How AI is transforming guest experience in high-end hotels and resorts.
I still hear managers of high-end hotels and resorts tell me, not without a hint of irony, that what I do in the field of intelligent automation is fine, but it’s none of their business. They believe that hospitality is first and foremost about creating a unique and memorable experience for the guest, and that it’s about human relationships, especially in luxury hospitality. It’s not an activity where guests are confronted with a robot.
Wrong. Nothing could be further from the truth.
In fact, AI can be the ideal tool for the hospitality industry. Like, in the case of a hotel, an invisible and tireless butler, Ai is always ready to enhance the guest experience. A butler who is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and who is also infallible.
An invisible but efficient butler
Like him, AI is discreet, hyper-efficient, and always there to anticipate your customers’ needs without ever being intrusive. Thanks to data analytics and machine learning, your guests will be amazed at how well you “get” them. “How did they know I love feather pillows?” a guest will wonder, not knowing that it was AI that gave the housekeeper that little hint.
The art of anticipation
In luxury hospitality, anticipating guest needs is an art, and I would even say a must. And what better assistant than AI? It can learn your guests’ preferences and tailor their stay accordingly. While it will never replace the warm smile of your staff — far from it — it simply gives them more time to smile by reducing their administrative workload.
Optimized booking
With AI, there is no more time wasted on the phone responding to reservations or cancellations. Reservations, check-ins, and check-outs become smooth and seamless, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Your staff can then focus on providing the personal touch that makes your hotel stand out from the rest.
5-Star Marketing
AI can help you analyze customer trends, predict demand, and personalize your marketing campaigns. It can even monitor and automatically respond to your online reviews. There’s no need to spend hours and hours on social networks making reels. Again, everything can be scheduled and managed automatically. Just like your correspondence with suppliers or customers, or even your product sales. Yes, even that. With a chatbot, for example. And not just any chatbot. An intelligent chatbot that can actively promote your store’s products, if you have one.
Takeaways
Artificial intelligence, and in particular everything related to automation and chatbots, affects the hospitality industry as much as any other. And in no way does it stand in the way of creating a unique and memorable experience for customers. Quite the opposite, in fact.
I’m not saying that AI has no shortcomings. Nor it should replace real human contact. I am saying that it is an indispensable tool for establishments that want to provide excellent services, like 5-star hotels and palaces.
Because AI is nothing more and nothing less than a tool, a tool used to enhance the quality of service and the customer experience. It doesn’t replace human interaction, it frees it up.