How Ai Is Defining The Future Of Hospitality Industry

It is often misconstrued as a tool to replace human power even though its impact is more pervasive. Since AI aims at serving humanity, it finds resonance in what the hospitality sector does - serving customers by providing better services. In fact, there is a synergy of purpose between the hospitality sector and AI technology, which can be effectively implemented by leveraging the gains of AI testing.

The hospitality sector, like every other, is witnessing rapid changes in terms of growing expectations of the new age digitally-savvy customers. The sector, besides looking to deliver excellent customer experiences, ought to improve its operational efficiency and find better revenue sources to augment its bottom line. This is where AI in hospitality industry can fit in with its ability to analyze data on guests and help the industry to gain better and actionable insights. The industry can leverage these insights to deliver superior customer experience while monetizing it.

How artificial intelligence can help in setting-up intelligent hotels

With competition in the hospitality sector getting intense by the day and customers becoming even more choosy, the concept of intelligent hotels is finding increased traction. In such hotels, AI drives care, support, and other services such as:

• Voice-activated services
• Digital assistance
• Concierge robots
• Automated data processing using machine learning

AI-powered robots can reduce the guest-employee interface to a considerable extent and deliver a superior customer experience. These hotel concierge bots can take care of the minutest of customers’ personal needs.

If Apple’s Siri has led the way in making the AI-driven voice-activated assistance popular, Amazon’s Echo and Alexa have followed suit in creating a richer and delightful customer experience. The hotel industry revolves around a few AI and ML driven services, which they harness to address the ever-changing customer expectations. This means hotels globally should upgrade their IT infrastructure by integrating AI-driven predictive analytics. In such cases, to ensure the efficacy of services, AI testing of the components should become a norm in the SDLC. Let us understand how the adoption of AI in hospitality industry can have multiple benefits.

1. Assistance based on proximity: Using wireless beacon technology, machine learning, and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) capabilities, the customer’s smartphone can have a personal valet to address queries such as - where is the conference room, restaurants, swimming pool etc.
2. Strong Wi-Fi: Today’s hotels or resorts are multi-storied or spread over a huge area. The large expanse can hinder Wi-Fi coverage and seamless roaming by using legacy wireless networks. However, new AI-powered platforms can gain insights on the Wi-Fi usage patterns and address related issues to deliver a seamless Wi-Fi experience. For example, the virtual assistant in the smartphone of a customer can inform the latter if the hotel is aware of any ‘out-of-service’ internet issue and the duration it is likely to be fixed.
3. Leverage data reservoirs to deliver customized services: AI testing services can mine humongous customer data from the digital devices used by customers. This data can be used to understand their specific interests and requirements. As the usage of IoT-enabled devices increases, hotels and travel companies can draw rich insights to deliver customized services. This can lead to greater customer experiences and higher revenue.
4. Predictive analysis: Hotels often find themselves handicapped in meeting sudden demand arising out of holidays, events, and seasonable changes, among others. Monitoring such changes in demand can play a critical role in apportioning resources optimally and efficiently. Machine learning as a tool can be leveraged to predict and optimize the availability and deployment of resources leading to increased profit margins. This calls for utilizing AI testing tools to identify glitches in the AI-powered ecosystem.
5. Optimize energy management: Air conditioning, lighting, and heating can consume a large slice of a hotel or resort’s annual revenue. By integrating AI in its IT infrastructure, a hotel or resort can effectively monitor the guest data and manage the above-mentioned systems intelligently. This can not only save energy and revenue for the property but ensures guest comfort as well.

Conclusion

Artificial Intelligence has brought in a new level of sophistication and efficiency to the hospitality industry. By leveraging the same, the industry can optimize the management of resources, study customer choices, predict demand, and deliver optimum customer experiences. In an era of intense competition, these can help any hotel or resort to stay up the competitive curve.