It's absolutely clear that today's hotel operations need to shift to a digital back-office management format to be able to provide guests with the best experience before, during, and after staying in the hotel and stay competitive on the market!  

How Do Hotels Manage Guests’ Requests? 

We must admit the fact that modern travelers are digitally savvier than most hotel employees: they can rely on their smartphones and mobile devices and, within a minute send a request for extra service. They do not want to wait while a hotel dispatcher sends this request for executor — they want it to be done right away! Let's be honest, nobody wants to wait. 

According to Karam Ghazi (from J Tourism Hospit 2017): “ The Electronic Word-of-Mouth (e-WOM) is made available to a multitude of people via the Internet, and online customers' statements prove to be higher in credibility, empathy and relevance for customers than firms' marketing information.” The study conducted by PhoCus Wright shows that around 77% of travelers usually reference reviews before choosing a hotel, 53% of travelers won't commit booking until they read reviews, about half of people always reference reviews before choosing a restaurant, and around 44% of travelers usually reference reviews before choosing an attraction.

Recent studies have shown that 53% of guests are finding trouble with staff, and 38% of them find issues with internal operations when it comes to the overall experience during their stay in hotels. So, how can we deal with this and decrease the number of unsatisfied guests? 

To be able to provide optimal guest experience, technology should become a major component for all hotel departments! We have to get rid of paper and pen for task management and stop using verbal forms of servicing the guest requests through radios and other offline systems. Hotel employees should be armed with the best tools to be ready to serve guests in the best way and keep them coming back for more. 

Providing each employee with a task management mobile application changes the game! Back office digital automatization for the hotel industry enables any guest request to be automatically transformed straight into a task, without any middleman (like a dispatcher, front desk attendant, etc.). In other words, guests create and assign tasks by themselves, which go directly to the executor who, in turn, starts to perform the task immediately. 

When line staff starts to receive tasks digitally, it unleashes the opportunity to see everything in real-time on one dashboard: what is happening on the property, where, how long, and who is working. Also, you stay connected with the whole team constantly.  

Moreover, it lets your team, including off-deck employees, see and stay updated about  such things as daily events, information about VIPs who are arriving and requiring special attention, and much more. 

As a result of automation and workflow synchronization, productivity is increasing, and operating costs are decreasing by up to 30%. The best part is that the effectiveness of hotel management becomes measurable. At the same time, it’s evident that when you have tools to monitor and measure effectiveness, you know what and hot to improve!

“In a business that depends on how its customer rates services, the use of advanced technology is crucial. Today's market offers a lot of tools to work on the clients' side, such as PMS, CRS, POS, YMS, AI, IoT, chatbots, robots, online surveys, and etc. But, we can underestimate the role of employees who works on floors and make guests happier, and employees, who manage staff and make business run, leaving both of them without any tools. We have to bring together not only guests but team and the entire community as well, around your brand, with digital engagement,” — said Svetlana Udalov, HKeeper founder. 

In conclusion, we must confirm that without the transition of back-office operational management to digital format, the hotel industry won’t be able to move forward and satisfy customers’ needs. It's time to make changes and smart strategic decisions that will help you to become more successful!