Smart Stays: How Technology Is Rewriting the Rules of Hospitality

They say that Jennifer Lopez tends to ask for an all-white room, wherever she stays. While she has a whole team behind her, meticulously planning her trip, you don’t need to be JLo to receive the star treatment from your hotel of choice today.

A hotel is not just a pillow to rest your head on at the end of a busy day exploring a city. Hotel is an experience, a place that elevates one’s everyday to a better, more spoiling experience. Whether for business or leisure, a romantic getaway or just a much-needed staycation, hotels now offer a wide variety of services, sometimes becoming social hubs for their communities, meshing locals and out- of- towners into one space, attracting those looking for a few hours or few days of relaxed retreat.

Wake up and smell the service

Conrad Hilton once said “the heart of a great trip is a great stay.” Since its foundation, back in 1919, in Cisco, Texas, many guests have gone through their revolving doors, with the chain transforming into one of the world’s largest, with an extensive variety of hospitality brands.

But maintaining a leadership position in such a congested industry requires a chain to remain 2 steps ahead and not only match one’s expectations but predict and exceed them. With the use of AI, brands can now gather enough information to personalize the guest experience, starting with the smallest details such as pillow preference and scent choice to a favorite meal and pastime activities, leaving a long-lasting impression, way beyond the check out, leading to better reviews and organic growth and to that all-too-coveted returning visits and chain Loyalty sign ups.

According to SalesForce, 75% of consumers want customized offers targeted to their location and behavior. This means that the lack of online integration would deter many of potential younger stays from staying with you, with this generation refusing to speak to a customer service representative, creating most of their everyday itineraries online.

Customize your room, visualize your stay

Yes, we’ve all seen those zoom-challenged room customization platforms, integrated into hotels’ check in process. Cumbersome and un-interactive, to say the least, these often leave a lot to be desired as they are a mere tour of a physical room and completely defeat the purpose of providing future guests with the ability to visualize their dwellings and customize them to their needs.

Immersive virtual technology takes out the guesswork for the hotel and guests alike. Using such a platform guests can change their bed settings, visualize a baby crib in the space, rearrange room setting, stock the bar with their favorite spirits, add in a candle, welcome gift and select their view, with a click of a button, eliminating disappointment post check-in and instilling confidence in choosing one’s facility.  

Let guests tell you what they want, leaving just enough room for surprise.

Digital wake up call

A significant percentage of travelers (70%) book hotels online, making a strong digital presence crucial for attracting guests, according to Hotel Tech Report. 

Digital services, such as virtual concierge, mobile payments, and personalized travel guides, have become integral components of the modern hotel experience. These technologies are increasingly viewed as essential by guests, transforming the way hotels engage with their customers and enhancing the overall stay. The future of guest services is virtual, investing in an immersive virtual hospitality experience now will pay off as guests increasingly demand seamless, personalized, and mobile-driven experiences.

According to insights from eMarketer, recent studies show that customers tend to spend 30% more when ordering services through mobile devices, illustrating a powerful trend in the future of hospitality. 

Take your stay home

Leading chains such as the Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons and many others now offer their exclusive hotel stay experience at home, selling their products in online dedicated stores and through their apps; what is missing there is the full dedication to the e-commerce experience.

Selling a hotel’s products should be an integrated experience that connects the current/future stay with the product; one’s favorite essential oil from the spa, favorite in-room candle, that cozy blanket they woke up to, every morning.

Visualizing all of these within an immersive virtual world and connecting the products to the experience increase the chance of guests choosing to purchase a premium item via a hotel platform, helping them to experience just a little bit of that hotel stay magic in their own, personal space.

Keep them counting the nights till their next stay

Loyalty is the key to a successful hotel chain. Millions of dollars are poured into acquiring a new guest but if one wants to keep them around, a lot more needs to be done to maintain them for longer. 

A recent report indicates that nearly 70% of consumers prefer choosing a hotel or a restaurant that offer a loyalty program over one that does not, receiving a discount, upgrade or other special benefits. This statistic highlights the increasing importance of loyalty programs in attracting and retaining customers within a competitive industry. 

A digital loyalty program is more than just a reward system—it’s a powerful tool for driving repeat business. Digital loyalty programs are convenient and effective, allowing businesses to increase customer engagement and retention.

Hotels are now a lot more than just a room. They are your local spa, your favorite rooftop bar, your event venue of choice. With the face of luxury changing by the minute and the preferences of new target guests ever so diverse, hotels need to develop the ability to change as they go, adapt and adhere to those needs of the modern traveler, while keep telling a unique story and maintaining that heritage of sometimes centuries-old chains. All this can be done using technology, because guest’s magic stay now starts at their fingertips.