Like many industries, hospitality has been turned on its head over the last decade.  Gone are the days where one would visit a brick-and-mortar travel agent to plan a vacation or work trip. But today, thanks to technology, travelers and meeting planners alike are playing a much larger role in the experience. A trip can be easily booked with a touch of a few buttons on a mobile app. When it comes to the hospitality business, digital transformation is a mix of greater customer demands—and the technology that can help meet them. Let’s look at the top 5 trends impacting the hospitality industry.

Event Apps

20 years ago, the task of keeping attendees engaged during a conference was a monumental one. Now, one can easily have a customized mobile application made that provides all the information needed to navigate a conference.  Event reminders, maps, message boards can all be included, while gathering real-time feedback and giving sponsors a measurable ROI.

Beacons

Taking the event app further, Beacons are small objects placed around venues which emit low-energy Bluetooth signals, creating an interactive network for event app users. These beacons create location-based interactions so each event attendee will experience unique behaviors in their event app depending on their location.  By providing a real-time account of event attendees, beacons create a more accurate representation of attendee behaviors, leading to better metrics reporting for future events. This makes beacons the best friend of number crunchers as well as directionally challenged event attendees.

Cloud-based hospitality accounting software

Whether its operating multi-property hotels, restaurant chains, entertainment venues, resorts, clubs, or other hospitality businesses, it can be challenging to keep accounting and finances on track. Sage Intacct automates hospitality accounting and financial management to give greater visibility, helping executives make better decisions and boost profitability. Instead of worrying about the intricacies of hospitality software, leaders are free to focus on customer satisfaction.

CRM

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology is a great solution for generating new business and staying connected to customers. CRM technology works by gathering guest profiles into a single database, providing easy access to useful information for all end-users. By using CRM technology, data from various sources, including sales, marketing and other channels, can be viewed and updated in one place. Technology such as this makes for a more streamlined approach to stay in touch with customers and business.

Tech lounges and Smart Meeting Spaces

Hotels are no longer the place to lay one’s head. Hotels are now the place where people gather, arranging meetings, presentations and organizing conferences. To provide them with the best experience, technology continues to play an increasingly important role.

Meeting spaces are not just about notepads, chairs and big drawing boards; advanced technology will be able to make multimedia presentations and video conferences easier and quicker. Hotels are taking this to the next step by also improving air filtration systems, improved natural light in rooms, and producing locally sourced foods, all while reducing waste to embrace sustainability.

Tech Lounges are a must during any meeting or convention, allowing attendees a place to sit and work in a relaxing atmosphere with access to Wi-Fi. Typical tech lounges feature sleek, comfortable seating for socializing and brainstorming; a large flat screen TV; and access to coffee, snacks or even a light menu.

Are you a hospitality executive looking to take your business to the next level? Contact us today to see how we can help.