Kristine's Take on Hotel Room Technology Trends
With travelers booking their stay based on the tech features offered, hotel management is weighing all their options to accommodate these growing demands. With everything from downloadable hotel apps, streaming apps for syncing your personal selections, plant-based meals, and AI in the room, the right choice can be daunting.
What Hotel Guests Are Looking For In A Phone System
- Easy To Use Features
- Price and Cost
- Enhanced Guest Room Devices
- Hardware Phone Design
1. Easy To Use Features
The moving parts of hospitality software for fast and accurate communication are key. I often like to download the hotel app before arrival so I can check on my room status and amenities. My expectation upon entering the room is that I am able to easily contact the Front Desk for key information or extra service like those pillows I’ll want later. I like having quick access to the hotel amenities without putting forth much effort on my own. In short, once I arrive, I want to press a button.
2. Price and Cost
Working with clients over the past several years, I’ve had the opportunity to assist in the selection of their guest/public and administrative phones. I like to start with the price point. This time-saving starting point minimizes the selections I start presenting to my clients during the initial process of choosing the right phone. My goal is to land within your budget while offering you the added services of order placement, working with you to ensure the faceplate is correct, programming the phones before shipment, and then finally shipment tracking. All this while making sure I keep you informed and updated while easing the apprehension of ordering new handsets for your property.
While guests may prefer to use their cell phones while in the hotel room, the guest room phone offers the fastest means to communicate with hotel staff. With programmed Guest Service Keys (GSK) direct dialing to the departments, you need without any need to search or preload information still ranks as the fastest way to communicate with key departments. Personalization continues to reign among travelers, and because most hotel phone systems integrate with the Hotel PMS - the staff answering your call will have your room number and your name once you connect. It’s an expected touch of added care. The need for the hotel room phone has not changed. In fact back in Feb 2018 when Keri’s Law has officially signed into law the need for the hotel room phone with direct 911 access only solidified the staying power of the hotel room phone.
3. Enhanced Guest Room Devices
The post-pandemic only increased the global number of remote workers. Like so many others when leaving my home to travel I may include a few days of working remotely. It’s for this reason, I want all the technical conveniences I enjoy at home to extend to my travel accommodations. First questions often include, what’s the WiFi password, then onto the weather, local attractions, and hours for the hotel amenities, the list can get extensive. At this point, I look for an All-In-One device with applications I can browse for convenience and additional information. With built-in apps for weather, hotel amenities, room service, valet, and service calls, I find this the easiest way to gather all the information I need with the touch of a button and let’s not forget at its core I can simply place a call. While a few hotels are opting to remove the traditional room phone they offer a replacement with a device offering applications and dialing for all your service and urgent needs. With a phone that also includes applications, I can quickly find the information I need without calling the Front Desk. With many hotels struggling to fill Front Desk staff positions and so many calls directed to these central extensions an All-In-One device with apps is a perfect balance to combat all the traffic and requests.
4. Hardware Phone Design
All this talk of hotel room phones and features leads me to the importance of design. New hospitality and administrative phones offer smaller footprints, more color selections, and key features like USB charging, message waiting indicator, and speaker options so you don’t even need to lift the handset. I like nothing more than to see the selection of the phone matches the design of the room. Designing the room with every detail including the phone tells me the staff thought of everything with the guest in mind, and they care about the experience they offer.
Just as travelers change and evolve with their needs for comfort, so will the concept of the hotel room. Many travelers are looking for added personal touches along with convenient if not luxury features. And while travel predictions are rising in numbers for 2023 it remains that all these new technologies will take part in the traveler's experience.
So take time to fill out those surveys marking your opinions after your stay - it could affect the changing features of your next stay.
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