By Claus Hetting, WiFi NOW CEO & Chairman
Who you are, where you are, and what you’re doing – these are the basic data sets that should drive contextual awareness for next generation guest services. The technology for a new, more meaningful hotel guest experience is readily available but making it happen has thus far been held back by a ‘siloed’ approach to hospitality tech. WorldVue says it’s ready to break some silos to deliver much-improved guest loyalty.
Recognising your guest – perhaps with a video camera or when he or she attaches to the hotel Wi-Fi network – should be the first step in the personalised hotel guest experience, which brings ease and convenience to any hotel visit. Strong Wi-Fi networks as the backbone as well as location services and even geo-fencing set the stage for transforming a mundane hotel visit into something truly remarkable. Then add AI for moving from reactive to predictive real-time service enhancements, WorldVue says.
“These kinds of ‘invisible concierge’ or even ‘invisible butler’-type experiences are far from science fiction, they are very much achievable with today’s technology. The end goal is to personalise the guest experience so as to create true convenience, which ultimately leads to extreme guest loyalty. But this new approach does require centralised, intelligent guest services, which today hardly exist. At WorldVue, we’re out to change that,” says Mohsin Maqsood, Product Innovation Leader at WorldVue.
WorldVue has been leading the charge when it comes to transforming the hotel guest experience – not just in the US but increasingly all over the globe. High-quality Wi-Fi is an essential component but hoteliers will need to leverage new tech-enabled concepts to stay competitive while striving to deliver the best away-from-home experience, the company says.
“The keyword here is loyalty. Loyalty is money in the bank for hoteliers, and it is created by exceptional experiences. These can most certainly be created with new guest service solutions that rely on understanding – or even predicting – guest preferences. It’s not rocket science by any means but it requires working with guest journeys and integrated service platforms,” Mohsin Maqsood says.
Examples of guest preferences include preferred HVAC (temperature) settings in the room, perhaps type of pillow, preferred entertainment, breakfast and room service choices, workout routines in the gym, the list goes on. In-room appliances and Wi-Fi networks will need integration with centralised guest management systems to make this happen.
Another critical component (because hotel networks typically are multi-vendor) is data orchestration across hardware-agnostic systems, WorldVue says. But of course all collection of guest data should be based on opt-ins and consistently enforced privacy-first business practices.
“Personalisation is critically important,” WorldVue says
WorldVue says many of the tools to do it are fairly obvious and include auto-connect Wi-Fi with Passpoint and in-app messaging to communicate with the guest, although new Release 3 (2019) Passpoint features don’t need an app and allow guest engagement via messaging directly on the lock screen or message history of the phone via the ANQP protocol.
Add to this location information or geofencing to prompt users with special offers or reminders depending on the guest’s whereabouts within the resort or hotel. New technologies such as ultra-wideband – increasingly offered as an integrated part of enterprise Wi-Fi networks – may increase location accuracy down the centimetres for precise wayfinding and other services, WorldVue says.
“The personalisation aspect of the hotel experience is extremely important as research suggests it immediately adds 6-10% more revenue per guest. We also know that 78% of guests like to return to personalised hotels. Existing technology plus an integrated approach to guest journeys means we now have the opportunity to transform the hotel experience from reactive to predictive,” says Mohsin Maqsood.
Don’t miss WorldVue President and Chief Operating Officer Robert Grosz speaking at Wi-Fi World Congress Dubai this November 17-19. To register your interest and stay informed of the latest event news click here.
/Claus.
