5 TECH TRENDS SHAPING THE HOTELS & HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

How is your hospitality business adapting to the evolving trends? Technology is steadily changing the kind of services modern consumers seek, so your hotel chain must manage to respond to these needs.  

Retaining customers in the hotels and hospitality industry can be a great challenge if businesses do not take the initiative to research what is happening in the market right now and what trends are shaping customer behaviour. We summarize the five top tech trends that define the “new rules” for fostering guest loyalty in hotels.   
 

1. Smart technologies  

In a world of digital conveniences, providing your guests with a true 21st-century experience is essential for fostering customer loyalty and satisfaction. Mobile keys, online booking platforms, room control apps, automated check-in and check-out, and AI chatbots are all part of the smart technologies booming in the hospitality industry.  

Replacing traditional information brochures and paper menus with tablets, digital menus, smart TVs, mobile apps represent an innovative strategy that appeals to the modern consumer, who prioritizes the use technology in every aspect of their life. Additionally, the shift to smart technology makes information easily accessible for guests, while also simplifying the work of your team or rather shifting their attention to providing personalized customer experience.  

Your guests can make a restaurant reservation or book a spa treatment from an easy-to-use app. Or access their room with using a mobile phone which is a contact-free, a more convenient and eco-friendlier alternative to keys. And with a function like mobile check-in and check-out, guests will no longer wait in long lines and get frustrated when the process is taking too long. The investment in such technological advancements is the perfect answer to the changing market conditions and the solution to the struggles of retaining your customers. 
 

2. Automation of key processes 

The automation of processes reduces significantly operational costs and optimizes the employees’ work. Having visibility over your entire hotel chain makes it easier to make the right decisions at the right time. For example, a platform like LS Central allows you to unify all operations and manage everything from housekeeping to financials using one single system. This innovative approach minimizes any risks of errors, delays or miscommunication across all departments in your hotel chain. 

The incorporation of a booking platform is also an essential way of satisfying your customers and prioritizing their convenience. Put your guests in the center and give them the ability to use the same platform for hotel, restaurant, and spa bookings. This also brings benefits to you: you manage all bookings via one system and reduce the risk of errors as you control everything from one place.  

3. Self-service technology 

This offers significant advantages for hotel owners, particularly during high-demand periods or when facing staffing shortages. Technology can bridge the gap: integrate self-ordering kiosks in the hotel restaurant or offer self-check-in and check-out options to prevent long queues and customer dissatisfaction. Enhance their experience by providing the choice of autonomous technology, thus expediting check-in and check-out processes, and allowing your staff to dedicate more time on improving customer service.  

Why is the investment in self-service technology worth it? Embrace the shift towards modernization and improve customer satisfaction.
 

4. BI tools for better performance 

Those who choose to invest in their sustainability can also expect to save costs and increase customer retention as modern consumers are more likely to choose the eco-friendly approach and even pay extra for it. However, regardless of the size of your business or the marketing campaigns you rely on, it is important to keep track of your operations, using Business Intelligence (BI) tools. It is no wonder that right now in the hospitality industry, BI technology is a hot topic as it allows you to monitor key analytics from energy and water usage to food waste, and consequently eliminate unnecessary spendings, reduce costs and increase savings.   

The lack of BI tech poses challenges in understanding your guests’ behaviour, too. When you cannot see the bigger picture, follow the history and future of trends, and identify the changing conditions of the market, it is impossible to make strategic decisions and satisfy your guests effectively. BI tools provide easy access to key insights and accurate data gathered from different sources. Hotels managers do not waste time dealing with multiple Excel spreadsheets: instead, they have all the necessary information organized in interactive dashboards, reports, and analytics. Furthermore, by utilizing the benefits of the integrated AI features in BI, generating valuable reports is even easier and the view over all aspects of your business performance is just a few clicks away. 

Tools such as Power BI give you one single version of the truth: a 360-degree visibility over your performance. Explore the benefits of Power BI. 
 

5. All-in-One Management System 

How do you provide your guests with a seamless hotel experience? The answer is simple: a holistic solution that unifies ERP, POS, PMS, and gives you a single version of the truth – LS Central for Hotels. With LS Central you can manage all operations across your hotel chain: from reservations to staff management and housekeeping, from guest loyalty to financial reporting, from inventory tracking to replenishment.  

The all-in-one platform allows you to view every guest’s bookings – in hotel, restaurant, or spa – quickly make changes to the reservations or personalize their experience with additional discounts or promo packages. Since the system is connected to all different areas of the hotel chain, you get real-time overview of information, eliminate risks right at the spot and make decisions that elevate the quality of your services.  

With NavTech Group as their implementation partner, Festa Hotels were the first in Europe and second in the world to adopt the unified solution of LS Central. 

Are you still relying on an outdated property management system?  

LS Central for Hotels is a solution that aligns with the present trends in the hospitality industry and empowers users to embrace a modern approach to meet their guests’ preferences. As an all-in-one platform, LS Central is what you need to personalize each guest’s stay, boost the work efficiency of your staff, and stay way ahead of your competition. The solution allows you to adopt new technological advancements such as mobile key locks, self-service kiosks, a Business Intelligence tool, based on Microsoft’s Power BI, and more. Additionally, the key benefit of LS Central is that it unifies all management processes: you run your hotels along with all other services, such as restaurants, retail, activities – within the same software platform.  

Learn how LS Central can put an end to your operational inefficiency struggles, time-consuming mundane tasks and the mess of dealing with multiple systems 
 

Owing to the broad expertise of our team, NavTech Group can help you stay on top of trends by seamlessly integrating LS Central and tailoring it to your specific needs. Contact us for a demo or consultation. 

Source: 5 technology trends shaping the future of hotels and resorts