Picture this: the world is opening back up, people are going back to work, traveling for work has become normal again, airport lines are getting long, traffic in major cities is picking back up and Brandon is on his way to his first business conference since the world is operating at its new normal.
As Brandon’s plane lands in Minneapolis at 11:00am, he turns his phone off Airplane mode and begins getting e-mails from his co-workers, texts from his wife and an e-mail from the hotel he will be staying at for the conference. The subject line of the e-mail “On your way? Check-in before you get here” caught his attention and he is now curious what the hotel means by this. He proceeds to read the e-mail and is instructed on how he can have a contactless and streamlined check-in experience. Brandon requests an Uber on his phone and is now on his way to the hotel.
While creating casual conversation with his driver, Brandon downloads the app and begins his check-in process from his phone. He is able to check-in, access his mobile room key and begin browsing all of the amenities the hotel has to offer. With the mobile app, he has now familiarized himself with the property and area all from the touch of his fingertips. As he enters the hotel lobby, Brandon quickly realizes that checking in on his phone was the smart thing to do, as he sees a long line of conference attendees wanting to check-in. Already being familiar with the hotel, he simply goes directly to the elevators, locates his room and opens his door with his phone.
Seamless Guest Experience
When assessing a guest experience, we have to start by looking from the very beginning which is the booking process. Guests expect a quick, easy and intuitive platform that allows them to feel confident in their choice of hotel. Next, we have to look at the communication prior to the guest’s arrival date. What are we sending them ahead of time? Are we empowering them to check-in before arriving? If the answer is yes, you have just made your guest feel even more confident in their choice of hotel. Allowing guests to check in from their mobile device gives them flexibility and control over their stay, access to information about the property’s amenities and other activities within the area. The WorldNXT platform provides both a seamless booking experience and mobile application to help you power your business and empower your guest.
Improved Efficiencies
Mobile technology is not only beneficial for the customer but also helps reduce overhead cost and time front office agents would rather invest into guests’ service. Encouraging guests to check-in ahead of time and using the mobile app reduces the time a guest spends at the front desk and ultimately cutting repetitive instructions given upon check-in. In addition, hotels are able to staff accordingly knowing they have an additional resource through the app on heavy check-in dates or overnight shifts.
Make Guests Feel Comfortable
We can’t pretend that this pandemic didn’t happen and go back to just business as usual. The hotel industry has been impacted heavily and hoteliers are working hard on pivoting strategies to help make their guests feel more comfortable.
- Contactless Check-In: Offering a contactless check-in experience is a strategy many hotels are implementing to help promote social distancing as the world begins to open. Contactless check-in empowers the guest to download an app on their own mobile device and eliminates the need to handle credit card pin pads, plastic key cards, and pens found in a traditional check-in environment. In addition, this solution allows them to bypass the line at the front desk and go directly to their room with the mobile key. The WorldNXT mobile app is able to provide this service to help your guest feel more comfortable returning to your property.
- Mobile Front Desk: Having the flexibility to step out from behind the desk and check a guest in from anywhere on or off property allows the hotel staff to minimize large gatherings and long lines at the front desk. SMS|Host Anywhere empowers the front office team to control the flow of the room by having full functionality of your front desk from any mobile device.
- Updating Housekeeping Protocols: Hoteliers can leverage housekeeping functionality in SMS|Host to block rooms pre/post a guest stay to help keep your housekeeping staff and arriving guests safe. In addition, SMS|Host helps adhere to newly implemented protocols including sanitation and property cleanliness SOPs to adapt to todays emphasize on health and safety.
Springer-Miller Systems is committed to providing technology that enables and facilitates the ultimate guest experience. With that, we have spent the past several years investing in mobile technology to help streamline operations, for hotel staff and guests. We are here for our fellow hoteliers during this time and please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.