All business sectors have been struggling due to financial repercussions put forth by COVID-19. The hospitality sector has been hurt the most. Many hotels have shut and millions of hospitality professionals have lost their job globally. Fortunately, a sense of confidence has been observed amongst people as they are now stepping out. This implies the time has arrived for the hospitality industry to move on — to the next normal.
Hotel websites are already drawing visits with ease in lockdown restrictions. The big question is, are the hotels ready to respond to the new guest demands? This calls for an agile approach towards technology, something the industry has not been traditionally popular for. This is the right time to gain insights into evolved customer preferences and trends riding on the back of artificial intelligence.
The job of hospitality professional has increased as they make decisions on managing costs and plan for the future. Before considering reopening of hotels, potential demand has to be understood, anticipate staffing numbers, guests may want contactless solutions for check-in, check-outs, concierges which require tech solutions.
The pre-pandemic marketing strategy holds no relevance today as guest personas may differ under the new scenario. No one knows for sure, what will play a more decisive role post the economic recovery – price or safety.
Hence new data is required to cater to the evolved guests. The properties fastest to adapt to changing guest profiles and industry trends stand the best chance to succeed in a post-pandemic world. Therefore, timely access to relevant information is imperative to stay ahead of the curve.
Artificial Intelligence technology is easy to use and requires no special training. The right solutions can provide a personalized interface for hospitality sector users based on their portfolios. Besides, this it can deliver actionable results within weeks of its deployment and can be accessed from any device, including tablet, desktop, and mobile.
The industry-specific Artificial Intelligence assistant can get you answers on costs, pricing, strategies, changing guest profiles, etc. and a lot more in a post-pandemic world. An AI-backed conversation with data can draw references from historical data and give clearer insights into the future.
Industry analysts believe that the last segment to return to hotels will be business travel. This is backed by the assumption that meetings will take place virtually. Technology can help businesses get data and understand guest sentiment. It will get data from social networking platforms and other sources to predict demand and concerns.
The priorities for leisure travellers might be completely different in the future. It might depend on pricing, safety measures the hotel has taken to mitigate the risk of contracting the virus, etc. The amalgamation of data and technology can help properties decide accordingly to customize offers and create training programs to prepare returning or new employees. All this information can be leveraged to strategize and adjust goals for revenue maximization.