hospitality
technology solution. Slow elevators have
been using a simple trick to keep user-
complaints non-existent, even with very
bad performance - mirrors - riders don’t
complain when waiting as long if they can
stare at their own reflection.
So, let’s focus on that first point of
check-in. Several chains are moving
to automated, or after-hours check-
in kiosks. If done well, not only will it
guarantee a speedy process but case
studies show that often when people
have privacy, they’re more willing to
consider up-sells and add-ons. It’s one
thing to serendipitously ‘discover’ a great
upgrade deal as you’re checking in, and
quite another to feel as if a person is
trying to push you into the decision.
But let’s take it further – why can’t that
experience go from awful to, dare I say
it, fun? What if, instead of the front desk
being the place to go for check-in and
random complaints, it now was a lobby of
beautiful interactivity with hosts available
to help? What if guests could easily
schedule wake-up calls, get extra keys,
make show reservations, all on their time
without creating a line? What if you used
interactive stations as an opportunity to
introduce voice to remove friction?
Okay, this is easy! Just create a great
mobile app, right? Lots of major hotel
chains have them. Why can’t every hotel
do this? Well, unless you’re one of the
biggest hotel chains where 70% of your
reward members have downloaded
your app, the chance a customer will
download your app is extremely small. I’ll
be specific: it’s zero. Zero is the amount
of new mobile applications the average
customer downloads a month. It has
been since 2014. So while the digital
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