It has gotten tougher and tougher for hoteliers to find new ways to make a profit in recent years. With hotel rates as high as they feel they can charge, they are constantly on the lookout for different ways to make money.
To accomplish that, hoteliers have turned to various technologies to streamline their operations and free up their employees to create a better on-site experience—which, ultimately, leads to higher guest satisfaction.
For the latest Hotel Business Hot Topics session, “Smart Technology: Solutions for Higher Profitability and GS Scores,” in partnership with Procell InSite, moderator Glenn Haussman, founder/host, No Vacancy Live Podcast, was joined by panelists Chris Richardson, VP, engineering and sustainability, Davidson Hospitality Group; Michael Blank, principal, Woodmont Lodging; Michelle Potorski, VP/GM, B2B Duracell Professional North America, Duracell Inc.; and Barry Phillips, senior director, commercial and operations systems, Loews Hotels & Co, to discuss the technologies hotels are turning to, and what hoteliers can do to improve the guest experience.
“Technology is like the Wild West for hotels,” said Blank. “We’re excited about where we can implement new technology to save money or enhance revenue, as well as drive the business in a new direction.”
Michael Blank, Woodmont Lodging
The most important factor in choosing a technology platform for Blank is that it must show a return on investment (ROI) quickly.
“There are so many options today,” he said. “The problem is that the technology space is so fragmented, and we must figure out what works with the systems we have in place. We are factoring this in addition to how much it costs to see how well it drives returns to the bottom line.”
Integration has also been key to bringing in new technology to Loews properties, noted Phillips, adding, “One of the things I have seen the past couple of years is vendors not necessarily playing nice with each other. If we want a product, that is what we should go with. If we want it to integrate with our systems, we should play nice together and really make it integrate easily.”
Integration challenges between different technologies continues to be a problem for hotel companies. Haussman shared that he had heard of a deal that was lost because an integration couldn’t get done.
While integration issues have lessened over time, Phillips said there is still some ways to go.
“I would be lying if I said that we haven’t evaluated other vendors because they wouldn’t integrate with each other,” he said. “I honestly think that if we want a product, we should be able to integrate that to another product just because of what we’ve seen with vendors eating up small, niche vendors.”
Barry Phillips, Loews Hotels & Co
He was referring to tech firms that have adopted a strategy of becoming an umbrella company, offering a variety of technologies with the intent to provide everything a client might need. But, as Haussman pointed out, hoteliers have different needs and desires, and may want to have products that are not available under that umbrella but still need to be compatible with one another.
Richardson, who focuses on utilities when looking for technology that will help Davidson save money, signed on with Procell after he worked with the company to get the systems he used integrated with the Procell InSite solution.
He works with the integrated device management platform to keep track of the batteries that operate the door locks and hands-free sinks, among other products.
The platform monitors all of a hotel’s battery-operated devices, determining where and when batteries need to be replaced.
“It takes the guesswork out,” said Potorski. “It also helps them understand when to replace things like consumables, including paper towels and soap in soap dispensers. It integrates into every platform. The idea is that we work across every battery-powered device.”
Michelle Potorski, Duracell Inc.
The platform was launched to give hoteliers an opportunity to streamline operations.
“The way we do that is by using predictive technology that allows them to know when to change the battery,” she said. “Without that, sometimes they are changing on a schedule and, in many cases, they are throwing away batteries that have up to 70% of the life left in them. That’s not good for the bottom line, and they’re also spending more on labor than they need to.”
Potorski cited studies that the company has done, which found that decreasing the amount of materials hoteliers have to buy, in combination with the reduction in labor and some of the tangible benefits from increasing guest satisfaction, can equate to a more than 7X ROI. “We are finding this to be very compelling for our hotel partners especially,” she said.
Solving guest problems
A system like this, which prevents little things from becoming a problem for a guest, is important for Blank.
“There are variety of solutions that help the hotel, but ultimately help the guests,” he said. “If you think from a maintenance standpoint, it’s important to have systems in place that communicate from the front desk to engineering and housekeeping, so that when a guest comes to a room, the issue has already been dealt with.”
When the guests don’t know there was a problem, they can’t complain. However, he said, if there is an issue, “they don’t complain when they are at the hotel. They complain after they leave or don’t complain at all and never come back.”
Phillips said he focuses on technology that is more “proactive than reactive,” noting, “Instead of the guest experiencing the issue, we are going to resolve it before they can even get to it. How do we gauge those things going wrong, whether it’s our door locks, thermostats or batteries, and how do we react to those problems before the guest can even get to experience them?”
Chris Richardson, Davidson Hospitality Group
With all of the choices of technologies hotels can invest in, Phillips focuses on one area when deciding: ROI.
“Our money should really go to what solution has the biggest impact on the bottom line,” the Loews executive said. “But, in some cases, that bottom line may not be tangible. It could be your guest experience, but it could also be the team member experience and what your team members are saying in surveys. You have to balance whether it is financial or experiential.”
Blank also pointed to how technology such as smart thermostats that can offer guests a more pleasant stay and decrease the hotel’s utility costs.
“The room can be at a certain temperature when they are not there, but you can set it to a temperature when they show up,” he said. “That takes some noise out of a guest’s stay before they even get comfortable.”
Taking a question from the audience, Haussman asked what technology introduction has had the biggest effect on the industry.
Davidson’s Richardson pointed to text-to-guest applications because of their real-time communication functionality.
“You eliminate the ‘pressing 0,’ as well as the call-tree factor,” he explained. “Guests can type in their request or complaint, and it gets answered almost immediately.”
Phillips agreed with Richardson. “It’s pretty easy,” he said. “It is connecting to your most personal piece of technology as a customer. It’s opened many doors, and it is still developing.
Blank chose the cellphone in general. “Every aspect of the hotel operation now revolves around the cellphone,” he said. “It was a game-changer.”
Ultimately, the key to any technology is that it removes friction for both guests and staff.
