TECHNOLOGY PROFILE: feature from the SPRING 2024 ISSUE of STAY Magazine
Harnessing the speed of AI in our current economy for customer service
Canada’s tourism industry was a revenue gusher, pumping $106.5 billion into the national bank in 2019 alone. Hotels, processing millions of guests annually, anchor the core part of this active system. Travellers’ memories contain gratitude aimed toward local businesses of the hospitality industry. However, here at this seemingly prosperous junction are potential difficulties. The shifting economic backdrop, with visible cues of the rising cost of living and changing public tastes, certainly keeps hoteliers up at night.
The imperative of exceptional journeys
In the active hospitality, travel and tourism marketplace, with purchase decisions rooted in experience, excellent customer travel experiences are not something that sets businesses apart anymore—they’re a prerequisite for survival. With choices galore and digital transparency empowering decisions, guests have a lot more power today. Their every move can either make a hotel’s reputation soar or doom it to oblivion.
According to a recent Deloitte study, 72 per cent of Canadians are prepared to pay a premium for an experience that goes above and beyond their expectations. This means raising the bar at every touchpoint, from arousing guests’ initial interest during booking to the lingering warmth of the farewell following a pleasant stay.
AI-powered feedback is a repository for future decision-makers
Insights can unlock valuable customer demographic information and combine it with in-moment feedback data. For example, AI-powered gender demographics can provide insights for tailoring products and strategies—AI has the potential to form the digital bedrock for businesses to create targeted, personalized approaches, fostering enhanced guest engagement and satisfaction.
Guest voices empowered by AI and data insights
Fortunately, hoteliers have powerful allies in their quest for guest satisfaction right now: real-time feedback systems powered by AI and its cascade of data insights into guest preferences, behaviours, and moods. Hotels are changing the way they gather and interpret guest feedback with tools that are powered by AI. No longer do they rely only on email surveys or sporadically scrawled handwritten notes. AI-powered sentiment analysis allows businesses to understand whether their service really resonates with the target audience and unlock valuable information to create targeted, personalized approaches, fostering enhanced guest satisfaction.
Humans and AI
When AI was first adopted within the hotel industry, people were cautious, even wary. People in the field were understandably worried that robots would soon be able to displace them. This narrative has reformed. An encouraging change in attitude has been revealed by a recent PWC survey: an astounding 72 per cent of Canadian workers now think that AI would enhance and simplify their jobs. This newfound understanding opens the door to a balanced partnership, a dance in which humans and AI step gracefully, playing to one another’s strengths to provide an unforgettable experience for guests.
A duet of strengths, not a solo act
A sense of mutual benefit is replacing animosity as the barriers between humans and AI dissolve. The hotel industry has come to see AI and humans not as competitors in a zero-sum game, but as complementary parts of a mutually beneficial partnership.
AI is great at data analysis and automation and can give real-time insights, whereas humans are great at navigating complicated situations gracefully and with empathy. With a planned combination of the two, hotels can establish a highly functional service environment that prioritizes the happiness of their guests.
Decoding the hidden language of experience
In the same way that trained linguists can decipher the sometimes-esoteric language of customer reviews, AI-powered technologies may do the same. Feedback on room cleanliness, friendliness of personnel, ease of check-in and check-out, amenity quality, and even the thoroughness of housekeeping, are all things that can be available for the hotel’s operations management in real-time. Like a comprehensive map, this granular data helps hoteliers gain a deeper understanding of their customers and make informed business decisions to find their sweet spots and zero in on trouble spots that need fixing right away.
Actionable insights to address concerns
From amplifying good comments to addressing poor guest experiences, AI’s unwavering honesty is what makes it beautiful. It brings unpleasant memories to the surface, illuminating them before they become deep scars. Hoteliers may prevent problems—before they become negative internet reviews or a loss of client loyalty—by addressing them quickly and efficiently through empowered openness.
The ripple effect of bad experiences
A bad hotel stay can have an effect well beyond the confines of the room. It has far-reaching consequences, tarnishing internet reputation and turning away a large number of prospective visitors. In today’s hyper-connected world, the impact of even one unfavourable review can be devastating to a hotel’s reputation and the faith its guests have in it. This highlights the need to leverage real-time customer feedback and AI-powered insights to resolve issues proactively since this is the best way to ensure visitor pleasure and protect the reputation of the business.
2024 AI INSIGHTS FOR CANADIAN HOTELS
Personalization: Make use of AI to create personalized experiences that match each guest’s tastes and habits based on their previous stays. Envision a world where digital concierges provide visitors with personalized suggestions for local excursions, room temperatures are automatically adjusted upon arrival based on previous settings, and favourite amenities are pre-stocked. The amount of personalization provided here makes guests feel truly cared for, which in turn increases their loyalty.
Predictive Maintenance: Move beyond reactive repairs and embrace the power of AI-powered sensors. These digital sentinels can anticipate equipment failures, from flickering light bulbs to malfunctioning thermostats, before they disrupt guest comfort. By proactively scheduling maintenance, hotels can ensure seamless operations and eliminate the frustration of unexpected inconveniences.
Guest Sentiment Analysis: Using real-time sentiment analysis, you can learn more about guest satisfaction than ever before. This cutting-edge innovation is far more than just a star ranking system. It analyzes internet reviews, social media comments, and even in-room discussions to uncover areas for improvement and chances to surpass expectations, delving into the emotional undercurrents of guest feedback.
Dynamic Pricing: Navigate the ever-changing tides of market demand with the agility of AI-powered pricing strategies. These algorithms analyze factors like competitor rates, seasonal trends, and real-time booking data to optimize room pricing in real-time. This dynamic approach maximizes revenue while ensuring competitive rates that attract guests.
Chatbots and Virtual Assistants: Chatbots and virtual assistants powered by AI may simplify mundane activities and provide round-the-clock visitor service. Freeing up human workers to focus on difficult queries and personalized encounters, these digital companions are always on the go and can answer frequently asked questions, handle room service orders, and even make local suggestions.
Instead of merely being a trend at Canadian hotels, the convergence of AI and data insights—plus a harmonious human-AI environment to live within—is a joyful, transformative new battle in guest satisfaction.
Canadian hotels could combine the speed and accuracy of AI with the empathy, emotional intelligence and discretion only humans can manage to make something perfect—a unique piece that not only satisfies guests but also guides them through economic uncertainty.
In this competitive ring where loyalty is always in short supply, AI and humans can work together as partners in a harmonious dance that guests won’t soon forget.
About HappyOrNot
HappyOrNot serves 4,000 brands, including healthcare organizations, Amazon, Google, airports and all sorts of retailers across 135 countries, and has collected and reported on over 1.5 billion feedback responses. The company provides AI tech that enables companies to identify and optimize customer and patient experiences through various touchpoints and in-moment feedback data.
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