With Intel estimating that in the next three years, there will be 26 smart objects for every human being on Earth, and with McKinsey estimating a potential global economic impact of up to $11.1 trillion a year by 2025, it is clear that IoT will revolutionise the way we do business, irrespective of whichever sector we may be working in.
Many of the top players like Marriott International, Hilton Group and Starwood’s Hotel and Resorts have adopted newer technologies to drive customer satisfaction. One thing that is common to every business in the hospitality industry is that to be successful you need to understand what your customer needs because it is one of the few industries which sees the actual physical participation of the customer in the sale process. It is also a business that thrives on the loyalty factor. So pre-empting your customer’s expectations is crucial in attaining business success.
This is where IoT technologies can help.
IoT and predictive maintenance
Not long ago I read about a small cafe in Sydney, Australia, called Get York Coffee, which faced a humongous loss of inventory because one of its refrigerators broke down. The day after this incident happened, the cafe’s owner, Shawn, fitted his refrigerators with sensors that could monitor the internal temperature of these refrigerators. The sensors consist of a gateway that connects to the cafe’s Wi-Fi network and hosts a web portal. The sensor unit is connected wirelessly to this gateway. This tiny sensor transforms the fridge into a ‘smart’ device by sending e-mail notifications to its operator if there is a rise in temperature above the acceptable limits. Such a notification, says Shawn, helps him place a service call before the device actually breaks down. He could also move his inventory, in time, into another refrigerator if needed.
This is an example of predictive maintenance, which is one of the biggest ways in which the hospitality industry can use IoT to improve their service, reduce their costs and even ultimately generate more revenue. Some bigger hotels are also using the technology to inform their staff about broken air-conditioners and leaky pipes. The Starwood’s chain recently began experimenting with an energy saving concept called “daylight harvesting”, in which an IoT device regulates the lighting in a room by turning down artificial lights depending on the amount of natural light that comes in. Businesses are also talking about using Iot devices and big data to map and store a guest’s personal preferences to automate the same during future visits.
Mobile and wearables: The hub of IoT
Imagine the possibilities arising out of connecting smartphones to other IoT-enabled devices? Take for instance, the Hilton group’s digital keys feature, in which you can stand at a stipulated distance of your hotel room and open the door by just tapping on the digital key in the hotel’s app.
The same technology is being used to automate or regulate the energy and lighting settings in the room of many hotels around the world. This sounds like a win-win situation to me–the hotel can cut down on unnecessary labour costs and the customer can get fast, uninterrupted service, literally “at the tip of his fingers”. In fact, a Magnani Caruso Dutton survey found that 74 percent of the 1,000 travellers surveyed preferred that their hotels were “proactively involved” in making their visits better. This meant that the customers were perfectly okay to relinquish a bit of their private information if that meant they would get a better experience for what they paid for.
Another huge area where the IoT is creating a wave is wearables. These devices are moving beyond the fitness, health or caregiving industries. In fact, some hospitality groups have already started incorporating wearable bands to give the customer access to the property and allow them to set or go back to their personal preferences while travelling within the properties of the same group. A great example of this is the MagicBand by Disney. The band helps sync your whole Disney experience in one device and allows customers to unlock their rooms, enter theme parks and even charge food and merchandise bought at Disney properties to their hotel room account.
The way ahead
Hotels around the world have already started experimenting with various IoT-enabled devices and technologies. Some prime examples are that of the Marriott International’s M-beta concept, which takes real-time feedback on services through touchpads placed throughout the building and adapts accordingly, to Aloft Hotel’s Project Jetson, which allows guests to adjust ambient settings in their room and much more by just ‘voicing’ their desires.
These examples are proof enough that the future is, in fact, right here. By incorporating IoT devices to your operations seems like a logical step to take in these times. If done right, after proper assessment of your assets and proper infrastructure to ensure data security, IoT will be the key to shaping your hospitality business into a success in the near future.
references:
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/internet-of-things/infographics/guide-to-iot.html
http://www.iothub.com.au/news/how-iot-saved-a-sydney-cafe-thousands-433160
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/Starwood-hits-environmental-milestone-6065115.php
http://hhonors3.hilton.com/en/hhonors-mobile-app/digital-key.html
https://mcdpartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Seeing_Returns.pdf
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/plan/my-disney-experience/bands-cards/
http://www.marriott.com/hotel-info/cltcc-charlotte-marriott-city-center/m-beta/22umtoc/home-page.mi
http://www.alofthotelshub.com/news/aloft-hotels-unveils-voice-activated-hotel-rooms/
