the industry during the pandemic wouldn't return to their old jobs. And, 38% wouldn't even consider re-entering the industry at all.

One way to navigate this shift is to offer sign-up bonuses. Other options for supporting staff include creating flexible work environments and allowing employees to have more of a say in their benefits.

Peter Ricci, Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Hospitality & Tourism Management Program at Florida Atlantic University, echoed this sentiment as a guest on Revinate’s Hotel Moment podcast. Ricci shared an example of how hoteliers can offer more individualized benefits.

“One of the most creative ones that I like is hotels that will bucket benefits instead of having them chosen for you. So, if your property spends $1,000 per employee on benefits per month, instead of giving them an option of medical dental, and life, how about giving them a bigger bucket of choices that they pick?”

And don’t be afraid to diversify those choices — think gym memberships, transportation options, or even employee childcare. Providing benefits that staff can customize to their needs is a powerful show of support for your team as they work to make every hotel stay exceptional.

Make it easier for guests to uplift your staff

Hospitality professionals are committed to providing excellent service. One way to improve morale is to make it easier for staff to spend more time communicating with guests.

When you implement technology that automates routine communications, staff are free to cultivate guest relationships rather than putting out fires due to long wait times or other issues. Not to mention, mobile tipping is a simple way for guests to show their appreciation for hotel staff.

It’s important for team members to see how their efforts have paid off. Sharing positive hotel reviews is a valuable way for your staff to understand the impact they’re making. They’re more likely to feel their work has value.

That’s priceless.

Provide a seamless onboarding experience

The staffing shortage often means there's a rush to get a new employee on the floor as quickly as possible. So, training can be a bit hectic.

To ensure a smooth onboarding process, try using technology that provides easy access to online training. On-demand messaging is a clear channel for staff to ask questions and receive timely feedback without having to track someone down or rely on instincts alone.

And consider how your guest communication solutions play a role. An AI-powered text messaging solution that delivers perfectly crafted responses can help new employees get up to speed on best practices. And if your property leverages a call center solution, consider including call recordings as part of training new staff so they can learn from real-life examples.

Start improving the guest and staff experience

Though the staffing shortage is tough, it can be managed. It can even present an opportunity to strengthen the staff and guest experience.

To learn more about the challenges hoteliers are facing and how they’re innovating to solve staffing issues, listen to our podcast episode with Peter Ricci on labor trends.

About Revinate

Revinate is a direct booking platform that leads the hospitality industry in driving direct revenue and increased profitability.

Our products and our people combine to give hoteliers the superpowers they need to crush their goals. With Revinate, hoteliers shift share away from OTAs and drive tangible results across an individual property or a portfolio. Our industry-leading, AI-powered, customer data platform collects, unifies and, synthesizes data giving hoteliers a foundational advantage.

Hoteliers gain critical intelligence – guest lifetime spend, stay preferences, ancillary revenue, and more. With our Rich Guest Profiles database, hoteliers don't need to guess who their most profitable guests are, or how to drive conversions across email, voice, messaging, and digital channels.

Revinate's direct booking platform and omnichannel communication technology powers 900+ million Rich Guest Profiles across 12,500+ hotels to drive over $17 billion in direct revenue.

Sanjana Chappalli
VP of Brand Marketing and Communications
Revinate, Inc.