Digital Check-In is the industry’s first and only opportunity for guests to select the exact room they want through interactive floor plans and Google Maps API. There is also the Digital Key, which allows guests to use their smartphones as a room key and bypass the front desk check-in.
Technology and the personal guest experience should not be thought of as mutually exclusive, said Ben George, senior VP and commercial director, APAC, Hilton.
“We see technology as something that augments but does not replace the guest experience; it enables us to offer more personalised services efficiently upon your request, at your fingertips,” he said.
During his talk, ‘Innovation in hospitality — Transforming the guest experience and cultivating brand loyalty yesterday’, he spoke about some of the innovations used at Hilton.
Digital Check-In is the industry’s first and only opportunity for guests to select the exact room they want through interactive floor plans and Google Maps API. There is also the Digital Key, which allows guests to use their smartphones as a room key and bypass the front desk check-in.
Hilton is also trialling a Connected Room to deliver a mobile-first room experience, where guests can customise all elements of their stay such as streaming television channels, controlling room temperature and lights and even ordering extra pillows and towels.
Said George, “Crucially, at the heart of these innovations is a desire to facilitate and make processes more efficient, freeing up time. This means that less time is spent waiting at the front desk or calling housekeeping for personal amenities, such that we have more time to interact with guests, to get to understand them better as individuals, and ultimately deepen our relationship with them.”
This does not mean removing the role of front-end service.
“Innovation is solving customer pain points and allowing customers to make a choice, not about technology taking over. We are a business of people serving people and we don’t want to stop talking to people,” he said.
An upcoming development is the In-App Real-Time Chat on the Hilton Honors app where its members can chat to front desk staff and make requests from a day before check-in and up to a week after.
This article is part of Travel Weekly Asia’s special report from ITB Asia 2018.