Here at ScreenCloud we like to gaze into the future and think about  how things may change for the key sectors we serve for example looking  at the smart hotel of the future,  where everything is served from a single key, monitored by RFID  stickers and serviced by robots. And okay, maybe that sounds a little  “out there,” but the truth is, we’re not that far off. Like every  industry, key trends in technology and marketing are changing the way we  think and do business. Here we look at five big trends affecting  hospitality now and into the future.

Chatbots are conversation intelligence software that use virtual intelligence to understand, process, and respond to customer requests in real time, without the assistance of a human. 

While this sounds sophisticated, it’s  actually super simple and something that has arrived in hospitality  without too much fanfare. These tools are now a core component of modern AI customer service, helping travel brands automate responses, speed up resolutions, and deliver consistent support across channels.

If you’ve used the Domino’s pizza app or ordered from a flagship  Burger King or Taco Bell in the States, it’s likely you’ve met the bots  already. Customers here can make the most of chatbots, whose aim is to  get the customer what they want more quickly.

Chatbots are best when they mirror real human conversation and can  work independently, by looking at inventory, predicting order times and  so on. Here are a few other applications:

Bots that act as a travel concierge, helping travelers to find  hotels and answer questions like “where is the nearest beach from here?”

Customer service chatbots that answer questions and help visitors with queries.

Hotel chatbots that can service the individual traveler: sending  them an iron, helping them to work out the safe, turning the air  conditioning down, and so on.

Virtual reality and augmented reality, or VR and AR as they’re more easily known, let you see worlds through a different lens - literally.  These technologies re-cast the customer experience. They take showing  someone a picture of your holiday or hotel suite to a new level.  Brochures are great, but what if the customer could actually be there  instead? It opens up a whole new world and helps to convert more sales  from a customer who feels like they are already there.

Read more about improving the guest experience with hospitality apps.

A hotel customer wants to know what day trip to go on. Staff give  them a VR headset and allow them to “look around” the island to see if  it’s somewhere they’d want to spend a day at.

In the same way that we snap holiday images to share online,  consumers will soon be able to create virtual tours and share those to  Facebook 360 or YouTube.

Tourists visiting a specific landmark can slip a headset on and see  historical figures or events appear in the space before them through AR.

Digital screens in hotel receptions (plus across airports,  restaurants, landmarks, tourist points, etc.) solve many of the problems  a tourist or visitor faces in another country. From predicting check-in  time and checking what the weather will be like, to seeing key  information in an emergency, digital signage is a simple way to do all  of those things.

Digital signage offered in hospitality  now has a range of benefits and options. Throw a few screens up on the  wall and you have a quick and easy way to display any information you  like. (Quick plug: ScreenCloud makes it incredibly easy to get any digital content up onto your digital screens).

Personalized welcome messaging within a hotel.

Travel information, weather reports and news.

A restaurant might share the latest digital menu boards, allergy info and special offers.

Digital signage in tourism where screens can be used in attractions to provide queue time, social media links, historical videos and images of people having fun.

Voice-activated digital screens that the visitor can speak to and ask questions.

Digital Signage with Amazon Alexa

Screens that “talk” to other smart, connected systems and react by  providing updates on stock inventory, emergency information and data on  queue or wait times.

More personalized screen experiences where content can change based on footfall, proximity to screen, time of day and more.

In the future of hospitality, we see digital signage moving from a  read-consume-reach format to a speak-touch-gaze one. Screens are no  longer standing as static noticeboards for visitors; they’re becoming  voice-activated or gaze-activated - a system that visitors can navigate  themselves and use for optimal benefit, choosing only the information  they want to see.

Blockchain is often associated with currencies such as Bitcoin but  the truth is, it’s attempting to radically change the technology systems  we use every day. The idea is to create more trust and neutrality in  transactions such as money exchanging hands or even votes being made. If  that sounds confusing, check out this video:

What is blockchain?

So what does that mean for hospitality? Blockchain will become  hospitality’s partner in crime because it serves the customer better. It  could allow you to pay a hotel directly, without having to use a bank  or anyone else that’s going to charge for converting a currency. It  could also allow individuals to regulate what hotels are charging, e.g.,  it could get rid of the annoyance where you look on a travel site one  day at a hotel that’s $100 a night, then see it’s $150 the next night  because they know you’re interested.

Here are a few other applications for anyone in the hospitality industry to be aware of:

It could join up different aspects of the travel experience and make  payment more fluid (for example, being able to pay for your coffee with  air miles or your dinner with Uber loyalty points).

Book with hotels directly without a middleman required.

The ability to book day trips, meals and museum entry without money  or currency changing hands through digital currencies such as Bitcoin.

What if every single object or “thing” around you became smart?  That’s the internet of things (IoT). We’ve heard it described as “a wild  fire across a dry prairie” because that’s how quickly IoT is hooking up  the things around you into one smart, connected system.

Within hospitality, the focus is on ease. Within a restaurant, if  your fridge could talk to your stock inventory system, your cash  register and your ordering point, it could easily work out what you need  more of and when.

For the consumer, these devices focus on personalized experiences. A  hotel room that knows just how you like your coffee in the morning and  how early you want to wake up has a huge competitive advantage. In a  market where it is often dog-eat-dog or hotel-eat-hotel especially due  to the rise of self-service models such as Airbnb, these smart things  make all the difference.

A hotel room tablet which can be used to change temperature, screen  content, lighting, with the ability to save preferences and learn from  them.

Devices which measure efficiency across hotels or restaurants and  adapt to cut down on waste, energy use and carbon output accordingly.

Restaurants that need fewer workers due to chatbots, smart ordering systems, stock management and digitized menu boards.

Where do you see the future of hospitality taking us? Let us know @screencloud.

How chatbots, VR, IoT, digital signage and blockchain are affecting hotels, restaurants and travel services within hospitality and applications for each. Summary: Applications for the future trends of the hospitality industry.

Applications for the future trends of the hospitality industry.

5 Key Trends Affecting Hospitality

5 Key Trends Affecting Hospitality

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