The AI opportunities for hospitality are immense. In a sector that thrives on delivering exceptional customer service, personalised experiences and slick operations, AI has a transformative potential. Here’s a closer look at how AI could be woven into the property management system (PMS) of the future.
AI could eventually increase annual global GDP by a significant 7% (Goldman Sachs). Other studies predict that AI will double annual economic growth rates by 2035, and that it may add $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030 (Hotel Tech Report).
Some people are concerned that the rise of AI risks jobs being automated. But for sectors such as hospitality where staff recruitment and retention has been a struggle, particularly in recent years, technology has already shown to be a huge help. And with further benefits expected with the embedding of AI across hospitality systems, things could get even better for hotel staff and guests alike.
Here are some of the AI developments that we’re currently anticipating in the PMS of the future.
Concierge services
AI-powered chatbot-based systems are already being used by many hotels, and 70% of guests really like using them for simple requests such as getting the Wi-Fi password or scheduling wake-up calls (Hotel Tech Report).
As AI becomes more advanced, these chatbots could take on a more powerful concierge role. This could include providing more detailed and personalised information about hotel facilities, local attractions, and the ability to make restaurant reservations. These capabilities could be fully integrated with the hotel PMS, capturing guest preferences and habits that hotels can use to deliver brilliant customer service every time someone visits.
Enhanced smart rooms
We already know that hotel guests respond well to intuitive smart room technology. And AI developments are currently underway to further enhance the smart room experience. Guests will be able to control settings in their rooms such as temperature, lighting, music and entertainment systems through voice commands, and their preferences could be saved on their PMS guest profile, for hotels to provide a seamless experience every time they stay at a hotel.
Operational processes
Anything that can improve the operational efficiency of a hotel has an automatic and positive impact on the guest experience. As such, AI is being developed to help hotels with logistical aspects such as inventory management and forecasting stock levels. This will create cost savings by avoiding under- or overstocking necessary items, whether it’s toiletries or towels.
It is also anticipated that AI will support future housekeeping schedules, and even create the most efficient housekeeping routes by analysing check-in and check-out information.
PMS-integrated AI technology of the future may also offer predictive room service, proactively asking guests if they’d like to place an order based on their past behaviour.
Pre- and post-stay analysis
AI-powered chatbots can instantly respond to prospective guest queries, helping improve the booking experience. AI is also being developed to deeply analyse these chatbot interactions, to help make future improvements to the booking process. Therefore, the quality of these chatbot interactions will only improve as AI has more data to ‘learn’ from.
AI will also be able to scan through and analyse guest reviews, surveys and comments left across the internet. It will subsequently collate insights for hotels to plan improvements. All of this data can integrate with information already held within the hotel PMS, to improve the future customer experience for everyone.
Elevated marketing
The competition for winning customer bookings is only getting fiercer, and the PMS of the future is likely to have AI elements that will elevate marketing capabilities. In particular, AI will be able to analyse guest data, preferences and booking history to create and send personalised offers. This will boost bookings, revenue and loyalty – and all hotels will need these enhanced capabilities to remain competitive when AI technology like this becomes widespread.
Crucially, AI will also be able to analyse guest data at a macro level to understand trends and themes in specific markets. This will all feed into greatly improved personalisation abilities in hospitality marketing.
The integration of AI in the PMS of the future opens up numerous opportunities for hoteliers and guests alike. SIHOT continuously invests in cutting-edge technologies for SIHOT.PMS and associated modules. Please contact us for more information.