Can technology ever replace the personal touch? Michelle Mannion reports from our recent debate on what guests want from airport hotels.
In the past couple of decades, advances in technology have completely transformed the hotel experience – from the way we research and book stays to how we are billed at the end of them.
We expect to find a gaggle of gadgets in our room, and to be able to communicate with work and home not via an overpriced phone but a fast – and preferably free – wifi connection. We expect hoteliers to have figured out what we want before we’ve thought of it ourselves – because they, in turn, can use information they collect on us to tailor what they offer.
So technology has led to more personal service – but, at the same time, it is also taking the human touch out of it. In some hotels we can now swerve the front desk entirely and check in via a kiosk, then order room service via an iPad and get our invoice sent by email.
This concept of the “invisible traveller” – who has minimal contact with staff from the moment they walk in the door to when they walk back out – was hotly debated at our recent editor’s lunch. The event was attended by a cross-section of our readers and sponsored by Hong Kong’s Regal Airport Hotel (regalhotel.com), a property that clearly knows something about anticipating guests’ needs as readers have voted it the world’s best airport hotel at our Business Traveller Awards for the past five years.
Airport hotels would particularly benefit from the self-service approach, it could be argued, as guests are invariably staying in them for one reason – to get a decent rest before a flight or during a stopover – so may not want to waste time standing in line or engaging in chit-chat with reception staff.
But is that what people really want? Many of our readers were firmly in favour: “It sounds very, very appealing, especially if you’re on a tight time frame,” said one. Another agreed: “I don’t understand why I need to check in… When I’m at the desk, I’m not sure what the person is tapping into the computer for two or three minutes. Is she emailing her mum?”
One participant said, “I would trust technology over people 95 per cent of the time,” adding that for the tech-savvy travelling generation of the future, the figure might be more like 100 per cent, so hotels needed to embrace it.
But for another reader, self-service is a poor substitute: “I like human interaction – I like to talk to people,” they said. Another felt they wouldn’t get the best facilities if they bypassed the desk: “I’m very picky about the room I get – mostly the first room you get is not the best. Even if I email before, I don’t get the one I ask for – quiet, away from the lift and with no interconnecting door. With every [hotel] group it’s the same.” The reader acknowledged that they often stayed with different brands so may not get the advantages a returning guest might.
A happy medium is what hotels should be striving for, then: “The things that are automatic and robotic, that’s where technology comes in,” one said. “Building a relationship is where [the personal touch] comes in.” It was in places such as the executive lounge that personal service was really important and would be remembered, another pointed out.
So what kind of tech would people like to see more of? For some it was simply the basics: “Give me a socket somewhere sensible where I can plug in my laptop,” one participant said, while another remarked: “Sometimes I need an engineering degree to turn on the lights.”
Touchscreen displays for controlling a room’s functionality was cited by another: “I don’t want to go in and spend an hour figuring out how things work,” they explained. One even asked: “As a real wow, could you have a picture of my wife and kids in my room?”
For one reader, data capture could be used even further to make their stay easier: “If they could collect my preferences in real time – for example, noticing I am selecting UK channels – they could use that when I stay in the future.” Data collection could also be used intelligently for airport hotel stays so that, for example, staff could push back your wake-up call if they knew what flight you were on and tracked any delays.
Something else that might be considered by airport properties, another reader suggested, was the option of checking in your hold luggage at the hotel to avoid having to pull it through terminals and queue at bag-drop desks.
One thing some airport hotels did have to work on was customer service, one person thought: “I think there’s a broad division between airport hotels and other hotels. I stay at airport hotels out of necessity and have had a mixed experience with them – the service hasn’t always been great. Standards tend to be lower because your choice [of property] is lower.” Though another reader praised some of the top airport properties for offering services such as speedy shirt pressing.
Another wanted to be wooed more generally by hotels: “I don’t get the feeling that the hotel industry wants to know if I’m coming back – it’s very transactional,” they said. “I’ve never been asked if I plan to return to the city or, say, offered an upgrade to encourage me to come back. I don’t get the sense that many want to build a relationship with me.”
Ultimately, then, while readers want hoteliers to use technology to fine-tune their stay, the personal touches are what make a property truly special.
If you would like to attend the next editor’s lunch, email Emma Gordon at [email protected], stating your name, job title, company and topics of interest.
