The Internet of Things, which means connecting digital devices via the internet, has opened up many opportunities for industries to grow. Various sectors like agriculture, healthcare, sports, and manufacturing have successfully applied IoT. Hotels can also take advantage of this technology with IoT in hospitality.
IoT in the hospitality industry means a network of interconnected devices using the internet to improve the guest experience and cut costs.
Hotels like Le Meridien Goa, Calangute, and Marriott have successfully implemented IoT in their functions.
This blog discusses how you can grow your hotel business using IoT.
The 21st century is the age of customization and personalization. Every individual wishes to have customized products and services.
Customization adds a personal touch to the services provided to the guests. As obvious as it sounds, the guest experience is at the core of the hospitality industry. Every hotel aims to enhance the guest experience, and IoT can certainly help hotels achieve that.
IoT improves the operational efficiency of the hotels, thus helping them fulfill their primary objective of providing an enhanced experience to their guests.
Guests are the ultimate consumers of hotel services. The entire hospitality industry is dependent on guest feedback and reviews.
IoT ensures that your guests have a comfortable and convenient experience at your hotel, thus increasing the chances of better feedback.
These are just a tiny part of the range of benefits that IoT can offer to guests. All these services prove to be instrumental in enhancing the overall guest experience.
The benefits provided by IoT to both hotels and guests are clear by now.
But in which areas of your hotel business can you implement IoT?
Well, IoT has the potential to improve almost all your business processes. Right from your guests’ check-in to their check-out, IoT can simplify your operations and better serve your guests.
Here are a few areas where you can effectively apply IoT technology.
Instead of a standard check-in counter, you can set up a self-service kiosk to automate your guests’ check-in process. Automated check-in would speed up the process and relieve the guests of the stress of long queues and interaction with the hotel staff. The guests can quickly fill in their details and get access to their room keys without any hassle.
With technologies like GPS and Bluetooth, hotels can effectively share location-based data with their guests. Hotels can share messages and other notifications when they are of maximum relevance to the guest.
For example, when a guest passes by the game zone, they can get a message showing the different types of games available in the game zone. While passing by a gym, they can get instant notifications about the various offers on the gym service. Location-based information can also be utilized to share details about local transport and tourist spots nearby.
Hotel chains can take advantage of IoT by centralizing customer data. The data can be stored on a central server, leading to better customer relationship management. Transparency across properties will enable hotels to provide a better service to the guest as they will enjoy similar customized services at all the properties of the chain.
You can use IoT to keep track of your inventory and assets. Sensors in various assets like luggage racks and cleaning carts enable you to track their movement, leading to better management of the assets.
Rooms are the highlight of any hotel property. Providing advanced room features to the guests can improve their stay at your hotel by multiple folds. Some of the features that can incorporate IoT include:
Hotel rooms enabled with IoT offer comfort to their guests. Modern and more advanced keys have replaced traditional key cards. Now, a guest can access the key on the app and use it to unlock doors, control temperature, window shades, etc.
Hotels can take even more advantage by sending the key to the guest’s mobile phone before the check-in, thus saving time by eliminating the check-in formalities.
IoT-enabled hotels provide automated room delivery services using autonomous indoor delivery robots. These robots are configured with sensors, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, making them able to operate elevators and navigate through crowded areas. These robots speed up the process of room deliveries as there is no human interaction involved.
Many intelligent hotels provide the guests with a voice-enabled virtual assistant in their room, which they can use to avail various services. A simple voice command can enable the guests to avail services like spa booking, restaurant table booking, housekeeping, room service, etc.
A lot more hotels are likely to adopt this service in the near future.
IoT can also help improve the atmosphere of the event halls and conference rooms. Intelligent devices can change the room’s lighting as per the event type. They can also control the room’s temperature and windows to suit the guest’s requirements. Thus, IoT can not only help in the customization of guest rooms but also in enhancing the event spaces.
The facilities mentioned earlier can come into effect using smartphones and tablets. Some hotels provide their own tablets to the guests, while others have applications that the users can download to access various services. Integration of smartphones ensures a seamless, hassle-free, and comfortable stay for the guests.
IoT in the hospitality industry is not a new concept. Some hotels have already incorporated it into their functioning, while others are in the process of adopting it.
Whether you are just starting in the hotel industry or already have an established business, taking advantage of IoT is something you do not want to miss. IoT can help you scale your business and take it to the next level.
Idea Usher has a proven track record of providing IoT services to various companies. With expertise in multiple technology areas, our developers offer the best web services. Get in touch with us and take your hotel business one step further.
IoT has gained a lot of prominence in today’s time. While smart homes and wearables have become a common sight, various other sectors have also utilized IoT to their advantage.
The hospitality industry is one such sector where IoT has done and can do wonders. IoT has done it all for the hotels, whether it is streamlining the processes or providing top-class service to the customers.
While non-IoT-enabled hotels continue to exist, IoT-enabled hotels are a step ahead in the race. Looking at the rate at which IoT is growing, it would not be surprising if most of the hotel tasks get automated in the future.
Here are some FAQs related to IoT in the hospitality industry.
There are a few products already available in the market that you can use for your hotel:
While hotels without IoT provide good services to their guests, implementing IoT can certainly prove beneficial as it simplifies a lot of processes, saves cost and energy, and provides a better experience to your guests.
Whether you are a newcomer or an experienced business owner, Idea Usher is here to help. We provide a range of services to suit your digital needs. Our experts have experience in delivering services depending on your type of business.
Mayank Sharma