Hotels are getting increasingly high-tech, but not all generations of guests appreciate contactless check-ins and chatbot concierges equally.
Hotel tech is everywhere now. AI chatbot concierges…IoT hotel rooms that enable guests to adjust everything from lights to temps to TVs from a mobile app…Smart sensors that can alert housekeeping to when a room is unoccupied and ready for cleaning…Digital, contact-less check ins…Robot room service and amenity delivery — there’s no arguing about just how much hotels are embracing technology to enhance and, in some cases, replace human interfaces at their properties.
These tech solutions can be money savers for the hotel and many guests, especially those who fall in the Gen Z and Millennial generations, who tend to prefer contactless and digital hotel experiences. However, some, particularly those in the older Gen X and Baby Boomer generations, still like to interact more with humans than chatbots and digital concierges.
How are hotels making today’s tech work for all generations of guests? Here are five examples of multigenerational hotel tech strategies:
- Make sure that the interfaces are user-friendly and intuitive. Even those who grew up with a cellphone in their hand don’t want to have to learn a whole new system just to order a room service burger and fries. And make it easy to figure out how to turn on and off the lights. Overly complicated lighting systems are a key complaint for many, especially in the older generations. Keep it simple, convenient and mobile-first.
- Offer both tech and human touches. While most appreciate the convenience of being able to book and check-in online, through an app or via a kiosk on site, some, particularly older guests, still want to interact with a human, especially when checking in after a long and grueling flight. But for those who do want their stay to be digital-first, be sure that the interfaces are contactless. While this may have become a thing during the pandemic, the younger generations in particular still appreciate the efficiency of a seamless, contactless hospitality solution — in fact, 70% of Millennials prefer a contactless hotel experience.
- Provide clear instructions on how to use new tech — and have a human available to help if they can’t figure out how to make something work, or if something gets glitchy. No one of any generation loves sitting on hold through an endless automated phone tree just to ask for new batteries in the TV remote.
- Make information about privacy and security easily available. While hotel technology may be smart, hackers all too often are smarter, and guests of all ages understandably have concerns about how the hotel is going to protect their guests’ data and personal information being collected by the technology.
- Don’t skimp on the high-speed WiFi. And, preferably, make it free and reliable. This is something all generations have come to not just appreciate, but also to expect as a baseline to a good hotel experience.
The rollout of more technology-driven, contactless experiences in hotels is likely going to continue, even if some older generations of guests aren’t quite on board. But as long as those human-interaction-preferring Baby Boomers continue to be an important hotel guest demographic, hotels will continue to have to walk the line by offering the human-centric options older guests prefer along with the high-tech options considered essential for Millennial and Gen Z guests.
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