20 Jul
2020
The Hospitality Industry has been the most affected, due to the current pandemic. As the Hospitality sector heavily relies on Human synergy for swift operation, it needs a drastic change to comply with the new normal. Consumer behavior has changed completely. Health, and hygiene were always the top priority, but it has become more important than ever.
With Social Distancing, and masks becoming the norm, it's essential the industry incorporates these behaviors in their daily practices. The new normal isn't going to end anytime soon, and to embrace it is the only way forward. People will hesitate to venture outside, and you need to ensure their safety. You’ve to prioritize increasing your hotel guest experience. The ideal way to do this is to embed contactless procedures in the daily operations.
Apart from complete disinfection of your hotel premises, wearing masks, and practicing social distance, you've to promote contactless services too. Adopting the technology will provide the required boost in facilitating contactless hospitality services.
Here are few ways you can enable contactless services
1. Deploy self check-in kiosks
Self-serve hotel kiosks streamline the arrival of the guests. Guests can check-in without standing in a queue.
The smart kiosks enable the guests to arrive in the hotel using their names or scanning their IDs. This way it frees your staff to do other important hospitality work, and avoid social gathering.
Guests can fill in their own information, avoiding any mistakes. The information can be further used to provide a personalized service.
2. Cloud-based PMS
The detailed information of your guests is updated on the cloud PMS. This allows your staff to check reservations, respond to guest's queries without the need of interaction. You can also assign tasks, track, and manage housekeeping services. All this while maintaining strict social distancing.
Bookings, reservations, dining, and payments can be managed from a single dashboard on hotel management software (PMS). You can also analyze the reports of your daily operations. This will surge your hotel's key metrics and increase your revenue. With cloud-based PMS software, you can track guest's special requests too.
It automates the manual tasks, providing efficiency, and reducing the touch points.
3. Digitize your hotel
Mobile experience is revolutionizing the Industry. Smartphone Apps are now the need to battle the present situation. Having a mobile app will help your guests to book their hotel rooms, and check-in and check-out hassle free.
Have a feature in-built that showcases their booking status, and the live contactless hotel check-in reports. Provide them the key details like their hotel room number so that they directly go to their rooms. This will eliminate the queues, and social distance will also be maintained.
4. Use of Digital Key
A digital key helps open the door of the room, just by unlocking it in your phone. It works on all the devices, so it's not restricted to a specific device. It's time-effective, and helps people avoid crowding at the reception.
This will also restrict contact with the door knob, as the key is digitally enabled. A digital key is the ideal solution to reduce the unnecessary finger contact.
5. Touchless menus
Enlist the QR codes. It ensures a quick, and safe food ordering process. Have a digital menu incorporated, through which your guests will scan the codes and order the food. Also, prioritize cloud-based menus. Many hotels have different meals throughout the week.
This includes Happy hours, Sunday delight, lunch, dinner, etc. With cloud-based menus, you can change the menu as you want, and ensure your guests don't go through the tedious process. This seamless touchless technology is safe, and aligns with the health protocols too.
6. Encourage Digital Payments
While digital payments have been adopted by many hotels, there's still a need for upgrades. Integrate the payment system with the mobile app. This will ensure they don't have to gather around the reception area to collect their receipts.
Electronic payment is contactless, reduces constant human interaction, providing digital receipts too. Linking it with the point of sale will further smoothen the complete process.
Prior to the covid-19, things were completely different. But, to revive your hospitality business, you've to leverage contactless services. Always keep masks, hand sanitizers, and other related amenities readily available for your staff as well as guests. Do proper cleaning, and sanitisation of hotel rooms, kitchen, and toiletries.
Make sure you're minimizing the touch points, and making it as contactless as possible. The more you adapt to the new normal, the better. Do the change now to upsurge your hotel direct bookings, and revenues.
