How AI can help hotels sail through the next normal
All business sectors have been struggling due to financial repercussions put forth by COVID-19. But, the hospitality sector has perhaps, bore the most severe brunt. According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association reports as of June 3, nearly 6 out of 10 open hotel rooms lay empty. This is besides thousands of hotels that remain completely shuttered. More than 7 million hospitality and leisure job losses were reported in April alone.
The latest figures reveal how devastating the contagion has been for this sector. Fortunately, a sense of confidence has been observed amongst people now as they are stepping out. The change has been led by improving health conditions and the active precautionary measures in the regions. This implies the time has arrived for the hospitality industry to move on — to the next normal.
Hotel websites are already drawing visits with ease in lockdown restrictions. The big question is, are the hotels ready to respond to the new customer demands? This calls for an agile approach towards technology, something the industry has not been traditionally popular for. The current pause is an opportune time to gain insights into evolved customer preferences and trends riding on the back of artificial intelligence.
Faster Route to Information for Swift Decision Making
The job of a hospitality professional has increased manifolds as you make decisions on managing costs and plan for the future. Before you consider reopening, you’ll need to gauge potential demand, anticipate staffing needs, and might have to realign teams. Guests may want contactless solutions for check-in, check-outs, concierges which require tech interventions.
The pre-pandemic marketing strategy holds no relevance today as guest personas may differ under the new scenario. No one knows for sure, what will play a more decisive role post the economic recovery - price or safety.
Hence, new actionable data is required to cater to the evolved consumers. The properties fastest to adapt to changing customer profiles and industry trends stand the best chance to succeed in a post-pandemic world. Therefore, timely access to relevant information is imperative to stay ahead of the curve.
AI-Driven Interactions with Data Sets
Irrespective of your current mode of working, AI-powered interactions have enabled the user to resolve queries to find a way forward. As a business tool, they have evolved to an extent where an intuitive search interface lets you extract information from multiple resources to accurately answer your text or voice-based questions.
The technology is easy to use and requires no special training. The right solutions can comprehend industry-relevant terms and provide a personalized interface for hospitality sector users based on their portfolios. Besides, this highly intuitive framework can deliver actionable results within weeks of its deployment and can be accessed from any device, including tablet, desktop, and mobile.
The industry-specific AI assistant can get you answers on costs, pricing, strategies, changing consumer profiles, etc. and a lot more in a post-pandemic world. An AI-backed conversation with data can draw inferences from historical data and the new data sources to give clearer insights into the future.
Data and Tech Partnership for Recovery
Given the current scenario, some industry analysts believe that the last segment to return to hotels will be business travel. This is backed by the assumption that meetings are largely taking place virtually. Data and technology can help businesses get an overview of customer sentiment in your region and beyond. It gets signals from social networking platforms and other sources to predict demand and concerns.
The priorities for leisure travelers might become completely different in times to come. They might depend on pricing, safety measures the hotel has taken to mitigate the risk of contracting the virus, etc. The amalgamation of data and technology can help properties decide accordingly to customize offers and create training programs to prepare returning or new employees. This partnership, with respect to the development of an antidote, will also determine the status of travel in your region. All of this information can be leveraged to strategize and adjust goals for revenue maximization.
This is the right time to reap the benefits of AI as old data holds little to no relevance in the current time. AI can help businesses take a lead over the situation and help them sail through the new normal.
