This landmark achievement demonstrates Tailos Robotics’ commitment to improving the standard of cleanliness in hotels and commercial properties. With their specialized compact design and advanced AI assistance, Rosie robot vacuums are uniquely built for commercial clients to navigate and clean large and small spaces, ensuring spotless environments for clients and guests.

“Today marks an extraordinary milestone for Tailos, as we announce that our robotic vacuums have cleaned over 10 million square feet. This is not just a measure of distance, but a testament to our commitment to delivering innovative AI-assisted cleaning solutions for hotels and commercial properties across the world,” said Micah Green, Founder and CEO. “We are incredibly grateful for the trust and belief our clients place in our automated cleaning technology and promise to relentlessly drive towards future innovation with novel solutions to meet the incredible staffing challenges faced by the commercial real estate industry.”

Tailos robot vacuums embody the vision of leveraging cutting-edge technology to create cost-effective, efficient, and comprehensive cleaning solutions for hotels and commercial properties. Designed with a unique compact form factor, the AI-assisted robot vacuums access tight spaces and provide thorough, consistent cleaning – a feature that resonates not only with clients, but guests as well.

As the hotel and hospitality industry continues to struggle with staffing shortages, automated cleaning solutions are more important than ever. Tailos Robotics is committed to ongoing innovation, delivering products and services that truly make a difference in the everyday operations of clients.

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Having recently reopened its doors this summer, YOTEL Boston has welcomed Vi-YO-Let to the team in partnership with UVD Robots.

An extension of YOTEL’s operation #SmartStay safety measures, the robot will offer an even deeper level of disinfection throughout high-touch public spaces and select cabins. YOTEL Boston is the first hotel in the United States to implement the UVD Robot technology, which is currently the only disinfection system clinically proven to disinfect effectively while “on the move.” Vi-YO-Let will fit in perfectly with our team here at YOTEL Boston and the lo-touch customer journey we have already created for guests.

The highly mobile, fully autonomous robot platform with an integrated UVC light disinfection system has been developed for hospitals worldwide and works to disinfect not only surfaces, but the air as well, providing a fully comprehensive infection prevention solution. These efforts further YOTEL’s commitment to the safety and well-being of our crew and guests, including the ongoing sanitization and disinfection SmartStay protocols established for all cabin types, public spaces, Deck 12, and Komyuniti.

Beginning this week, select cabins will be cleaned by Vi-YO-Let when selected cabins are vacant while all high-touch public spaces will be cleaned upon closing. Vi-YO-Let can be selected as a cabin add-on for an additional $30 USD per stay when booking on YOTEL.com. Guests must book Vi-YO-Let in advance of their stay to be able to take advantage of this feature in-cabin.​

“Right now it’s critical for the hospitality industry to not only enhance how we protect travelers but also provide them with reassurance that we’re taking every possible step from check-in to check-out,” said Trish Berry, General Manager, YOTEL Boston.

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SmartBeings is a Silicon Valley-based solution provider and the developer of WooHoo®, an award-winning enterprise-grade voice AI assistant speaker for the luxury hospitality industry. The WooHoo® Voice AI Assistant speakers (powered by JBL by Harman) combine a phone, alarm clock, speakers, tablets and voice assistant into an all-in-one device and brings the convenience of contactless in-room ordering and automation using just voice commands.

With a completely customizable interface, including preferred wake words, hotels can now personalize their branding and engagement. Guests can also use the multi-lingual touch commands to make requests, phone calls and check F&B menu digitally directly on the WooHoo® device.

Leia is the leading provider of Lightfield hardware and content services for mobile devices. Leia’s Lume Pad is the first 3D Lightfield Tablet in the world that lets you experience 3D imagery with a natural sensation of depth and feel for textures, materials, and lights — no eyewear required. The Lume Pad — Hospitality Edition will fully integrate with WooHoo®’s Hospitality platform to help upsell in-room services and further uplift the guest experience.

WooHoo® is integrated with more than 40 hospitality technology solutions, including property management systems, in-room automation, housekeeping, point of sales systems, and PBX. With WooHoo® technologies integrated with Dhiraagu smart hospitality solutions, hotel guests can now order food & beverages, toiletries, play music, get instant answers to their queries, call reception and control room temperature, lighting, or curtains, among other many interactions through a simple voice command.

Keeping safety and wellness in mind, WooHoo is also integrated with telemedicine companies and can provide guests with immediate medical consultations. Guests staying in these hotels can also access WooHoo® Hospitality AI Assistant using their mobile phones by simply scanning QR Codes

As the COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted the hospitality industry across the globe, it is a common understanding that the tourism landscape will not be the same even after the lockdowns and travel restrictions have been lifted. The road to recovery will be even far more challenging. WooHoo® is designed to help minimize the need for physical contact, provide telehealth and enabling guest requests to be attended via a voice assistant.

“We are happy to be collaborating with Silicon Valley companies like SmartBeings Inc and their partners Leia Inc to offer a contactless Voice Assistant, to support our hospitality partners where they can digitize their guest experience in resorts, rooms, restaurants, beaches, entertainment, and daily tasks,” said Mahmoud Dasser, Chief Marketing Officer at Dhiraagu. “We want to help them connect and optimize their operations while they ensure the guests are safe when delivering a luxurious experience.”

“We are excited to collaborate with Dhiraagu, the leading digital service provider in the Maldives,” said Himanshu Kaul, Chief Innovation Officer at SmartBeings. “With a huge demand for Contactless solutions, WooHoo® is powered by next-generation cognitive AI platform where brands can customize and redefine a luxurious experience with the power of voice. We are fast expanding into other markets, as well.”

“We are excited to bring Lightfield imagery to the world of luxury hospitality through this partnership,” said David Fattal, Leia’s co-founder and CEO. “Combining voice commands and holographic interactions creates the perfect marriage to elevate the guest experience and create new revenue streams for hoteliers.”

Dhiraagu has continued to bring innovative business solutions to its customers. The expansion of a comprehensive product portfolio and collaborative partnerships is a true testament to Dhiraagu’s commitment to enriching lives through digital services. For more information, please click here or contact info@smartbeings.com

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In reality, the impact of COVID-19 has caused a streamlining of investments in technological innovation within hospitality. Before the pandemic, advanced technology applications, automated intelligence and machine learning were all on the cusp of becoming an integral part of hotel operations. A 2019 study found that approximately 77 percent of chain hotels had begun prioritizing technology investments. Obviously in many cases that has slowed but it is clear that in the present and future operating environments tech have now become a necessity. Innovation will allow hoteliers to leverage technology in order to navigate the hospitality industry’s new reality and make significant progress towards and beyond recovery.

First, technology can play a key role in monitoring staff safety compliance. Mobile surveys can ensure that only healthy staff report for work and shift coverage can be facilitated using the same tools. Facial recognition software and focused biometric solutions, can assist hotels in ensure their employees are following COVID-19 protocols. The applications, which work in conjunction with other hotel management systems, leverage infrared thermal sensors to record employee temperatures and detect if masks are being properly worn. Then, real-time insights are distributed to managers who can immediately take the appropriate action, whether sending home any employees with high temperatures while addressing mask non-compliance incidents.

Another important side of the safety compliance coin is mobile tracking. There are small, wearable IoT devices that are highly effective for monitoring social distancing while still preserving employee privacy. Employees clip on the device to their uniforms, which tracks their movements and vibrates whenever they are getting too close to another employee (who is also wearing their own device). With this tool, the entire hotel staff can remain focused on their tasks even within small confines, while managers can locate any employees who may have come in contact with a COVID-positive individual. Through Bluetooth and RFID technology, the devices work independently without the need for a cloud-based smartphone application in order to ensure privacy.

From a cleaning standpoint, technology will be a critical asset for hotels to enhance their sanitation standards without putting employees in harm’s way. There are automated intelligence robots that can be configured to complete certain tasks instead of employees and UVC technology scanners that are designed to eliminate surface and airborne pathogens in large indoor settings — such as hotel restaurants, spas, fitness centers, pool areas and conference rooms. Meanwhile, the Westin Houston Medical Center, was the first hotel to use a UV-light sanitation robot to eliminate germs and pathogens from hotel surfaces. The robot leverages ultraviolet light to attack the DNA of bacteria and was the first of its kind to prove effective against COVID-19. For hotels that haven’t transitioned to keyless (digital) room entry, UV light technology is also a useful resource for sterilizing the small surfaces of room key cards.

Utilizing a digital monitoring system can help hotel management instill consistency into their sanitation protocols to maintain a safe work environment. The online/mobile application would require employees to scan a QR or RFID Code after each time certain surfaces are cleaned — which gets sent directly to their managers. In addition, the system can also send reminders to employees to help them execute constant cleaning tasks and hygiene practices amid busy shifts.

Through the use of technology, hotels can adjust their flows of communication for increased safety. Creating alternative ways of communication that do not require employees to engage in human-to-human contact is a fundamental component of preserving a safe work environment. Contactless check-in/check-outs and keyless entries are already being widely employed, but hotels can take it a step further through digital menu systems inside their restaurants, real-time messaging applications between guests and staff, and cloud-based systems that allow guests to access hotel services through their cell phones.

It’s also important to consider how advanced technology can improve internal communications within staff. With a mobile app, managers can send staff schedules out digitally, manage call-offs and coordinate replacements, and answer individual employee inquiries or questions. Through a digital survey app, managers can collect feedback on employee safety perceptions and make improvements wherever necessary.

By leveraging digital innovation, hotels are finding actionable solutions to the complex challenges of safeguarding employee health on a day-to-day basis. Now is the time for hospitality to ramp up their technology investments, which will enable them to offer a safe work environment in the months to come. And let’s not forget that guests have high expectations regarding a hotel’s ability to keep them safe.

Mark Heymann is a founding partner and the chairman and CEO of UniFocus, the leading workforce performance firm in the service sector. He brings to his position more than 40 years of expertise in the industry, particularly in hospitality. Mark previously was founder and president of the Heymann Group, Inc. (HGI), a consulting, software and asset advisory company that was a forerunner in relating labor management to service quality in the hotel industry. Mark holds a B.A. in economics from Brown University and an M.S. in business from Columbia University.

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Despite all the new trends such as staycations and the desire for activities related to physical distancing, hotels are still under pressure to give guests a remarkable reason to visit over what all these other players have to offer. Besides technology’s ability to boost team productivity and tighten the purse strings, devices and their supportive software are now a lucrative means by which to maintain a hotel’s relevancy amongst customers.

This is why HITEC is perennially my favorite tradeshow of the year. Postponed until the final week of October due to the coronavirus, this convention gives hoteliers a glimpse into what the future holds for their properties while also providing a clear and present solution for many of our woes – nowadays the foremost of those being the need for software to facilitate enhanced cleanliness protocols, social distancing, contact tracing and better interdepartmental communications.

In this particular instance, let’s focus on how you can deploy various technologies to increase the guestroom experience, especially now that the internet of things has become instrumental for maintaining service delivery while limiting in-person contact with onsite staff.

Part of my job as an asset management consultant for hotel properties is to evaluate technology vendors to then decide which will have a meaningful impact on back-of-house operations and the front-of-use guest experience. Needless to say, Covid has amplified the need for connected management software to the nth degree. To this end, I’ve sat in on demos for a fair share of IoT devices that can advance the in-room experience so as to compensate for a lack of person-to-person interactions.

Besides the push for new energy and water management systems that can save big on overall utility costs, when it comes to what visitors see and interact with, I’m still looking for that wow factor. Technology can help you maintain that irreplaceable charm that was previously offered by your teams who were trained to deliver service with a smile.

To truly impress guests with your in-room technology nowadays, though, you cannot proceed in a one-off manner or simply offer a bandaged solution to the challenges presented by the coronavirus. That is, one new device isn’t going to leave an enduring impression because it won’t appear as wholly embodying your brand’s theme as a purveyor of guestrooms that ostensibly better than a home.

Instead, you must make this a semi-perennial investment with a team in place to devise the rollout plan for each successive feature installation. With a solid strategy, you would then go about setting up a cluster of IoT-enabled amenities that together will let you market the rooms as unquestionably progressive and tech-forward while also delivering a meaningful experience once guests arrive.

The other fear is that, with hotels all over the world experimenting with customer-facing IoT integrations, these features may soon lose their marketing pizzazz or, worse, become the expectation where you are then compelled to play catchup. Looking beyond any base requirements for viral safety, for these front-of-house upgrades, you can consider phone-enabled lighting, motorized drapes or blinds, smart thermostats, door locks and door sensors with “Do Not Disturb” features. Many of these also tangentially benefit your housekeepers because these infer fewer physical touchpoints in the room.

These are relatively simple additions, but the added benefit is that they can inevitably help with operational efficiency. For instance, a DND control through a guest’s phone will one day not only cause a light to ping in the hallway to notify passing room attendants but also send a notification straight through to the housekeeping management software’s admin dashboard so virtual task boards can be seamlessly adjusted. And vice versa for when that DND is switched off to indicate that the guest has left his or her room.

While smart thermostats are already widely recognized as a proven means of reducing the energy bill by helping correct the needless temperature modulation of a vacant room, such prearrival control functions also help increase comfort, maintenance scheduling efficiency and, eventually, security as only a registered phone signal will be allowed access to given rooms or floors. As previously implied, with most of these IoT controls synced to the guest’s phone, BYOD (bring your own device) will mean an easier post-checkout sanitization job by your room attendants.

The overarching idea here is to give travelers a reason to yearn to stay in one of your rooms versus all the other options that one can find on the internet. Some hotels achieve this through outstanding artwork, décor or interior design. Others do it through impeccable service or F&B. Technological installation should be one more tool in your arsenal and for that I would highly recommend you attend this year’s postponed HITEC in San Antonio then start evaluating your options in advance of the budgetary planning cycle for 2021.

One of the world’s most published writers in hospitality, Larry Mogelonsky is the principal of Hotel Mogel Consulting Limited, a Toronto-based consulting practice. His experience encompasses hotel properties around the world, both branded and independent, and ranging from luxury and boutique to select-service. Larry is also on several boards for companies focused on hotel technology. His work includes five books, “Are You an Ostrich or a Llama?” (2012), “Llamas Rule” (2013), “Hotel Llama” (2015), “The Llama is Inn” (2017) and “The Hotel Mogel” (2018). You can reach Larry at larry@hotelmogel.com to discuss hotel business challenges or to book speaking.

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At one hotel, in Houston, Texas, the future has arrived and the robots, dubbed LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robots, are now a reality. The Westin Houston Medical Center is the first (and, so far, the only) hotel in the United States to put the robots to use in sanitizing and disinfecting its guest rooms and common areas to help combat the threat of coronavirus (COVID-19).

The room disinfection technology, provided by San Antonio, Texas-based Xenex Disinfection Services, was developed by two epidemiologists in Houston, with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center as their first customer. The Westin Houston Medical Center has purchased two of the decontaminating robots, which are now at work sanitizing rooms inside the building.

LightStrike robots have been proven to quickly destroy viruses, bacteria, and fungi using intense pulsed xenon ultraviolet (UV) light. The robots have been successfully used in the past to disinfect healthcare facility rooms. In fact, according to press statements, several hospitals have published peer-reviewed studies showing 50 to 100 percent reductions in their Clostridium difficile (C.diff), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and surgical site infection (SSI) rates after they used the robots and recommended protocols for room disinfection.

“We are taking significant proactive measures, along with following CDC guidelines, to minimize risk while also keeping day-to-day business momentum,” said Archit Sanghvi, Vice President of Operations for Pearl Hospitality, the hotel’s owner and operator. “Wellness is at the core of our business and with the LightStrike technology, we saw a distinct and innovative opportunity to create a well-prepared environment for travelers within our hotel.”

In addition to utilizing cutting-edge robotic room disinfection technology, The Westin Houston Medical Center is implementing a number of enhanced cleaning and disinfecting protocols as is the case with a fast-growing number of the world’s hotels in response to the current public health crisis.

These include:

• All public areas and guestrooms are disinfected using hospital-grade cleaner.
• All guest room consumable amenities (bath amenities, coffee & tea) and items such as the remote control are disinfected on-site and placed in sealed bags for guests.
• Removal of all non-essential (magazines, collateral, decorative pillows, etc.) items in guest rooms to ensure a continually clean, disinfected environment.
• Disinfectant cleaning protocols in all areas of the hotel including public areas, guest rooms and back of house areas (i.e. kitchen, etc.)
• Dedicated team member to use enhanced sanitization methods on all guest-facing public areas – 24 hours coverage.

The newly opened 273-room Westin Houston Medical Center is situated in the heart of the Texas Medical Center, which attracts more than 15 million annual visitors. It’s no surprise that a hotel associated with a world-renown medical center would be the first to utilize the new robotic technology. In conjunction with other technologies, the LightStrike Germ-Zapping Robots may become widely adopted by hoteliers as yet another way to help their employees and guests stay healthy in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related: For Hoteliers, the COVID-19 Health Crisis May Be an Opportunity to Focus on Technology Improvement

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This is due to both labor conditions and the mounting guest expectation for exceedingly fast service. Together, this means that you need to expedite or automate as much as of the ‘grunt work’ as possible so that your human team can take the time to focus on the people standing right in front of them.

Rather than replacing your front office team, here are five fundamental aspects to investigate for how technology can enable your associates to be insurmountably better at their jobs.

1. Cross-departmental integration. With service moving fast, you can no longer let any request get congested by a lack of communication between different siloed platforms, not only to improve team efficiency but also to minimize errors and heighten personalization. Customer service reps must be able to quickly push the necessary information to other departments like housekeeping or maintenance as well as to the PMS or CRM.
2. Respond from anywhere at any time. Working remotely is a trend that even hospitality cannot ignore. And with the expectation for immediate answers to guest inquiries, you must look into platforms that can route all incoming messages to a single dashboard so various team members can respond from their homes or anywhere on-property, and at any time of day or night.
3. Concierge exclusivity. How does your concierge or front desk provide information to guests that is above and beyond what someone would find through a Google search? Given the omniscience of the internet, you must now reinvent this service offering by intricately knowing the ‘hyper-local’ neighborhood around your hotel as well as setting up private discounts with regional providers that one cannot attain elsewhere.
4. Rapid recovery with mid-stay satisfaction scores. If a guest hasn’t had the best of experiences at your property, how then can you change their minds when they’ve already left? Instead, consider sending them a quick survey after check-in or at the end of the first night so that negative reviews can be flagged and remedied prior to departure.
5. Chatbots and artificial intelligence. To reiterate the core idea behind these necessary upgrades, it is all about enabling your team to provide better team by ensuring that they aren’t bogged down in the minutia of minor tasks and nonstop paperwork. To that end, I’ve seen some fantastic chatbot programs on the market that can help to field all the basic questions posed by guests so that your live agents then have more time to focus on the headier requests.

As it is now 2020, the new decade will see these sorts of support for your guest communications transition from value-adds to mandatory for effective service delivery. If you haven’t already set aside budget for platforms that can address some of these five points, then start investigating your options in the coming months to then make sure there is adequate budget set aside from next year.

One of the world’s most published writers in hospitality, Larry Mogelonsky is the principal of Hotel Mogel Consulting Limited, a Toronto-based consulting practice. His experience encompasses hotel properties around the world, both branded and independent, and ranging from luxury and boutique to select-service. Larry is also on several boards for companies focused on hotel technology. His work includes five books, “Are You an Ostrich or a Llama?” (2012), “Llamas Rule” (2013), “Hotel Llama” (2015), “The Llama is Inn” (2017) and “The Hotel Mogel” (2018). You can reach Larry at larry@hotelmogel.com to discuss hotel business challenges or to book speaking.

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The Sinclair has invested heavily in integrating internet of things (IoT) functionality from Intel Corporation, the technology solution provider best known for its long-time leadership in semiconductor chip manufacturing, while also utilizing advanced offerings from Cisco, SAS and multiple other digital vendors. The next-generation devices, enabled by state-of-the-art software capabilities, include building and in-room sensors, IoT gateways, dashboards and restaurant sinks and appliances.

Together, these devices are delivering connected guest experience through location-based analytics, no doubt providing a glimpse into the future of hospitality.

There may be no other hotel experience anywhere that is as intelligent and responsive to guests and staff of the hotel through the deployment of advanced technology capabilities. From in-room sensors customized to a guest’s movements to the deployment of energy-conserving diesel replacement technology, The Sinclair is able to deliver personalized guest experiences and actionable business insights while also reducing operational costs and energy consumption in the long run.

“The Sinclair combines the beauty and historical significance of Fort Worth with the innovative connected technology of the future,” said Farukh Aslam, CEO and president of Sinclair Holdings. “By using the latest connected technology from Intel and our other partners, we can offer guests the absolute best experience from the moment they walk through the door.”

The technology underpinnings of this smart hotel include the following:

• Intel’s IoT gateway brings together the data, edge computing power and management capabilities of the smart building infrastructure.
• Cisco’s Meraki smart Wi-Fi cloud networking solution with SAS data analytics integration offers location-based analytics and personalized guest messaging.
• Voltserver’s Power over Ethernet (PoE) delivers its patented “Digital Electricity” solution to power Cisco switches.
• Motorized shades and drapes from Somfy use PoE for management and control and are easily controlled by guests through a digital kiosk.
• Electric Mirror supplies PoE-powered LED mirrors, which guests can use to read trending news, listen to music, get weather updates and contact guest services.
• Lithium battery-powered uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems eliminate the need for diesel emergency generators.
• Intel Unite® wireless display and collaboration technology powers the hotel’s meeting spaces.
• SinkTech IoT sinks in the hotel restaurant regulate water temperature, soap and sanitizer levels through a fully-automated, connected solution.
• Intel PoE NUCs support many of the IoT technologies above (gateways, controllers, data aggregation, edge computing and an Intel Unite hub).
• End-to-end Intel-based technologies enable the hotel from the smart features above to the reservation systems, point of sale, networking infrastructure, back office and guest services, such as mobile key and wireless charging.

Hotel staff can use mobile devices to connect to reservation and property management software anywhere on the premises, increasing productivity and customer service. Wireless point of sale systems enable food and drink sales anywhere on the property. Hotel guests can configure environmental settings such as temperature, lighting and shower preferences with a few taps to a digital screen, allowing for a personalized experience.

Through these technology innovations, this 90-year-old luxury hotel is reimagining the future of hotels to provide enhanced and personalized technology-driven experiences for hotel guests and staff alike.

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Notice I said strategic investments rather than cost-cutting measures. In the decade since the last recession, a number of studies have found that while 17% of companies suffered devastating blows during a recession, 9% of companies actually thrived afterward, “outperforming competitors by at least 10% in sales and profits growth” (How to Survive a Recession and Thrive Afterward, HBR). Staying afloat—even getting ahead—depends on a delicate balance between investing and cost cutting, the latter of which can include efficiencies, staff reductions, or both. On the investment end (the one most overlooked), hotels should turn to technologies that will bolster ADR and drive ancillary revenue.  One way to do this is via AI-powered upselling.

A Model for Strategizing

Deloitte’s hotel and airline recession strategy relies on four pillars: customer loyalty, operational flexibility and efficiency, next-gen talent models, and data-driven decision making. It’s no accident that data-driven decision-making directly underpins operational flexibility and efficiency.

Data-driven decision-making allows organizations to pivot more quickly and accurately. Machine learning (ML) data models and the corresponding applications that consider what offers are selected at what price and point in the guest journey respond immediately and accurately to changes in the market.

And data-driven decision-making creates operational flexibility and responsiveness, equipping a company with an elastic ability to respond to market and competitive challenges. For instance, AI-powered upselling technology allows hotels to use ancillary revenues to augment ADR and keep RevPAR stable or growing from season to season. When investing in technology, data-driven AI technologies are essential tools for maintaining rate integrity and guest service standards.

Cutting Rates Isn’t the Answer 

The hotel industry naturally suffers during a downturn as consumers rein in travel budgets, and business travelers are asked to be more conservative in their spending. Luxury and full-service properties tend to be most affected, but all categories see negative shifts. In the past, hotels have been understandably reactive to downturns, cutting rates, reducing staff, and putting their budgets into marketing lower

prices to capture new travelers. However, these tactics are reactionary rather than strategic. While they are sometimes necessary, hotels haven’t been served well in the long-term by this approach. The recovery will take far longer than if hotels adopt a pragmatic approach: balancing investments with more conservative operational cuts.

While rates will naturally shift with decreases in demand, we also know that undercutting rates too aggressively undermines branding and guest expectations, thwarting recovery efforts. In short, cutting rates too quickly or aggressively isn’t the answer. Utilizing AI technology, hotels can locate the exact price point a guest is willing to pay for a particular room, maximizing ADR rather than undermining it.

Hotels must continue to move forward, whether on capital improvements or technological advancements to come out ahead on the other side of a downturn. The pace may be slower, but, in a more competitive, technologically advancing market with vast amounts of supply, waking up even six months or a year down the road with the same operation as before a downturn can be an impossible setback. As Harvard Business Review notes, “Recessions can create wide and long-standing performance gaps between companies. Research has found that digital technology can do the same. Companies that have neglected digital transformation may find that the next recession makes those gaps insurmountable.”

Rate Integrity & Upselling Through a Downturn

A study conducted by Cathy Enz, Linda Canina and Jean-Pierre van der Rest from Cornell University’s School for Hotel Administration revealed that European hoteliers who maintained average rates above their competitive set generated higher revenue per available room, contradicting the long-standing belief that lowering rates will lead to more demand and better RevPAR. Instead of cutting rates, seek to maintain the highest possible rate and get the most from every occupied room.

Basic business sense dictates that selling more to an existing customer will have a greater impact than reducing rates and selling to new customers. For instance, upselling technology has even more value in a downturn when there are empty rooms or when guests are booking at the best available rate and standard room types. AI-driven upselling technology can predict what rate a guest is most likely to pay, making the chances of an upgrade in conservative times greater.

Further, it creates efficiency in the process, not only by creating opportunities for offers during the booking and before the stay, but also by taking the decision-making off the shoulders of the front desk agents when the guest arrives. Upselling technology presents the front desk agent with the right offer for the right guest, so the agent can pay attention to the guest, not to the PMS. Looking at every opportunity to both sell a room at the highest achievable rate as well as to increase the spend for each stay is vital to managing through the lower occupancy of a downturn while maintaining standards.

Conclusion

Scaling back when occupancy is down is inevitable but maintaining rate integrity and factoring technology investments should become a part of the strategic conversation now as part of a proactive approach to an economic downturn. “Companies need to think through not only which investments they’ll make, but how their priorities might shift. Last time out, the focus was primarily on cost reduction as a means of survival… Heading into a new potential down cycle, companies have different options, and their investments and deals can be more forward-looking. Cost-efficiency is still in the mix, but the moves companies make today can also aim toward long-term growth,” notes Deloitte.  Data-driven hotels with the right balance of smart technology investments and conservative cost cutting will find themselves far ahead of the others on the other side.

Key Takeaways:

1. Those Revenue Managers who will be least impacted by any impending economic downturn and that will be poised to exit from such a downturn most rapidly are already considering strategic options that likely include investment.
2. Always focus (in good and bad times) on maximizing the value of every single reservation and every single guest interaction through intelligence, real-time ancillary offers.
3. Upselling in a downturn using AI generates not only incremental revenue, but also generates operational efficiencies.

Jason G. Bryant, Nor1 Founder and CEO, oversees day-to-day operations, provides visionary leadership and strategic direction for the upsell technology company. With Jason at the helm, Nor1 has matured into the technology leader in upsell solutions. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Nor1 provides innovative revenue enhancement solutions to the hospitality industry that focus on the intersection of machine learning, guest engagement and operational efficiency. A seasoned entrepreneur, Jason has over 25 years experience building and leading international software development and operations organizations.

Note: All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this article are for identification purposes only. Use of these names, and brands does not imply endorsement.

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To eliminate language barriers and engage more deeply with guests, Google has developed a voice translation technology spanning languages that is now being made available to hotels worldwide through a distribution partnership with Volara. This new feature on the Google Assistant, called interpreter mode, is designed to facilitate real-time translation between two people. This technology can improve the quality of interactions between hotel staff and guests, resulting in better communications and high-value service.

By placing Google Nest Hub devices – provisioned by Volara with enterprise grade management tools and custom branded hotel content – at their front desks or concierge stations, foreign-speaking travelers can speak commands in their native tongue and have those requests translated accurately and in real time.  Text of the conversation will appear on the Google Nest Hub smart display to verify the translation. Not only does this relay to the traveler that his or her business is valued and appreciated, but it starts the stay out on the right foot.

Here are 4 ways that the Google Assistant’s interpreter mode will improve guests’ perceptions of your hotel, boosting satisfaction and loyalty.

Attracting New Travelers

Online consumer reviews are a must in today’s marketplace. Nearly everyone seeks out customer reviews before making a buying or booking decision. If you want to know if a hotel is foreigner friendly, just “Google it.” By reading guest comments, it will be easy for international travelers to determine if they want to stay at your hotel or not. Guests love the service, and it reflects in their customer satisfaction scores and online reviews. The more positive reviews from guests who loved their stay because they didn’t encounter frustrating language barriers, the more likely the hotel will grab the attention of other travelers who speak a foreign language.

Raising Service Levels

Adding the Google Assistant’s interpreter mode will generate good will by showing guests from a foreign market that you value their business and that the hotel is going the extra mile to ensure an exceptional stay experience. There is no better way to personalize a stay than to enable guests to speak requests in their own voices and with their own colloquialisms and accents and hear their requests conveyed clearly.

Ensuring Consistency

Consistency of service across the hotel enterprise is important, especially if you fly the flag of a global hotel brand. Placing a Google Nest Hub with the Google Assistant’s interpreter mode at all properties within the portfolio ensures that consistency and it communicates to travelers that no matter which hotels they visit within the chain, they are guaranteed a frictionless stay due to the provided translation technology.

Motivating Employees

Happy employees mean happy guests, and happy guests spend more money. By giving hotel staff tools that will make it easier for them to do their jobs, it will ultimately increase guest satisfaction and drive revenues. If your hotel has a significant number of employees who only speak one language, adding the Google Assistant’s interpreter mode will enable staff to do their jobs better. It will boost productivity, eliminate miscommunications, and improve morale.

When guests have an unpleasant stay because they feel their needs aren’t met or the language barrier causes too much confusion and frustration, the hotel can expect to lose business. The Google Assistant’s  interpreter mode on the Google Nest Hub, provisioned and managed by Volara, is a smart way of doing business.  Not only will it make guests happy by enabling them to request onsite services in their own language, it will reap intangible returns from positive reviews and happy employees, resulting in an improved bottom line.

David Berger is the Founder and CEO of Volara, the voice hub for the hospitality industry. Volara’s conversation management software and secure integrations hub turns the leading consumer smart speakers and natural language processing platforms into a hotel business tool.  Volara is building voice interfaces for leading hotel technologies, while providing hotels the software to manage conversations with their guests at scale. Volara is the Official and Exclusive Partner of Marriott for pilots of voice technologies.  It is also developing voice-based solutions for leading brands like Viceroy, Melia, Two Roads, and more.

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