10 Data-Backed Ways AI is Revolutionizing Hotels: Boost Revenue, Enhance Guest Experience, and Streamline Operations By Are Morch

No more queueing in line for fifteen minutes to confirm their details – this was already done from the airport. Front of house teams now have insights into arrival times, meaning they can assign rooms and manage staffing levels. When guests have the ability to communicate wants and needs in advance, brands are equipped to offer more personalized service. This ultimately enriches the data profiles of each unique customer and enhances the personalized, face-to-face service teams can provide.

Prior to founding Pana, CEO Devon Tivona studied computer science at University of Colorado Boulder before analyzing new and emerging technologies on the research and development team at Hewlett-Packard. He’s also worked on IOS teams at Flipboard, a personalized news application that recommends news stories and publications based on user preferences, and MapQuest. Hoteliers can essentially automate check-in by integrating a PMS with mobile check-in capabilities with a keyless entry system, a digital payment chatbots in hospitality industry platform, and a mobile guest messaging system. The result is increased bandwidth for front desk staff and enhanced convenience and personalization for guests. Hotels can even automate ancillary revenue generation by sending targeted, automated offers for room upgrades, amenities, and monetized early check-in/ late check-out directly to guests’ smartphones. This can be optimized even further by integrating with a CRM for more granular guest profiles, or an upgrade optimizer for more optimal pricing.

How Generative AI Tools Can Evolve (and Increase) Direct Hotel Bookings

Whether it is about posting items to guest folios, performing credit card payments or refunds, trying to get data out of the old PMS into 3rd party tools, or consolidating data within a hotel group, manual work could be avoided. I often state to my clients that it is not absolutely necessary to automate anything in the hospitality business. We come from a long line of tried and true manual ChatGPT App processes that allow us at a minimum to provide a basic hospitality experience. Therefore, the best application for automation in our industry is in any place that technology has reached a stage where it can augment or supersede the capability of standing manual processes. That applies to everything from voice communications to email marketing, social media interactions, and more.

Maintaining the essential personal touch in guest interactions while implementing AI can be tricky, as over-reliance on automation may lead to a less personal guest experience. Kempinski Hotels utilizes the Kempinski Predictive Maintenance Manager which is an AI tool that forecasts maintenance needs before they become issues. This predictive approach ensures that all hotel facilities are maintained in peak condition, preventing downtime and enhancing guest satisfaction. It’s a critical tool for maintaining the luxury and service standards expected at Kempinski properties.

Enhanced Customer Support and Service

She’s now being joined – and, in some cases, surpassed – by developments like chatbots and actual robots. No more than 15 years ago we were watching sci-fi films that boggled the mind and tested the limits of our imagination. Facial recognition technology, fingerprint biometrics, intelligent phones and computers that talked to people, functional artificial intelligence; all of this seemed worlds away.

This approach would transform the workforce into a hotbed of innovation, with housekeepers potentially becoming AI workflow designers, and receptionists evolving into natural language processing experts. As AI takes on more routine tasks, the human element in hospitality becomes even more critical. The goal is to use AI to enhance, not replace, the personal connections that define exceptional service. Guests can start a conversation requesting information on local experiences, dining and more.

When asked if they’d consider taking vacation days to travel at the end or beginning of a company business trip, 81 percent of millennial respondents said they would consider it, compared to 56 percent of Gen Y travelers and 46 percent of Baby Boomers. But big companies, like Google, Kayak and Expedia, aren’t the only ones attempting to disrupt the travel industry with artificial intelligence. This article compares five companies that are using chatbots to assist customers in planning their next getaway.

These are “logistics.” The human touch does not make much difference to most people in most situations. The real tech of the future will work in the background, supporting, not stealing, our careers. These innovations are poised to reshape how travelers discover new destinations, make reservations and book ancillary experiences provided by their chosen hotels.

Dynamic Pricing and Offers

The Melting Pot is a premier fondue restaurant franchise that historically had been dine-in-only for over 40 years. You can foun additiona information about ai customer service and artificial intelligence and NLP. Daniel describes that when you think of Melting Pot, you think of going to anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, and graduation parties and it’s an experience you have together with friends as a group. BU School of Hospitality Administration’s alumnus, Daniel Iannucci, who is now a Mid-Market Sales Leader at Toast, shares how restaurants can leverage digital ordering systems with an example of The Melting Pot.

Also, given that so many vendors have overlapping offerings, it can become challenging to keep track of who does what, or, more pertinently, who might best do what. In 2022, 20% of all customer contact with the hotel giant’s 6,100 properties went through digital channels, compared to 4% the previous year. The company’s Speech AI managed more than 3.6 million reservation conversations in its first year and its innovative Digital Concierge has served millions of guest requests to date, according to an IHG representative. Moreover, IHG’s cloud backbone enables it to take advantage of emerging SaaS offerings, such as Speakeasy AI conversational chatbots, and deliver its own IHG Voice Cloud AI service to help guests and reception desk clerks at hundreds of hotels.

Automation is situational and must be customised to the preference of a hotels guest profiles. A resort that caters predominantly to such guests should keep these points in mind while planning their automation strategy. On the other hand, hotels that cater to the millennials must facilitate DIY options like self check-in and check-out.

The AI Revolution in Hospitality: How Artificial Intelligence is Reshaping Hotel Finances

This shift from transactional to experiential hospitality is boosting guest satisfaction and loyalty. Recommendation engines use AI algorithms to analyze a customer’s past preferences and behaviors and provide personalized recommendations for services and experiences based on that data. Typical examples in the hospitality sector include suggestions for customized travel packages, dining recommendations for guests, and tailored room amenities based on individual preferences. Moreover, AI chatbots and virtual concierges can offer personalized upgrades and additional services to guests before and during their stay.

According to a survey from OliverWyman, 55% of leisure travelers would select a certain booking channel because it uses generative AI. Finding and booking accommodations can be a tedious — and frustrating — part of the travel process. However, using AI in travel planning is an easy way for travelers to complete the booking process by themselves, without time-intensive searches. In days gone by, travelers typically had to call a concierge service or customer help desk to get answers to questions.

AI Statistics for Hotels

A hybrid chatbot, when implemented well, can also respond to complex requests without saying it doesn’t understand. Organizations in the hospitality business use AI in various ways, including providing more personalized search results, answering guests’ questions, verifying guests and providing immediate access approval. However, the chasm between that vision and the current reality is that hosts have a tremendous amount of expertise and existing processes in place that are not, or cannot, be encoded into a machine learning model. From financial advice to medical help, providing consumers 24/7 access to services has become a key offering for companies looking to stay ahead of competitors.

• United Arab Emirates-based Azizi Developments has announced its plans to invest up to $16 billion through the launch of 50 upmarket, luxury hotels and resorts and one seven-star hotel in Dubai.
• A zipline in Musandam was recently inaugurated, while a suspension bridge is being built in Wadi Shab in South Sharqiyah.
• With AI, you can even plan a guest’s entire stay based on their past behavior and preferences.
• Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing hotel loyalty programs by offering hyper-personalized rewards and experiences.

Factors that influence dynamic pricing can be extremely varied, from regular occurrences such as festivals and graduations, to one-off events such as sports finals or concerts. Even being featured in a popular film or TV programme can have a profound effect on demand in a given area. While dynamic pricing is a not a new strategy, AI can respond quickly and efficiently to many factors in real time to keep adjusting prices for optimum revenue.

Music Insights then generates a dashboard for the artist, which offers easy to understand fan demographics. This dashboard includes a list of tour suggestions, made up of cities that hold the highest viewer population. In Computer Science from the University of Southern California in 2004 and went on to become product manager at Yahoo from 2009 to 2011. Swapnil Shinde, the company’s CEO, was also employed in technical positions at Yahoo from 2007 to 2011, and previously held a software engineer role at IBM Software Labs between 2000 and 2002.

The service is currently available in 106 Four Seasons hotels and resorts and the Four Seasons Private Jet and will soon be available in many more, given the fact that Four Seasons currently has morethan 50 projects under planning or development. Automation ChatGPT powered by AI was once considered a “nice to have” in the hospitality industry, but is now increasingly important. With automation, hotel owners can save and generate significant revenue, reduce human error, and deliver superior service.

Marketing teams can use AI agents to analyze customer data and create targeted campaigns based on guest preferences and behavior. Sales teams can employ AI agents to respond to customer inquiries and make personalized recommendations for accommodations and other services. Revenue management teams can benefit from AI agents that analyze pricing and demand data in real time, adjusting room rates to maximize revenue. Operations teams can leverage AI agents to schedule housekeeping and maintenance services, optimizing efficiency and guest satisfaction. A 2023 global survey of hotel chains indicates that artificial intelligence is expected to lead innovation in the industry over the next two years.

Velma was integrated into the hotel’s communication system to handle inquiries via the hotel’s website, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and SMS. IHG Hotels & Resorts has taken significant strides in sustainability by implementing an AI-driven system across its Avid hotels to optimize energy use. This system uses sensors and AI algorithms to adjust heating, ventilation, and air conditioning based on real-time occupancy and environmental data, drastically reducing energy waste.