Hoteliers around the world will tell you that their biggest challenges currently revolve around three areas: Labor efficiency, contactless guest demands, and recovering lost revenue. In order to provide guidance, one upcoming conference aims to shed light on some best practices that will help hotel companies meet these challenges head on.

Labor Efficiency

While the hospitality industry is experiencing extensive labor shortages, that doesn't mean that it has to affect guest service. Technology companies today have created solutions that focus on efficiency, communicate seamlessly with other systems to provide a full picture of the guest, and provide the tools hotel staff members must have to anticipate guest needs and improve service levels. These tools allow hoteliers to do more with less, and help staff provide an exceptional guest experience even with these challenges.

Whether it is shortages in service, front desk or IT staff, with the right technologies in place, a hotel doesn't have to be at a disadvantage. By accessing guest data from the hotel's point-of-sale (POS) system or property management system (PMS), a property can ensure that guest expectations are met or even exceeded. These systems enable hotels to predict guest reservations, so they can optimize inventory and staff, and plan an exceptional experience for every guest.

Services like mobile check-in/out and contactless payment not only provide convenience and a sense of security to the guest, but they allow for time and labor savings. By permitting the guest to select rooms in advance or process food and beverage orders on the mobile device of their choice, a hotel is able to focus more time on guest service improvements and less on manual tasks. These services help the property and its staff become more accurate and more efficient at any point during the year – including high-volume seasons like holidays.

With a full view of the guest through the PMS and POS system, properties are able to monitor inventory and service options from anywhere. These technologies are easy to use, provide guided workflows, and don't require extensive IT support at the hotel.

Contactless Payments

Agilysys understands that many hotels and restaurants are encouraging their guests to pay using methods that limit contact between staff and consumers. The shift toward contactless payments is quickly picking up speed and is considered a strategic step toward a “new normal”.

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Contactless Guest Demands

More and more, guests today are requesting contactless services. Whether mobile check-in/out, mobile room keys, mobile ordering, or contactless payment options, many guests prefer to use their own devices, and appreciate the security of transactions done in the palm of their hand.

Guests can use the mobile device of their choice to check in, enter their rooms, and order and pay for special items. Even during busy service times, guests have the ability to pay for a meal by scanning a QR code, reviewing their check on their device, adding a gratuity, and providing payment – all in a touchless environment. Guest requests can be made from the same mobile device to change rooms, make reservations, or process special orders.

Contemporary property management systems help their staff be more efficient and accurate, directly affecting the guest experience. With contactless services, wait times are reduced, the stress of check-in/out is alleviated, and the staff can better customize the guest experience, improving guest satisfaction and loyalty.

Recovering Lost Revenue

When a hotel has solutions in place to better cater to the guest, it can directly affect revenue. Hotels today have access to the guest before, during and after their stays, and many take full advantage of that. By contacting the guest with special offers through a reference of their preferences and guest profile, hotels can start the guest’s stay off on a positive note.

With the right systems, hotels can predict activity, monitor inventory, identify opportunities, and increase revenue. By using the guest profile, hotels can customize special offers and packages, providing upsell opportunities like ticket reservations, spa services and golf. Each department has the ability to maximize revenue, and with the right technologies, the hotel can identify opportunities and put them into action.

Optimize Your Venue Seating and Management

A complete online system that’s unlike anything else. See availability across all outlets and venues, leverage multiple seat layouts for specified dates, holidays and special events, leverage unique layouts associated with an event, and accept multiple payment categories to accommodate kids, seniors, etc.

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By offering services like those mentioned above, it benefits the guest and the hotel. The guest is able to interact with the hotel in the way they prefer, and the hotel has been able to generate more revenue and improve its guest service through time and labor savings, as well as customized offerings to the guest. Properties that ensure they have technologies in place to serve the guest in a seamless fashion are able to navigate these challenges much easier than those that don't. By providing their staff with these tools, hotels allow their teams to focus more on guest service and not manual tasks.

Where can I learn more about best practices for these challenges?

You can visit the links noted above under each section, or you can attend the upcoming in-person Agilysys Consultants Forum January 17-18, 2022. The two-day event will be held at the beautiful Atlantis Bahamas on Paradise Island, and will include educational sessions with in-depth discussions focused on best practice tips and recommendations for all three challenges. One session will shine a spotlight on why Atlantis decided to partner with Agilysys to overcome many of these challenges and help it provide the ultimate guest experience. Additionally, the Agilysys executive team will cover strategy highlights for how the global technology company will address these same challenges and identify trends in 2022.