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Don’t miss out on your copy of AMG Autumn Edition

Latest AMG55 CoverFrom handling guests who are absolutely wrong, to electrical safety, hotel revenue profitability and star ratings, there is plenty of must-have information to read through.

How much is too much when it comes to tech upgrades? If there’s even such a thing…

This issue explores many of the technological advancements already infringing on the accommodation industry. From robotic inventions to system upgrades and communication apps, accommodation providers around the world are beginning to change how they operate on a day-to-day basis, influenced by new technology. As the world continues to evolve, it is becoming more and more realistic to believe that robots could soon replace staff or that apps could replace in-house service.

Personally, I still think this is a long way off as I think technology is still too unreliable to replace almost anything permanently. Take supermarkets, for example, as they tried to replace staff with self-serve check-outs only to back-track because the machines kept malfunctioning and customers were complaining. If a customer has an issue with a member of staff, it can be resolved but if a robot just stops working, guests are going to become incensed.

The internet is an amazing tool and apps are terrific for helping with all sorts of things. Sat-nav apps are a great example of this; super handy and incredibly easy-to-use. However, we all find ourselves yelling in frustration from time-to-time as we’re being directed to go ‘the long way round’ despite selecting ‘fastest route’. Technology is fabulous: when it works.

Accommodation providers do not have the luxury of being able to cite ‘system error’ in response to a negative review. Whatever technology has done wrong to negatively impact a guest’s stay; the managers will get the blame. So the question then becomes, how much do you trust this piece of technology? While I think some forms have obviously become trustworthy enough to be worth the risk of malfunction, others have not. For example: PMS systems and social media outreach might make the cut but housekeeping-shaped robots may not. At least, not yet.

The temptation of convenience and innovation is a huge draw so the industry is bound to rely on technology more and more. But there will certainly be some bumps in the road.

We’ve seen it with customer-machine interaction in other industries and we’ve seen it in various forms of data hacking already in the tourism sector and beyond.

As ever, thanks for your continued readership and I hope you enjoy this issue of AMG!

Click Here to read the latest issue

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