3 ways hospitality technology is driving cost savings at hotels

How hospitality technology cuts costs and boosts revenue

Are you including hospitality technology in your budget? Download our guide, “How to make hotel technology a core part of your budget,” to find out how to integrate tech enhancements into your plans.

By now, you’re familiar with hospitality technology’s growing popularity. With guests preferring digital options and an increase in tech advancements (hello metaverse) the shift is unavoidable.

Hospitality technology is simply part of the industry’s future. After all, 24% of hoteliers worldwide use technology to improve the guest experience. And 18% of hoteliers use technology to grow their profits.

The reason for technology adoption among hoteliers is simple: it saves them money. So, if you haven’t planned to make room for hospitality technology within your budget, you could be leaving money on the table. While it’s certainly an investment, it pays off in the form of long-term profitability. It also serves as a competitive advantage by keeping your property relevant and connected to your guests’ expectations.

1. Relieves labor challenges

While travel and demand are trending upward, the return to the workforce has been slow going. While the unemployment rate in the US is decreasing, the labor shortage remains and is affecting the hospitality industry worldwide. But how is this related to hospitality technology?  And what does it mean for your profit?

Consider the front desk. It can become a pain point with limited staff throughout your hotel. Your team may be devoting most of their free time fielding guest questions and concerns, leaving little room for other responsibilities. As a result, your hotel could be losing money due to decreased productivity from hotel staff.

Automation from hospitality technology can be the key to alleviating task loads and freeing up staff to focus on equally important duties. Technology like a text messaging solution that automates guest queries can answer many simple, repetitive questions. For instance, Revinate Ivy can handle at least 60% of queries hitting your front desk with smart responses, often within the first 2 minutes of receiving a text.

You can also target guests who just arrived or are about to arrive on your property and want to check in on their mobile devices. As many as 53.6% of travelers say they prefer contactless check-in and check-out. With hospitality technology, you can meet those expectations and boost guest loyalty because you made their preferences a priority.

2. Increases staff productivity

Hospitality technology also plays a role in staff productivity for your reservations team. Consider your calls. Wouldn’t it be great if you could capture data from prospective guests and use that to kick off the guest journey? Reservation sales technology matches calls to the right agent to maximize conversion. You’ll be optimizing leads and increasing voice channel revenue.

At the core of most hospitality technology is automation. Your reservations team is doing its best to track, score, and nurture leads. But what about converting abandoned shopping cart leads? That’s where automation shines. With an automated email, you can follow up on those leads so you’re remaining proactive in accounting for potentially missed revenue opportunities. It’s a helpful tool for your reservations team that reinforces your revenue management strategy.

3. Improves the guest experience

We know the guest experience is paramount for success. Hoteliers should use digital tools to connect with their guests to offer personalized service and create loyal relationships. Doing so encourages repeat bookers because they’ll remember how you made their first experience stellar.

So, how does hospitality technology positively impact the guest experience? That’s simple. It fulfills your guests’ wants and needs.

The pandemic increased the appetite for contactless and personal experiences, and self-service became popular among guests. This has allowed hoteliers to further satisfy their guests with innovative technology solutions. According to Skift, 51.5% of hotel executives plan on using AI for their marketing offers to personalize the guest experience in the next 3 years.
We already talked about how guests prefer contactless check-in, but they also want their stay to be special. So, it’s essential to craft offers specific to their preferences. Upsells are a great way to devote that extra attention to your guests, and they can be automated with hospitality technology.

Mobile upselling is a great example. The right text messaging solution can take care of personalized upsells so you don’t miss out on ancillary revenue. And mobile upselling has proven effective, with 18% conversion rates for room upsells and 10% conversion rates for add-ons.

Hospitality technology and your budget

When it comes to planning your budget, don’t hesitate to include space for hospitality technology. You’ll actually be saving money by streamlining your workflows and optimizing hotel operations because automating certain tasks reduces costs. Plus, if you choose a service that integrates easily and has no hidden fees, there won’t be any additional expenses to consider.
It’s a simple cause and effect. If technology is producing a better guest experience, you can expect an increase in guest loyalty and a greater ROI! It’s not a question of whether the hospitality industry will make the tech transition. It’s when your hotel will make the jump.

Are you ready to learn how to prepare your budget to include hospitality technology that’s backed by your data? Download “How to make hotel technology a core part of your budget” so you can start saving money while supporting your staff and delighting guests.