COVID-19 has affected every sector across the globe, and the hotel industry is among the hardest hit. The truth is the pandemic is temporary and shall pass. Thus, we should continue to plan for the future, as well as take steps to reduce long-term damage from coronavirus and drive faster recovery. One of the most significant obstacles hotels will have to overcome is regaining guest confidence in the safety, health and hygiene standards maintained by hotels.
“The tourism ministry officially said that it has created draft guidelines based on inputs from the health ministry and other agencies and it contains Covid-19-related must-have amenities at hotels, protocols for check-ins and check-outs, room allocation process and in-room provisions, room and common area cleaning, food service, and other dos and don’ts for hotel staff and guests.”
In this scenario, technologies such as IoT and AI can be vital as they can reduce physical human interactions. Hotels can enhance customer experience by using beacons for providing digital Check-in and check-out, Keyless entry into rooms, In-room device controls, Finding the room and indoor navigation, and option for upgradation of rooms. On the other side, hotel can gain customer insights, offering loyalty programs, monitor appliances and equipments, broadcast of ‘location-specific offers’ to customers, improving Staff Productivity, and also help to track and manage their inventory effectively. The technology can even be used to alert valets when to bring a guest’s car around for pickup at the front door.
IoT solutions promise to make businesses in the hospitality industry smarter and more successful at what they do. In terms of operations, the automation and real-time data can help companies to identify problems earlier, and even prevent some problems from ever occurring.
