5 reasons for hotel digitization
Digitization is not a ghost. With new business opportunities and optimized processes, you can look to the future with confidence. We give you five important reasons why you should act now to remain competitive.
Advancing digital networking is giving rise to new social structures that are turning digitalization into a socio-technical process. New technologies are increasingly shaping everyday life and permeating all areas of life – both private and professional. Digitalization measures are therefore unavoidable in order to remain modern. This does not just mean technical innovations, but also those that focus on people. It is therefore imperative for the hotel industry to address the topic of digitalization holistically in order to remain capable of acting both as a company and for its customers.
5 reasons why you should invest in the digitalization of your hotel now
Digitalization should not be a spectre, on the contrary: it opens up new business opportunities and chances for hotel companies. In this blog post, we therefore present five good reasons for hotel digitization:
- Changed customer behavior
- Skills shortage
- Communication on all channels
- Modernization pressure
- Fast-moving world

Changed customer behavior due to generational change
The hotel industry (and the tourism industry in general) is also increasingly becoming a low-touch economy. This means that anything that cannot be accessed digitally in advance is no longer noticed by customers. The customer journey is increasingly taking place online, especially when it comes to obtaining information. In order to serve younger target groups in particular, hotel companies should rely on digital services and thus strengthen customer loyalty and resilience. At the same time, online channels create more touchpoints that promote individual exchange.
While customers used to find hotel offers via a TV commercial or personal recommendations and then book through a travel agency, today there are far more channels available online for information and inspiration: customers can research online, get recommendations via social media and book a hotel stay directly via the website or an app. Instant messages provide customers with further information during their stay. And even after their stay (post-stay), newsletters or loyalty programs contribute significantly to the added value of the customer journey. The digital customer journey has long been standard, and the guests of the future expect a digitalized hotel.
Skills shortage
It is unlikely that the shortage of skilled workers will disappear after the coronavirus crisis – uncertainty and high unemployment and short-time working figures are having a negative impact on the image of the hotel industry. For a large majority (77 percent), a lack of human resources is the biggest obstacle to implementing digital tools. This is the result of the DMO DigitalMonitor study published by the German Tourism Association together with tourism consultants BTE. At the same time, however, the study also shows that digitalization has become more important for a large majority of the organizations surveyed. For example, employees’ digitalization skills have been expanded and the acceptance of digital tools has been increased. Digitalization can therefore relieve the burden on existing specialists by optimizing both guest-facing and back-office processes. At the same time, new specialists can be trained more efficiently as training courses are no longer tied to specific times or locations. As a result, hotel staff have more resources for the service part of their job and can therefore focus more on the well-being of their guests.


Communication is the key
A high degree of flexibility is required to meet the many individual needs of guests. A key success factor is the constant exchange between hotel employees and guests. Communication is the key to this by providing additional touchpoints for guests via digital communication channels. For example, hoteliers can measure customer satisfaction via online surveys, advertise loyalty campaigns with newsletters and via social media and offer a simple communication option for on-site services with instant messaging services. These measures can make a decisive contribution to customer satisfaction.
Modernization pressure
Even though the hospitality industry was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, companies were able to mitigate the consequences and increase their competitiveness with digitalization measures. This is shown by the results of Deutsche Telekom’s SME Digitalization Index 2020/2021 study. Around three quarters of respondents stated that digital measures such as electronic check-in/check-out processes or digital guest folders have had a positive impact on their business processes. More than two thirds of the companies surveyed were able to achieve higher customer satisfaction. The majority also stated that their measures had reduced costs and increased sales. As a result, the level of digitalization in the hotel industry is constantly increasing. In order to keep up with the competition, it is therefore necessary to invest in appropriate solutions.
Fast-moving world
On the one hand, digitalization means progress; on the other hand, it is becoming more difficult for companies to plan, as our highly networked society, which thrives on the constant exchange of information, is characterized by complexity and uncertainty. To counteract this fast-moving world, companies need digital skills. An important skill is the ability to adapt in order to successfully move with the times. Today’s hoteliers stay up to date with the latest developments thanks to greater flexibility. On the one hand, existing processes have to be questioned, while at the same time tried and tested options do not have to be discarded straight away – a balancing act.
Conclusion
Hotels will not be able to avoid digitalization measures in the future if they want to remain competitive. What’s more, they are profitable, as we have shown you with the five reasons mentioned. Optimized processes increase efficiency and save costs. Meeting the expectations of guests, who are increasingly familiar with digital offerings, has a positive impact on the customer journey. And last but not least, digitalization is a vehicle for emerging from the crisis – the faster, the better.
Do you want to make your hotel fit for the digital age? KraftCom is a digitalization expert in the hospitality sector. Contact us and let us advise you!