The hospitality industry has been at the forefront of technology adoption. A part of this credit goes to modern travelers who have been equally receptive to these technological advances, to make their travel experience simple, hassle-free and enjoyable.
The hospitality industry is at the brink of a major transformation, thanks to the arrival of emerging technologies like — AI (Artificial Intelligence), Machine Learning, Neural Networks, Big Data, IoT and more.
AI In Hospitality And Travel Is Happening Right Now
The industry is looking to adopt an AI-first approach to provide customers with an enhanced and highly customized travel experience. Some examples elucidating this phenomenon include:
● Dutch airlines operator KLM has been using AI to respond to social media enquiries by customers. In fact, by the end of 2017, more than 50% of all customer inquiries were handled by the AI system.
● Dorchester Collections, a luxury hotel operator has provided customers with an altered breakfast menu, after its AI system went through guest reviews and suggested this change to improve the guest experience.
● Lola, an iPhone travel app, uses AI along with human agents to provide personalized assistance to users for hotel bookings, restaurant suggestions, and flight schedules.
Here are a Few Innovative Ways in Which AI can provide Guests with the Best Experience
● Smart Customer Service Agents Aka Intelligent Chatbots
Instead of employing customer service personnel to respond to queries, the hotels of the future will have a smart bot, that will not only provide customers with the right responses but also offer them a personalized experience.
● Smart Hotel Rooms That Respond With A Few Taps
Imagine this. You walk into a hotel room and what if you could control the room’s settings from a mobile app on your phone? Setting the temperature of the bath water, AC temperature, switching on/off the room lights, switching channels on the TV and even ordering room service via your phone — all this and more is being made possible in hotel rooms, thanks to AI and IoT.
Also Read: 5 Smart Strategies To Increase Your Hotel Bookings & Boost Revenue
● AI Concierges
This one’s already available and is winning excellent reviews from travelers. The Hilton Chain of Hotels has paired with IBM to develop “Connie”, the robot concierge service. Connie provides guests with the ultimate user experience. Guests can walk up to Connie, shoot their questions to her and she offers personalized, real-time suggestions. Say, if you’re looking for the best restaurant in the area to try the local cuisine or find out the schedule of the shuttle bus service or more, Connie is your person to go.
● Complex Data Insights
Ok, what is the one thing that you need to provide your guests with an exceptional, individual experience? Guest data, right? To be successful in the hospitality industry, you need to know your guests well.
With AI and big data, you can easily find out guest preferences to provide them with the best-tailored services to make for an exceptional stay.
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Final Thoughts
There’s no denying the fact that the hotel industry is fiercely competitive. To stand out from others, as hoteliers you need to provide your guests with a customised and highly innovative user experience. And, the best way to do so is with the help of AI. The potential of AI in the hospitality industry is vast.
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