Smart hotel: what the hotel room of the future will look like
A trend in the field of digital hotel technology is the concept of the smart hotel. Find out, about what features a Smart hotel has and what advantages it offers hoteliers and guests.
Modern hotel rooms should no longer be just a place for your guests to stay, but the center of communication between you and them. Service bookings, entertainment, relevant information and individual configuration options take the guest experience to a whole new level. Intelligent hotel technologies play a decisive role here. But what will the hotel room of the future actually look like and what options do you have for equipping a digital hotel room and making it smart?
What is a smart hotel?
Smart hotels have one main goal: to improve the comfort and user experience of the guest – while at the same time increasing the profitability of the hotel. How does it work? By integrating digital technologies that are connected to each other and to the Internet. Thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT ), they are able to communicate and interact with each other.
For your guests, this means they can control multiple devices from a single control point – be it via a remote control, a smart speaker or a private smartphone or tablet. By connecting to the Internet, your smart assistants can respond intelligently to specific guest requests and provide them with the information they need.
The advantages of a smart hotel for hotel operators
- More efficient processes: Networked devices that can communicate with each other autonomously improve the accessibility and availability of information. Your staff can therefore delegate many manual processes to the devices and save time that they can spend on individual guest care instead.
- Sustainable hotel room: Especially in the area of room control, automation technologies such as those provided by the Internet of Things offer many potential savings and therefore lower energy costs.
- More options for personalization: Using a central control system, guests can be addressed by their own name based on their booking data – e.g. via a welcome sign or a loudspeaker.
- Easier access to information: Suitable content hubs can quickly and easily play out information on specific services directly to the guest, e.g. via voice control.
- Basis for data-based decisions: Intelligent hotel systems are able to collect certain information, for example about certain usage data of an entertainment platform – including which TV or radio stations are popular or which information is accessed most frequently. As a hotel operator, you can respond even more precisely to the needs of your guests – provided you meet data protection requirements and handle this knowledge responsibly.
- Preventive maintenance and repairs: What is known as “predictive maintenance” in the IoT environment in industry can also be applied to a smart hotel. The networked devices provide you with real-time operating information about the current performance or status. This enables your facility management team to identify which appliances may require repairs more quickly or even in advance. And it’s not just you who benefit from this, but above all your guests. Because you experience fewer disruptions and therefore have a smoother guest journey.
How to make your hotel smart
What options do you now have for becoming a smart hotel? Here you can approach it from different angles. The important thing is: Not only should you benefit from it, but above all your guests. That’s why we have 5 tips for you:
Tip 1: Store all relevant information for the guest in one place
Your guests can find out about a wide variety of things during their stay. Be it the latest news, your offers including opening hours, your menu of the day or various events and sights in the region. If you have all this information in one place, you will experience a much smoother guest journey. At KraftCom, we also use the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) trend to our advantage. Using our ASE-WEB, your guests can find customized information and service functions via their own smartphone, tablet or laptop using a browser – i.e. without downloading an app.
Tip 2: Use an intelligent room control system
Everyone feels temperatures and light influences differently. An intelligent room control system allows guests to adjust air conditioning and shading systems to their individual needs in no time at all. As a hotelier, you can also control your hotel rooms centrally and automatically. This not only saves resources, as your rooms become more efficient in terms of energy consumption, but also offers your guests a stay to suit them.
Tip 3: Use speech recognition
Let your guests speak. Many of them already use voice assistants in their everyday lives. The integration of voice recognition is therefore another factor for a smooth and modern customer journey. Whether it’s messages to room service, information queries about the weather, events and much more, or operating the room and media control system. Make it as easy as possible for your guests.
Tip 4: Enable more personalization
Every guest is unique and has their own expectations and needs. The best way to show your appreciation is therefore to contact them individually. Digital assistants can help you to talk to your guests in an automated and personalized way. In this way, you can offer them a tailored experience – whether through personalized offers based on previous bookings, a personal greeting in the hotel room or short reminders via push message. Create even more touchpoints with your guests by letting your smart hotel rooms take over some of the communication.
Tip 5: Integrate service robots
From greeting to room service – innovative, futuristic and absolutely reliable, service robots support your staff and offer your guests a special kind of experience. With Alfred, we are establishing a fully autonomous butler in the hotels of the future. His talents? Room service tasks such as the delivery of snacks, drinks and required items to the room. His sister Anna has now also found her way into working life and actively supports the hotel restaurant staff in particular. Another robot is already being trained as a cleaner and will soon join the growing ASE-Robots crew to make your hotel even smarter in the future.
Conclusion: Every hotel should become a smart hotel
The development of the smart hotel is progressing so rapidly, primarily because it not only offers hotel owners many advantages, but also offers guests an even more unique guest journey. In smart hotel rooms, your guests control the various components independently and design their room according to their own ideas. They can also find all the information they need more quickly and easily if they can communicate directly with the devices. As a hotel operator, you save above all on energy and maintenance costs and also reduce the workload of your employees.
Do you also want to take the step towards a smart hotel? Then discover our ASE platform here!
