The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the most emerging trends in the hospitality industry. Hotel service providers should make use of this technology to improve their businesses and redefine the customer experience.
However, not everyone in the hospitality industry understands what IoT means and how to make the best use of it. This article exposes more about the Internet of Things (IoT) and explains how you can utilize it to grow your business.
What is the Internet of Things?
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a technological term that refers to the giving of internet connectivity to everyday devices and appliances. This technology creates ‘smart’ devices such as thermostats, energy meters, window blinds, lightings, and more.
Once the devices and appliances become ‘smart,’ they can send and receive data, as well as communicate with each other. This practice improves data collection, improves automation, and allows users to monitor and control several devices from a centralized place.
The Internet of Things concept is already applicable to various industries including logistics, agriculture, sports, manufacturing, travel, and many more. In the hospitality industry, the Internet of Things means much more than just a hands-on experience.
How Can the Hotel Industry Benefit from IoT?
Hotel businesses depend on their guests and guest experience is crucial to their progress. Poor reviews from guests can bring down a hotel business within the shortest time possible. Similarly, positive reviews can take the business to greater heights.
After long hours of travel leading to exhaustion, guests need a place to relax and unwind. The last thing they would want is another long queue for check-in at the front desk. They don’t want to wait any longer to pick a room of their choice.
The Internet of Things provides solutions that increase the comfort and well-being of hotel guests. It comes with numerous benefits including:
- Eliminates check-in and checkout queues
- Allows guests to easily find their way to restaurants and other amenities through in-house navigation
- Allows for customized offers and food according to guest’s cuisine choices
- Personalized room settings according to client’s liking
- TV control according to user’s preference
- Water temperature control
These are just some of the benefits that the IoT concept can deliver to the hotel industry. Primarily, they are meant to improve the guest experience.
Where Can the Hotel Industry Implement the IoT?
Hoteliers can explore the Internet of Things technology to improve their operational efficiency and to serve their guests better. Here are some key areas where hotel businesses can implement the IoT concept.
Guest room automation
Guest room automation improves room service. It allows hotel owners to give their guests exactly what they want—a comfortable, pleasant, and personalized stay. Guests prefer a new experience with everything tuned to their liking. Hoteliers can achieve this by implementing intelligent IoT solutions.
For instance, hotel service providers can implement a centralized network of automated systems. This can help them deliver customized solutions. Guests are even happier if their favorite hotels can ‘remember’ their preferences such as favorite coffee, room choices, and their preferred activities.
Once they fill out these preferences in the centralized app, the service providers can simply activate them each time the guest arrives. A smart device can simply detect that the guest is awake in the morning and starts making coffee.
The sensors also detect room occupancy. Once the guest leaves the room, the devices in use automatically switch off to save electricity.
Smart hotel maintenance
Maintenance takes a bigger chunk of the hospitality industry’s budget. This problem can be reduced to a minimum by implementing the IoT concept. Hoteliers can implement sensors that detect the problem areas and provide the timely notification.
A broken appliance in a hotel room or a faulty lighting system can affect guest’s experience and ruin the reputation of the property. With the IoT concept, hoteliers can install sensors to detect leaking taps or faulty lights. This can trigger repair or replacement actions. In the end, these problems are solved earlier before they get out of hand.
Cross property Integration
The Internet of Things technology allows different properties of a hotel chain to share guests’ details and preferences. In the end, all guest data remains in a centralized guest profile, which can be used to provide better services.
Importantly, hotel service providers can upload the information on the CRM to provide transparency across all the branches of a hotel chain. Eventually, guests can enjoy the sale service and customized experience in any of the properties across the world.
In-room Features
The rooms are a crucial component of any hotel business. Guests book rooms for leisure and comfort, similar to what they have in their homes or even better. The Internet of Things can redefine the guests’ experience in the rooms. For example, having keyless doors that open automatically can improve hotel guests’ experience. Other examples of improved in-room features are IoT-optimized thermostats, lighting systems, and TV control.
In addition to the mentioned areas of application, hotel businesses can utilize IoT to create smart solutions for energy management and logistics. This can reduce labor and help in cost saving.
Final Thoughts
There are many other uses of IoT in the hotel industry. However, the ones mentioned here are the most common and easier to implement. When considering using the Internet of Things in your property, you might choose one or more of these options to improve the efficiency of your hotel and transform your guests’ experience.
