Innovative technology trends surged through the hotel market in 2016. And many of these digital advances were built on the premise of giving hotel guests a comparable—if not superior—technological experience to the one that they get at home. Hoteliers are doing everything they can to keep up with cutting-edge technology trends and keep guests returning to their properties.
The largest technology trend in 2016, according to Trevor Dowswell, CTO of Hotel Internet Services, was the proliferation of the internet of things (IoT), or making household items network-dependent. Even something as “unplugged” as drapes can now be programmed to open or close depending on the time of day with the press of a button.
It can be a struggle to keep pace with major technological advances and consistently deliver an experience that guests haven’t had before. The key to staying competitive and appealing to travelers is providing new technologies that incorporate devices they already own. For example, mobile door locks—just about everybody has a smartphone, but they very rarely use it to open their front door. But is this really what attracts repeat guests?
Technology that is constantly changing and developing into the next big thing gets old easily, and staying up to date to maintain guest interest is becoming increasingly difficult. “I’d say the consumer market is one of the biggest things pushing the hospitality market into having to keep up,” Dowswell says.
However, businesses can quickly lose sight of what’s wanted and useful for guests. “You know, having internet-controlled drapes is kind of cool, but do people actually want that?” Dowswell adds.
Dowswell believes that digitally advanced amenities are a plus for guests, but 2017 will start the slow-down of advanced technology as hotels figure out what works best for them and their guests. He says, “I think there’s been a lot of spaghetti thrown at the walls over the past few years and we’re finally going to start to see what’s going to stick.”
