Seamless guest experiences demand seamless, AI-powered communication
Across the hospitality sector, the new breed of interconnected guest experience means that expectations are at an all-time high. New opportunities to deliver truly personalised experiences that help brands establish their place in the public consciousness continue to reveal themselves, but the resulting pace of digital transformation means that these inevitably come with new challenges. With multiple channels now typically involved in each guest's journey - from booking to arrival, checkout, and beyond - many hospitality professionals are finding themselves short-staffed, unable to manage the growing complexity of their day-to-day operations.
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There are numerous dimensions to these challenges, but underpinning it all is that all-important element that makes or breaks the overall guest experience: communication.
Whether it's online, in person, over the phone, or even via app or SMS, clear communication - with guests and colleagues alike - transforms routine experiences into great ones, ensuring guests' personal requirements have been understood, communicated, and properly executed. In other words, all channels of communication must be highly available, highly secure, and as easy to use as possible. While this might sound simple in theory, in practice, there are numerous potential obstacles that can lead to disconnections and inefficiencies, such as:
- Fragmented communication with guests, requiring them to share the same information multiple times.
- Lack of coordination between staff and poor cross-site communication.
- Limited ability to accommodate international guests' requirements, including language barriers.
- Service bottlenecks created by poorly integrated systems and processes.
It's a lot to consider, there's no doubt, but intelligent agentic AI and automation can resolve many of these concerns, optimising staff's efficiency and enable to focus their attention on their guests.
While it may seem contradictory to talk about AI and automation in the same breath as the all-important human touch, this is one of the areas where technology can (and in some cases, already has) prove transformative for the hospitality sector as a whole. The key is utilising agentic AI and automation for any tasks that don't necessarily require a human's direct input, while simultaneously ensuring a member of staff is readily available when needed.
Let's consider how this works in practice...
Agentic AI has evolved to the point where it is more than capable of handling routine requests from guests, both before, during, and after their stays. This might include making bookings, checking in, or accessing in-room services, for example. The technology can also augment the existing guest experience by switching to the guest's preferred language, without the cost and complexity of having dedicated interpreters permanently available. And that's just getting started.
Here are some other examples of how this technology is already being utilised to optimise the guest experience:
- Automatically offering guests rebooking options if they need to cancel or postpone their visit.
- Automating concierge services, with guests receiving voice or text notifications about spa bookings, upgrades to their rooms, and personalised recommendations for local attractions.
- Special offers after guests check out, automatically tailored to their personal preferences.
The key to implementing these technologies effectively is ensuring that a human agent is always able to step in an offer the appropriate support when necessary, which means intelligently automated routing is essential, ensuring chatbots can manage routine requests, while any that require human intervention are immediately forwarded to the appropriate person, along with context and salient information from the interaction so far, enabling a frictionless journey for the guest.
However, while the transformative potential of these technologies cannot be overstated, it is essential that they are implemented in a way that will maximise their potential benefits, supporting hospitality professionals rather than replacing them. For this reason, any AI implementation within the hospitality sector should begin with a thorough audit of the customer journey across every available channel. This will help establish where automation will be most effective, from the point of view of both guests and staff.
Wherever you currently are in your own AI journey, get in touch today, and we'll explore how it can best transform your guest experience, optimise your back-office efficiency, and provide you with a unique leading edge in an increasingly competitive market.
A comprehensive overview of digital transformation for the entire Hospitality & Leisure sector.
- Building your guest experience on the right digital foundation.
- Ensuring your infrastructure continues to evolve with your business.
- Turning one-off guests into loyal, repeat customers.
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