On this episode of Shiji Buzz, three panelists gather to discuss the importance of digital and mobile guest engagement, what it means to guests and operators, and whether this is a new concept that emerged as yet another result of the global health crisis precipitated by the COVID virus. They are Mark Retnam, Director of IT & Security, Asia Pacific at Radisson Hotel Group; Terence Ronson, Founder of Pertlink, a consulting firm that specializes in guiding hospitality businesses to deploy technology in their operations; and Despina Karatzias, General Manager at Tourism Tribe in Australia, a digital training and coaching platform that helps small businesses in the tourism sector scale knowledge.
Digital adoption in the hospitality industry
It is a consensus amongst all three panelists that digitization is here to stay and is the way forward.
Despina begins by stating that digital adoption has taken a quantum leap in the past few years, receiving a particular push from the COVID-19 pandemic as digitization became a matter of survival for businesses. She also quotes a study that showed implementation and adaptation of new technology was accelerated worldwide by the pandemic, with Asia Pacific in particular evolving at a rate of 4 to 5 years worth of incremental adoption. Despina adds that the industry will only move forward from this spot, and that “digitization, especially in the field of customer engagement, is only now one of the top priorities for hospitality businesses,” and this answers why this change didn’t come sooner.
Terence reinforces Despina’s point while highlighting that the industry had been grappling with how to adapt to technology since GDS and PMS connectivities started to appear, continuing to struggle all the way to the advent of personal mobile devices. “BC, or ‘before COVID,’ we were trying out bits and pieces of tech, whereas now everyone is talking about QR codes, electronic payments, and cash has all but disappeared in many respects.” He points out how “the industry has been forced to get on board with contactless technologies due to health reasons hastened by the pandemic, but also as guests have come to expect an elevated digital experience.”
From a hotel operator’s perspective, Mark reminds us that digital solutions had already started growing in pre-pandemic times, albeit at a slower pace, when teams in charge of digital at corporate offices went through a period of increased demand in supporting early implementations, as opposed to the more stagnant traditional IT teams in charge of legacy systems. “The need will only grow and these two teams will have to work ever closer,” he quips.
What does digital and mobile engagement mean to guests?
Mark circles back to the heightened guest expectations Terence referred to, adding that the marketplace is now one where guests demand the mobile experience, and operators must provide that. “Everyone has a voice and one that needs to be answered soonest. We as hotel operators need to be where the guests are and have a mobile and digital strategy, just like other industries must do as well.”
RELATED:
To have a better idea of how guests feel about engagement, Terence suggests looking at the whole guest journey from the very first step, or dreaming stage, through to the information search where guests will go online and look for a hotel’s digital presence, all the way to checkout and the post-stay surveys. He stresses how important factors such as beautiful pictures and easy-to-navigate websites are, given the shortened attention span of internet users nowadays. “If something is more than 3 or 4 keystrokes away, interest will drop and the navigation will be abandoned. Interactions have to be frictionless, and that’s difficult, as the deployment of technology in the hospitality industry has been very siloed in its evolution.” He explains that, as a result of the complex connectivity and interoperability between different pieces of technology over the decades, the user experience changes when moving from one system to another, which becomes a source of annoyance and a turnoff for guests. Terence also mentions that “more than ever, hoteliers want guests to have a frictionless, positive, and memorable experience, as these will turn into a social media post and a rating which will reflect on your online presence.”
According to Terence, in addition to how good the website is, and whether the right keywords were used to make it easier on a guest’s research, excellent service received on-property is also part of the digital journey. “Everyone becomes an influencer as each guest has their own group of friends whose perceptions will be affected by their experience, and your hotel or restaurant is showcased to others based on what each guest shares online,” Mark observes.
Despina concurs with both points of view, adding that the care factor and the customer’s journey is a crucial subject explored in her training, further stressing the importance of the wow factor and a frictionless experience, and how the post-experience can be used as a means of recovery for guest expectations that were not met during the stay.
