Dirk Dumortier, director of vertical partnerships, APAC, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, explains how digital transformation and unified communications can help hotels overcome manpower challenges, manage costs, and elevate guest satisfaction
From the post-Covid rebound to more recent geopolitical tensions, the hotel industry has undergone considerable difficulties that directly impacted their business in the past three years.
Hotel owners and operators face the need to offer superior guest experiences, while seeing margins under pressure from OTAs that take a cut from each booking.
They understand the cost pressures and manpower shortages facing the industry, as peers and competitors turn to technology to streamline operations. Whether to improve efficiency, say, through an AI concierge, or to modernise multi-channel communications with guests through a cloud-based telephony system, they know innovation is the way forward.
Singapore’s industry digital plan (IDP) to refresh the hotel industry, launched in early September, offers a timely blueprint for many establishments in one of the world’s most popular destinations. Singapore expects tourism receipts could reach between S$47 billion (US$34.3 billion) and S$50 billion by 2040.
Impact of digital transformation on hoteliers
Like any industry that has undergone digital transformation, hotels that innovate faster get ahead of the competition. Today, there are numerous digital technologies that they can incorporate into their systems, depending on how far they are on their digital journey.
The Singapore government’s IDP, for example, suggests digital solutions to address various pain points. At the front office, technologies such as digital keys can help with quick check-ins, while AI chatbots can engage customers and prevent staff from being overwhelmed by guest queries.
For housekeeping, AI-enabled robots can be deployed for routine delivery or cleaning tasks, while a modern inventory management system helps keep items such as linen well stocked. For sales and marketing, generative AI can help create interactive and captivating content to attract new guests and keep repeat customers coming back.
Collaboration at the heart of a hotel
At the core of any hotel – indeed, any modern business – is an effective communications system that runs across multiple channels to keep staff, customers and other stakeholders connected.
A modern communications platform is crucial to so much of what a hotel does, starting with the guest app, which can be used for booking, loyalty points, check-ins, and chats, for example.
A communications platform also links up a hotel’s efforts to manage automation and its IoT systems – from robots delivering items to guests to video AI for safety monitoring. All these should not be silos.
With such a vital role to play, this communications platform needs to be open to modern channels, from WhatsApp to traditional phone calls, and Salesforce to ServiceNow solutions. Plus, it needs to be flexible and scalable enough to run on different setups, including on-premises or on the cloud.
Building a foundation for the future
The right technology partner becomes crucial. Hoteliers should seek a communications platform that provides a foundational layer for tomorrow’s needs, one that is flexible enough to manage both current demands and future integrations.
The ideal platform must be open, agile, and able to connect a hotel’s core systems – from its Property Management System (PMS) and telephone to guest apps and IoT systems – to eliminate information silos and create a cohesive operational environment.
Such a platform should be built with key capabilities that directly address the pain points of hoteliers:
- Base Collaboration and Delegation Tools: Look for a solution that streamlines processes, reducing friction and lag in everyday operations. Start with automation tools that trigger guest profile creation and room assignment in the system upon check-in. Separately, through sensors at the front desk, a queue forming up will alert the hotel to deploy more staff to meet customers quickly. Similarly, AI analytics can be applied to video feeds to detect food trays that are unattended in the corridors, which may need clearing.
- A Unified Communications Ecosystem for Everyone: The platform must provide a unified communications ecosystem for both guests and staff. This means consolidating all channels – from traditional phone calls to modern webchat widgets and dedicated WhatsApp connectors – into a single platform that is easy for staff to manage, thereby improving response times and operational coordination. Just as important are internal collaboration and compliance. The hotel should have full control over both the system’s content and allowed functions to reduce the risk of cybersecurity incidents or data leakage.
- Full Visibility for Smarter, Data-Driven Decisions: Finally, the platform must provide full visibility into communications and service activity. It should give managers a centralised dashboard with real-time and historical call data, enabling them to gain key insights and make smarter, data-driven decisions that impact the bottom line.
A partner should also be able to offer hoteliers a choice. Some may prefer to continue using on-premises infrastructure, while others may be ready to transition to a fully cloud-based solution.
The ideal technology partner recognises this and provides flexible deployment models – on-premises, hybrid, or cloud – so that hotels can achieve their immediate and future needs without being locked into a rigid, one-size-fits-all setup.
By delivering a unified solution that manages and integrates the various communication components crucial to operations, it helps hotels run more smoothly while providing a more engaged, invigorating guest experience that sets them apart from their rivals.
Strategic digitalisation as a path to long-term profitability
The growing pressures facing hotels today mean that they need to find fresh solutions to problems that can pile up if left on their own over time. The hotel industry IDP provides a guide to the innovations they can adopt to get a boost in the new economy.
Crucial to the ongoing digitalisation effort is a foundation for communications that connects the various stakeholders efficiently.
Deploying digital solutions smartly in the coming years will differentiate the various hotels in a competitive market like Singapore, enabling those running a smoother operation and providing a superior guest experience to pull ahead of the competition and away from the gravitational pull of thinner margins and growing costs.
