Guest speed Sets the Tone: A Reminder on the Rise of AI & Technology in Hospitality
Here I'll be covering a range of topics across the hotel and hospitality industry; from helpful hints working in the hospitality industry, to current events/trends, and even some that could be interesting conversation starters along the way. Many of these will come through the lens of F&B (food and beverage) but like any good menu selection there will be something for everyone to enjoy!
I took my first trip to New York for a design trade show back in 2018. I didn’t really have a sense of where things were or how to move around in the city; so I chose a hotel closest to the Jacob Javits arena to keep things simple. The photos seemed interesting, a bit on the modern side but then I figured eh why not?
And that’s how I came to stay at YOTEL in New York City.
I really didn’t do my research about the hotel beforehand, and walking in I was caught off guard with how modern it really was. I could see the Yo-bot in the lobby putting away and retrieving luggage seeing guests check in using the four kiosks, and one of the team members watching for people who might need a little extra help. After taking it in, I checked myself in and explored a little bit before making my way up to the room and thinking Oh, this is smaller than what I’m used to
.
I share this to note that this hotel is very tech-forward. Everything this hotel promised, it delivered: the staff were friendly and attentive, great hangout spouts to socialize, and the food was good. The hotel didn’t know and didn’t have any control over the fact that because it was my first time in the city, I came with the intent of wanting a ‘traditional’ stay (some would say luxurious by square feet standards) in NYC. I initially left the hotel staying eh I wanted a different type of stay, I’m not sure if I’ll come back
. But you know what? When I had some distance to reflect on my experience; I warmed up to Yotel, returned for a second and third visit, and would ABSOLUTELY stay there again in the future. Where I believe the significance lies is that it wasn’t the hotel that had to change its approach, marinate on the concept, and revisit perceptions: it was me (the guest) that had to change and do that in my own time and space.
The hospitality industry is figuring out ways to incorporate and blend technology into operations and keep the human element, based on articles, and panel discussions happening today. Some of those discussions can feel fear based with most conversations on technology often leads to one of these three main arguments:
Don’t’ get left behind!!
Have to Keep up With the Joneses
I don’t care if the kid in the other aisle got a bag of chips, you’re not getting one!
I believe the hospitality industry will appear to lag behind the use of adopting tech and features such as AI or ChatGPT, but it will look that way from those looking outside-in to our hotels and restaurants. Our industry has so many touch points where a person and technology MUST work hand in hand and there are many stakeholders with different needs, motives, resources, and expectations. All of those variables wildly differ from hotel to hotel alone, and we haven’t even gotten to the larger markets and touched brands as a whole.
Looking from an operations lens, the industry will continue to develop ways to infuse technology into its spaces, but it will always be the guests who set the tone for the market. The phrase The customer is always right
originally meant that the customer decides what is popular and what sells and was never meant as an excuse to mistreat people in public (ok I’m putting away the soapbox). We must remind ourselves that even though hotels compete for market share, there are many times that the guest profile is different; we know that the same guest may visit the same city three times and stay at three different hotels based on factors such as personal preference, price, travel needs, etc. So that Hyatt may be able to get away with adding self-service kiosks to its check in counter, but that Marriott across the street might not; and you could imagine the uproar if guests showed up to a Six Senses Resort, or St. Regis, or Fairmont and see one of those in the Lobby.
One of the restaurants I worked in, we placed QR codes at the table and guests begrudgingly went along with it (some did not). When COVID was perceived to be over, we kept the QR codes, but guests openly rebelled about having to use them and made it a point to ask for ‘real menus’. Now it’s not 100% an apples-to-apples comparison, but we ended up removing QR codes from the tables because at that point we were fighting our guests and that’s never a good business strategy.
Ironically, as the industry looks around the landscape to figure out the best ways to incorporate technology and remove the silos, it would appear the outside solution would be to tune out the outside noise and focus on what’s going on in house and what your guests are asking for.
