Why hotels need advanced tech tools in marketing and sales

Cutting-edge client-facing technologies can help hotels not only boost revenue but also adapt to fast-evolving customer preferences

Rolling out new digital tools has never been more important as the industry is emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic, which transformed the technology use and purchasing patterns of customers. For example, guest demand rose significantly for contactless, self-service and mobile-based solutions, prompting operators to rapidly update their services.

Key takeaways

• The majority of hotels already offer or is planning to introduce over the next year mobile booking, mobile check-in and mobile room keys (100% of participants), two-way messaging with guests (95%), contactless payments (88%), check-in and check-out kiosks (62%) and voice-controlled devices (54%);
• The customer appeal of some of the more sophisticated technologies appears to be less pronounced, at least for now. For example, just 18% and 16% of travelers rated virtual reality spaces and hotel robots providing contactless services important in the 2022 Customer Engagement Technology Study;
• But in a positive development, the average IT budget of hotels globally rose to more than 4% of total revenue in 2022 from less than 3% in 2021, and 74% of hoteliers are now willing to consider using alternative investment metrics for technology projects.

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