2017 Technology Trends That Will Change Hotels

By Joanna DeChellis, Contributing Editor | December 15, 2016

The growing influence and accessibility of new and innovative technology solutions are changing the way hotels do business. With myriad applications available to them, owners are thinking differently about the tools they need to be successful.

As 2017 approaches—and New Year’s resolutions are set—there are some key trends hoteliers must capitalize on to be prosperous in the coming months. Cloud platforms, personalized loyalty strategies, and shifts in the mobile landscape are among the most critical tech trends to follow.

In a recent webinar, 3 Hotel Technology Trends to Capitalize on in 2017, Dan Yacker, VP of Global Strategic Alliances with Duetto, Jos Schaap, CEO and Founder of StayNTouch, and Dai Williams, Managing Director of EMEA for SiteMinder discuss these three trends.

“Hotels need to put mobile first in 2017 if they want to get ahead of the competition,” says Williams. “Think beautiful hotel websites that lead to great SEO and that all-important mobile booking.”

“Hotels need to drive direct bookings with personalized loyalty programs that provide instant gratification,” adds Yacker.

“Cloud technology is equally important,” says Schaap. “The cloud simplifies integration with other systems for improved operational efficiency via automated data exchange.”

These steps deliver a personalized service to generate increased customer loyalty, higher occupancy rates and an improved bottom line.

According to StayNTouch’s Schaap, hotels should seek cloud-based technologies that can seamlessly integrate with other technology solutions. When they do so, data can be captured and shared between all systems to help identify guest behavior and create better offers.

“When you put all that data into the cloud, anyone can connect to it and make better use of it,” says Schaap. “It will increase ancillary revenue and improve guest satisfaction.”

Duetto’s Yacker went on to explain the benefits of Personalized Loyalty Pricing.

“Guests want two things,” he says. “Instant gratification and rewards that are personalized to their behavior.”

He said current loyalty models are missing the mark. Hotels can drive direct booking when they collect better data to understand each customer’s value or worth.

“Personalized Loyalty Pricing is an incredibly powerful took for the hotel,” says Yacker. “You will drive more profitable bookings, reduce customer acquisition costs and differentiate your loyalty program. You will also ring a bell with young bookers—millennials—who want to be rewarded with instant gratification.”

SiteMinder’s Williams went on to explain how ‘mobile micro-moments’ and ‘dayparting’ can change a hotel’s distribution strategy, especially on mobile.

Micro-moments are defined as an immediate response to an impulse driving guests to act on their needs in the moment on a smartphone. Expectations are high and patience is low during these times. And preferences are linked to what happens.

“The brands who can address micro-moments are going to win,” says Williams.

Similarly, dayparting is dividing the day up into parts so that hoteliers can pay closer attention to strategies and be extra relevant to guests in their micro-moments.

“Different times of the day offer incredible insight into demand across an array of individual and often brief consumer moments,” says Williams. “The timing of searches during the day can be just as important to your sales and customer relationships as the seasons of the year.”