News Analysis: what's next for hotel tech trends?

In March 2016, Hilton revealed the launch of “Connie”, the world’s first robot concierge. While the pilot took place at a hotel in the USA, Hilton McLean in Virginia, recent news in the Middle East has also featured hoteliers implementing innovative front-of-house and in-room technologies to take the guest experience to the next level.

Are these new hotel technologies simply a sign of the times? Or, in a region such as the Middle East, where building personal relationships with guests is very important, are global tech trends simply not relevant to this market?

According to Hotelier Middle East’s poll, 58.3% believe that personalisation is too important in this region for tech trends to take hold in hotels. The industry experts we spoke to were unanimous in the opinion that technology cannot, and should not, replace the human connection. However, the goal has to be striking a balance between the two.

Hotelier Middle East’s 2015 Front Office Person of the Year award winner Felix Tochukwu Alozie (concierge at the Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Media City) said hotels must strike the right balance, but argued that the human service element will always top tech developments: “While iPads and robot concierges offer guests stereotypical and automated responses, they do not offer the human touch. I truly believe guests prefer personalised interactions with hosts of a hotel rather than having to deal with automation. We are in an extremely competitive market and I am sure such trends will be introduced in many hotels to try and stand out… Hotels face fierce competition and what really gives an edge is the level of service they deliver.”

“A robot concierge will deliver information that is detailed and available 24/7, but where is the human aspect? Where is that hospitality spirit?” agreed Jannah Hotels and Resorts CEO Nehme Imad Darwiche. Nevertheless, as an advocate of technology in other aspects of hotel operations, Darwiche is convinced of the benefits of technologies such as tablet check-in, or contacting a butler via WhatsApp (a service which is currently available in Jannah properties) as a “stress reduction tool” for guests.

“For example, we are introducing the iPad check-in in our new [Jannah] Dubai Creek hotel,” Darwiche continued. “With the fierce competition between hotels, leaders of the industry will start hunting for uniqueness and there is nothing more unique than that of pioneering tech trends.”

Meanwhile, Wojtek Orlewicz (director of front office at Amwaj Rotana, and highly commended nominee in the 2015 Hotelier Middle East Awards Front Office Person of the Year category) suggested the answer for hoteliers must be to offer guests the choice.

At the same time, he commented, the skills of a Clefs d’Or awarded concierge (like the chief concierge at Orlewicz’s hotel) are “irreplaceable”. “We are after all, in the business of hospitality so we should not lose that human touch.”

“It is good to employ a certain level of technology so that guests can have their pick. Those who prefer to go down that route can still use devices and those who prefer to be looked after by a member of staff can have that option too,” he added.

Like Darwiche, Roger El Khoury, CEO of tech consultancy Neorcha, said he views technology as a competitive point of difference for ultra-luxury hotels. Which is why, El Khoury argued, Dubai is a world leader in “smart-room” technology, which allows guess to open curtains, and change TV channels through integrated devices.

El Khoury’s prediction for the next generation of smart rooms is control of room amenities through the hotel guest’s own device, rather than an additional device supplied by the hotel. Neorcha has not yet worked on creating such a platform, but El Khoury suggested this is the natural evolution of smart room technology, and also more cost-effective for hotels themselves.

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The prediction relates to his personal take on the future of robot concierges. He said: “In the Middle East, this human relationship and guest experience of talking to someone is going to continue. However, we have some techy guests and millennials that prefer to have information easily and quickly accessible. If they need more personalised advice, they can seek the concierge.

“In my opinion, the robot is more about marketing. We are not trying to replace the concierge and the human touch, this is important, especially in luxury hotels. But having another tool that is really just at [the guest’s] fingertips, can be of value.

“From my point of view, this is something that will catch on, even in the Middle East, because there is more and more demand from customers to get such information. At least on an app, even if it isn’t from a robot!”

The robot, El Khoury said, is a much less efficient way of doing what a hotel app could be enabled to do instead.

Although tech trends such as online or tablet check-in and smart keys (where traditional keys are replaced by mobile phones) are subject to different legal requirements in the Middle East, than in other regions, both El Khoury and Orlewicz see benefits in a tailored approach to this technology. In fact, according to Orlewicz, the Amwaj Rotana is just one of Rotana’s hotels in the Middle East to have implemented a tablet check-in system, incidentally in collaboration with Neorcha. El Khoury added that Rotana has installed online pre-check in all 60 hotels in the region, and tablet check-in in approximately half.

In this region, these systems cannot allow guests to immediately head to the room, however Orlewicz explained that the new technology has still had a positive impact on the hotel: “While the guests complete a very comprehensive electronic registration form, the front desk agents find extra time to engage our guests in polite conversation. Guest satisfaction is on the rise, guest engagement is too, and my team has been breaking upselling records all year long.”

Electronic versions of guest registration cards and bills also has a positive effect on the environment and cost savings. While Orlewicz estimated the average paper saving at the Amwaj Rotana at 50,000 sheets of paper a year; El Khoury estimated that the average 230-room hotel could make a saving of US $7,000 a year by going paperless.

There is also the additional benefit to hoteliers of customer data. Via automated electronic check-in systems, this information can be automatically filled in the hotel CMS during registration, and used to create a centralised profile for the guest.

As a result, rather than diminishing personalisation of services, El Khoury argued that apps (and related technologies) can be used to increase personalisation. One example is the use of beacons in hotels. These Bluetooth-enabled scanners are capable of detecting guest devices which have access to hotel apps. “This will really revolutionise the customer experience, because it will enable a lot of services, where you capture guest attention. You can even customise the offering to the profile of the customer standing next to the beacon,” explained El Khoury.

While beacon technology is not widespread in hotels, it is used in airports and convention centres. Neorcha is currently piloting it at a hotel in Dubai, as well as in Zurich, Switzerland. “It still hasn’t picked up very well, but I hope that Dubai will be the leader in this technology,” El Khoury concluded.