Today’s digital devices have more computing
power than Apollo 11, the only spacecraft
landed in the moon. Since then technology
has taken a big leap mainly in the sector
of Artificial Intelligence(AI). AI is all around us, it
helps us make the decision without coming out of
shadows. AI has already made significant changes
in how companies operate and disrupting whole
industry. Among all the industries, travel & tourism
industry is slowly adapting these changes.
Hoteliers always welcome new technological
changes to better serve their customers and never
misses the opportunity to collect data. Hoteliers like
Marriott and Wynn Las Vegas are taking first steps to install
virtual assistants on their properties.
I believe that three technologies are going to influence the industry
in the future.
Virtual Assistants in Rooms:
As the technology related to Artificial Intelligence is evolving every
moment. The technology becomes more sophisticated. Hoteliers
find new ways to treat and engage with their customers through inroom
voice-enabled virtual assistance devices.
Amazon developed a special version of its voice assistance,
Alexa which can help customer connect with the hotel better than
before. The customer can use in-room Alexa for services such as
maintenance, entertainment, calling, room services, weather update,
request items, cleaning, etc.
Hotels are famous for rolling out the technology in an effort to
cater to their guests’ needs. Marriott hotels already partnered with
Amazon to install the technology in their rooms.
Moreover, Alexa will also allow the hoteliers to determine guest
engagement with the help of analytics and reporting,
allowing hotels to adapt their services as per customer
needs.
Internet of Things (IoT):
IoT is supposed to be next big change in the modern
industrialised world. Due to higher adoption of the
technology connected to the internet, we can use
technology such as Fitbit to track our health. With
the development of AI and 5G technology, we are
closer towards the world with IoT than ever before.
By establishing artificial intelligence in the hospitality
industry, hotels can create more significant opportunities
to deliver excellent guest-friendly services ranging from
matching guest preferences, suggesting books or music, nearby sports
club to complement customers’ taste, all the way to automatically
alerting hotel staff for personalized meal choices, special privileges
and complimentary services, etc.
Through interconnected devices, sensors and machine learning,
hotel operations system can interact perfectly with the physical world,
empowering guests with a highly personalized customer experience.
Hotel rooms can leverage the existing network of technologies in
combination with virtual assistants to further enhance the experience
to the next level.
Google’s ‘AI first’:
Google expects AI to infiltrate our lives in coming years as well
as suggest some important significance for the travel industry.
Google is already making a world where AI implication is
more than just in desktop, laptop or mobile but also into homes,
cars and workplaces.
Google also has very high influence in the travel industry
with growing portfolio which includes Google Flights, Google
Hotel Ads, Book on Google and Google Trips. Google can be
seen as a future fully operational online travel agency.
Even though AI is invisible and most of the times we don’t
realise when AI working beneath the surface but almost all our
interaction with Google is powered with AI.
Google Flights integration with AI helps you with planning
and decision-making and if you plan a journey with Google
Maps, it can alert you to a traffic jam that might cause heavy
delays and suggest real-time flight options for a speedier way to reach
your destination.
Google integrating AI with travel search improve customer
experience many times such as if you put search query ‘Flight to
Paris’ followed by ‘Best hotels’ there, Google will automatically
show you hotels in Paris.
The views expressed within this column are the opinion of the author, and may not
necessarily be endorsed by the publication.
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