Technology is evolving at a rapid pace. The common thread found in the latest technological advances is the heavy reliance on widely available high-speed internet. The technology used in the hotel industry is no exception, as recent advancements allow hotels to harness the power of high-speed WiFi to allow for added efficiency in business operations as well as additional conveniences for guests.
The number of new technologies is vast, but here are the top five to pay attention to:
Smart Hotel Rooms
The technology used in the hotel industry, in some ways, should replicate the technology that can be found in the guest’s own home. For guests to feel comfortable during their stay, a sense of home should be felt. The advent of smart home technology has provided people with a lot of modern conveniences that can easily be integrated into their hotel rooms.
Smart hotel rooms can provide guests with the convenience of easily controlling their room temperature, lighting, and TV all through their smartphones. This adds comfort and convenience to their stay.
The latest hotel technology in the smart room space also helps reduce business expenses as rooms can be programmed to reduce power usage automatically during set hours.
IoT Applications
Internet of Things (IoT) technology has been gaining traction in recent years and in many ways it is interconnected with smart hotel rooms. IoT is a connection of internet-enabled devices that can all be controlled by one central hub, which in most cases is a tablet or smartphone.
In addition to smart hotel room features, IoT applications in hotel technology can also include digital key cards and enable voice control for customer service.
Big Data
To put it simply, big data is a term used to describe the large amount of data that businesses can collect from their customers. More important than the data itself is the utilization of data science to analyze this information to identify customer behaviors and provide a path to form business decisions more strategically.
With this data in hand, a hotel can cater its services to its clientele’s specific needs to improve the guest experience.
Mobile Check-In Service and Contactless Payments
The mobile check-in and contactless payment system is a currently emerging technology in the hospitality industry. This technology was already becoming prevalent before COVID-19, but the pandemic was an impetus to push contactless technologies to market at an even faster pace.
Guests can now bypass the front desk and efficiently check in and make payments right from their smartphones, which saves time and resources. The added benefit of contactless transactions as businesses continue to recover from the pandemic is also critical to the comfort and safety of guests.
The ability for guests to fill out a digital registration card before even arriving makes the check-in process even more efficient and gets them into their room faster.
Increased Internet Bandwidth
Internet bandwidth can be viewed as the capability of an internet connection to handle traffic from many connections simultaneously. The more bandwidth available, the more data can be transmitted through the network without experiencing performance issues.
With all of the new hotel technologies that utilize WiFi in addition to all the WiFi-enabled devices that guests bring with them, it is paramount to have an internet connection with a high amount of bandwidth. This will keep all of the hotel’s technologies running smoothly, and it will improve the guest experience by allowing them to use their phones and tablets without experiencing connectivity issues.
High-speed and bandwidth internet connections continue to become more affordable as time goes on, so there is no excuse for a hotel to be saddled with insufficient bandwidth.
Final Thoughts
Technology is advancing, and a hotel would be doing itself a disservice if it does not continue to integrate these new technologies into its business. The use of technology in the hotel industry is crucial to providing the most up-to-date, seamless guest experience possible. Hotel guest satisfaction is improved by keeping up with the latest hotel technology trends. When guests have access to these modern luxuries, hotels are providing the best customer experience possible, and are more likely to turn their guests into return customers the next time they travel.
If you’re interested in keeping up with the latest emerging hotel technologies dependent on a strong WiFi network, Hospitality Network can help. By leveraging the best in hospitality WiFi and managed network solutions, we can help customize the perfect technology to fit your needs. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help advance your hotel into the future.