Hoteliers are well recognising that adpting Digital guest experience technology (guest smartphone ordering & payment, guest messaging, digital hotel compendium etc) is providing a world of opportunity, and with good reason too. Because, from an ROI perspective, it brings some great efficiencies for hoteliers across their non-room based operations, and it significantly drives higher revenues from ancillaries too, with the right approach and deployment. 

Today's guests are increasingly happy to self-serve themselves with effective digital tools so that they can engage with the hotel team and outlets as part of their overall hotel experience.  It's now become a firm habit, accelerated by the long drawn out pandemic period. We see the data that confirms this upsurge very clearly too.

But whilst it's clear that hoteliers cannot rest on their laurels expecting a return to the old normal, they do have an opportunity to look back and take some stock. Especially before they embrace any technology offering in this space.

Just as they will likely take care in ensuring that a new candidate for a role on their team will have the ability to get on well  with and blend into the existing team, similar care also needs to be applied when selecting smartphone ordering technology for the property's non-room operations, so that it will can work well together with the human team, in perfect synergy. 

Because it's likely that the hotel or resort's human team members and their fine service skills may well be the very reason for the hard-earned reputation that the hotel has achieved thus far, and what the property has always prized itself on.  The quintessential skills that have consistently generated many "wow" comments on hotel reviews over time.

In other words, this is not the time for hoteliers to run the risk of effectively killing the goose that's been delivering those golden eggs by adopting technology that effectively precludes the all-important human team members service skills from continuing to shine through to guests.

There's no doubt that Artificial Intelligence (AI) elements, for example, make so much sense, from an efficiency perspective, when employed in the form of AI Chatbots for front desk staff in high peak times and freeing up front desk staff to attend more to guests more personally. We utilise AI driven components within our REVA Anywhere platform technology too.

But, particularly when it comes to the actual smartphone ordering process, an extra level of care needs to be taken in choosing technology that enables the human service team to continue to showcase their high quality service standards, working effectively in tandem with the appointed technology, without adversely affecting service standards. To keep those "wow" comments coming from your discerning guests.

In response to valuable feedback from hoteliers in 4 and 5 star establishments, we have developed REVA Anywhere from the outset, with a unique Open Cheque hospitality underpinning, so that service team members have the flexibility to be able to contribute and engage personally with guests and their smartphone orders, regardless if the meal setting is in the guest's room, at table or outside al fresco. 

In this way, a team member might make a proactive call to the room to ensure that the guest's single course room serviced meal is to their expectations,  and then make a suggested upselling recommendation, and be able to edit or add such extra menu line items to the guests initial smartphone generated order.  The team member also gets to determine when the meal has come to its natural ending by closing the cheque.. they way it should be, we feel, in any reputable 4 or 5 star property.

This flexibility, developed in the technology, can contribute to a more positive guest experience, and save the guest from having to reach for the phone again to make another separate order during such progressively ordered meal occasions. Further, enabling the human attentive element to work in synergy with the technology, can also relieve the guest from receiving multiple e-receipts, and needless multiple credit card transactions fees for the multi mini-transactions.

We have developed REVA Anywhere, with a lot of focus on thinking through the actual ordering process, to ensure that it assists hotel operations in protecting their reputation for delivering high standards of human personal service.

This emphasizes our firm belief that technology is there to ultimately serve as a connector, and enabler, between guests, and the hotel team members personal customer service.

If you are actively exploring guest mobile ordering & payment market options, we recommend  consideration be given in ensuring that your human team members are still kept involved in the ordering process by your chosen technology, if you haven't already factored this in.  To insure your hotel brand and reputation and prevent your reputable 4 or 5 star property's golden eggs gradually turning a shade of vanilla...