National Report–When the Internet revolutionized how guests research travel plans and book rooms, the industry was slow to adapt. The door was left open for online travel agents to make their mark. The lesson? Society gravitates to better access of information and easier paths of payment. Several business models, like Amazon.com and iTunes, continue to prove this point.
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| Intelity's mobile ICE |
“I think the technology has jumped ahead of us. I think we’re hung up on how we think of service,” Joseph Lema, assistant professor of hospitality management at Drexel University, said. “There’s some serious disconnect [between] what guests want and what we give them.”
Smith Travel Research reported average daily rate dropped 8.8 percent in 2009, and PKF Hospitality forecasts a further 1.1-percent drop in 2010. So, as demand increases, maximizing guest spend with new devices is even more crucial.
Self-service
Gas stations and grocery stores have mastered self-service, and the hotel industry is slowly getting there with kiosks in lobbies. Kiosks normally are associated with check-in and check-out, but any device giving the guest control presents an selling opportunity.
Marc Bauer, GM at the Hotel Duval in Tallahassee, Fla., said his property uses Intelity’s Interactive Customer Experience, a self-service kiosk that sits in the guestrooms. Bauer said 82 percent of his guests use ICE to order room service (most predominant), spa treatments, reservations and more.
Bauer said two big benefits of self-service technology are upselling and updating capabilities.
“There’s a certain amount of human error in the room service [upselling] process,” Bauer said. “Versus voice orders, our upsell and average check is about 60 percent greater [on ICE].”
And with no need for paper, Bauer can update menus and service items so guests always know what is available and what it costs.
“The next generation of guests growing up with this technology will have high confidence using it,” Lema said. 
Mobile
Between Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Nexus One, Motorola’s Droid and BlackBerry, the smartphone revolution is just beginning.
“The on-property mobile opportunity … it’s the Holy Grail in some respects,” said Brian Deagan, CEO of Knotice, a direct digital marketing solutions provider.
Shutters on the Beach, a luxury hotel in Santa Monica, Calif., contacted Runtriz, an interactive software firm specializing in Web design and touch-screen solutions, to implement its mobile e-concierge. Guests can access the hotel’s services from a regular Web browser, a smartphone or an iPod Touch that the hotel supplies.
“If somebody is on their 3G device at a bar … and they want a hamburger, they can place a room service order, tell them to deliver it at a certain time and it will be there [when they get back],” said Gregory Day, the hotel’s GM.
Day said this service gets the most use at the pool, where guests can order a drink and have it brought right to their chair.
Data collection
With either a mobile e-concierge or a kiosk, the hotel benefits from data collection.
“We can monitor all touches made by category—dining, valet, etc.—what has been ordered by room number, monthly dollar amounts of private dining orders, top spenders [and more],” said Eugene Antonevici, front office manager for the Malibu Beach Inn, which also uses Runtriz.
The data collection also benefits the guest. Similar to how Amazon.com suggests items based on previous purchases, a hotel can build a guest profile and send out tailored promotions.
“The technology is there to upsell a guest instantly at the point of the decision,” Lema said. “You’ve got a captive audience there, so tie it in multiple channels.”
