As anyone who has travelled will attest, technology has permeated itself through every facet of a modern hotel, from the hotel restaurant to the way we book our rooms. But mobile will lead the next wave of progress in hospitality, improving everything from staff retention to customer service to RevPAR.
Over the years, hotels have had to face many different technological challenges and opportunities. Traditional, paper-based PMS systems have been replaced by digital systems, which are then integrated into multiple POS systems dotted throughout the hotel, making payment and other processes easier and quicker. Yet the rise of Online Travel Agents (OTAs) has forced many hotels to compete on price, affecting the bottom line and handing more power to the consumer.
The average guest profile has changed too. Younger and more technologically savvy, today’s guest will compare multiple properties before booking online (most likely via one of the many mobile or tablet devices he or she possesses), prioritizing experience and value for money over amenities.
Yet despite all this, the way in which a hotel’s performance is measured remains the same, with pressure to improve RevPAR ever-present. Hotels are expected to increase guest satisfaction and their own operating performance, while at the same time improve employee engagement and loyalty.
It is this last part, employee engagement and loyalty, which many hotels struggle with. Hospitality has become synonymous with high turnover, a rate that ranges anywhere from 60-300%, three times most other industries. This is mainly due to low wages, long working hours and often-poor career development and opportunities. The cost of high employee turnover is less guest recognition, less stability and poorer customer service – directly affecting a hotel’s bottom line.
It is here that mobile can prove transformational. It is well known that the average hospitality employee is young, and that young people are highly likely to not only own a smartphone, but be much more comfortable reading and learning from one. Therefore it is natural that mobile learning has much more potential to benefit this band of employees.
Mobile learning is also perfectly suited to the hospitality industry. It is cheaper than traditional, classroom-based training methods, it is more effective, and more able to fit into the busy schedules of the average hotel employee (they can learn on the way to work, or during a lunch break), and it is scalable, able to be replicated across multiple departments and properties.
Furthermore, technological and pedagogical progress has resulted in mobile learning software that is unrecognizable from only a few years ago. Now, mobile Apps are able to pick up even the slightest change in sound and tone, and can provide instant feedback to the student – for learning tone-heavy languages such as Mandarin, this is a game changer. Programs can be made that reflect hotel scenarios. For instance, there are programs that place students in an F&B or Front Desk setting to teach them upselling techniques.
Whether it is learning a new language, training in service etiquette or the techniques on how to upsell, mobile has the power to improve the hotel’s bottom line, increase guest satisfaction and reduce staff turnover. With rising competition for quality staff around the world, the hotels that break from the past, and embrace mobile will be much better placed to weather future technological storms.
About the author
David Topolewski is Chief Executive Officer of Qooco, which provides mobile language learning and vocational training solutions for employees in the hospitality and service industries. Through advanced neurolinguistic techniques and pedagogies and powerful speech recognition technology, Qooco allows associates to learn languages and service skills anywhere, anytime, more efficiently and cost-effectively than ever before – improving customer service and increasing revenues. Qooco’s holistic solution promotes greater workforce engagement, allows accurate performance measurement and real-time feedback. Qooco’s suite of products include: Qooco Voice, Qooco Upsell, Qooco Link, Qooco Core and Qooco Pro. For more information, visit: www.qooco.com.
