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Chatbots and Networked Devices Portend Big Shift for Hotel Industry
Thursday, 9th March 2017
Source : Angela Waters - Exclusive & Live from ITB 2017

The hotel industry needs to brace itself for big changes in connected devices and chatbots, said Roland Trebo, a consultant with Tourismuszukunft, a digital consultancy for the travel industry.

While the prevalence of these technologies, such as Amazon's Echo, in the hotel industry is still in its early stages, Trebo said they will play an increasingly large role in customer's expectations of hotel rooms and travel experiences.

"We are only at the beginning of this development in 2017 and a more is yet to come," said Trebo at the ITB Conference in Berlin.

This revolution in customer expectations is already playing out, he said.

"Hotel guests have become more demanding when it comes to hotel rooms â€" they are not satisfied with a TV anymore," said Trebo. "Now guests expect a stable, fast and free Wi-Fi connection for all their devices so they feel at home."

As a result, it's imperative that hotels find ways to enable gusts to use their own devices to consumer content or control room temperatures, he said. 

Trebo said Chatbots are also beginning to play a role in shaping customers' expectations. 

Edwardian Hotels in London, for example, has made a mobile-friendly bot available to customers that can provide tailored information on the hotel, its rooms and the surrounding neighbourhood, he said.

"But the big revolution is really starting now with Amazon's Echo," said Trebo. "The exciting thing is that Echo can connect to other services. I can ask about waiting times at the airport, plan a kayaking trip, or get multiple suggestions for activities based on a certain budget."

The bots and voice-activated assistants will affect how hotel websites look in coming years, said Trebo.

"Guests will want answers to specific questions, not search for information," said Trebo. "And hotel websites will need to be able to interact with these devices quickly, as well as apps like Google's Accelerated Mobile Pages."

Trebo warned that many hotels are in danger of missing out on these developments. Many still rely on technology that was developed 10 or 15 years ago â€" even though millennials and other digital natives are making up a larger share of their customer base.

"Hotels be left holding bad cards when it comes to digital natives if they don't change their tactics soon," he said.

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