12 Technology Trends in Hospitality for 2024
While technology trends in hospitality may have once taken a backseat to other aspects of the hotel stay experience, a growing number of innovations are now aimed at guaranteeing seamless, personalized service and efficient operations. When it comes to hotel industry technology trends, virtually no department has been left untouched by the impact of recent advances. From guest check-in and reservation services to IT, telecoms and accounting systems, newer technologies are driving the ability for hoteliers to deliver faster and better results that heighten guest satisfaction and profitability.
Where Hotel Technology Fits into Meeting Today’s Expectations
Although some technologies are more impactful than others, there are those that play a critical role at every stage of the modern hotel guest journey. To understand which offerings are gaining an edge in attracting industry interest and why, hoteliers first need to recognize the evolving guest needs that they serve:
Personalization
Personalized service has become a leading trend for consumer-based industries, with hospitality-based businesses being no exception. In the battle to win guest bookings and loyalty, hotels that come out on top are those that can pair customized offerings and experiences into the ideal stay, as defined by each guest.
However, seamlessly personalizing each and every guest experience is no easy task. Otel staff must rely on new technologies that are designed to automatically suggest the right amenities, services, or menu items based on guest data.
Faster Service
Making matters more challenging is that guests don’t just want personalized service; they also want it faster and with less friction. This pressing demand for minimal wait times is largely what’s behind 80 percent of U.S. travelers preferring automated hotel technology. It’s also what’s likely driving the popularity of several solutions outlined in this article.
Home-Like Experience
One last expectation to consider while reviewing the list of top trends is the central need of travelers for hotels to serve as their home away from home. As you’ll see, solutions that can mirror and address modern behaviors, especially when it comes to entertainment, stand to be the most successful in leaving a lasting impression.
Top Hotel Industry Technology Trends
Here are some of the latest trends in hospitality technology to take note of in 2024:
1. Mobile Room Keys/Check-in
Consumer preferences for a smartphone-enabled lifestyle can now extend to the hotel arrival experience thanks to the growing availability of mobile room key and check-in solutions.
Arriving guests with just a few swipes of their mobile device can self check-in, receive their digital key and instantly unlock their guestroom — all without having to experience a time-consuming and often frustrating wait at the front desk.
Not only do as many as 74% of hotel guests indicate a preference for the service, but mobile keys also free up staff to focus on other ways to improve experiences.
2. AI-enabled Chatbots
ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot may be receiving the main share of media attention, but the practical usefulness of conversational AI in the form of hotel chatbots is starting to turn heads among tech-minded travelers.
Imagine having a personal concierge or attendant who’s available 24/7, can always provide the right answer to any hotel-related question, and can instantly make reservations or dispatch requests to the appropriate department for a swift response.
Fifty-five percent of guests back in 2022 already indicated an interest in staying at a hotel equipped with auto-messaging or chatbot abilities. As the technology continues advancing at a rapid rate, the number of guests expecting availability of such tools is set to increase.
3. Robotics
Although once considered more of an attention-grabbing gimmick, robots have come a long way in recent years and are steadily gaining a wider presence within hotels.
Robots have especially gained steam as a practical solution to ongoing labor shortages and as a way to perform monotonous or undesirable tasks. Examples include robots performing roles for room service, building security, maintenance and cleaning.
Robotic solutions are expected to become much more prevalent over the next few years, with the market projected to be worth $225 billion by 2030.
4. Smart Technology/Internet of Things (IoT)
With 65 percent of Americans owning at least one smart home appliance, it’s hardly surprising that IoT-based technology has become a standard fixture in many modern hotels.
Like their residential counterparts, IoT-enabled hotel solutions is a broad category that can include guestroom thermostats, motion sensors, leak detectors, lighting, televisions and more.
Depending on a solution’s purpose, IoT technology can be counted on to boost guest convenience and personalize experiences while reducing workloads for staff and minimizing operational costs. Thanks to the immense advantages provided by IoT, 76 percent of properties have already adopted some form of the technology to boost smart guest engagement.
5. In-room Entertainment
Virtually every hotelier knows that pay-per-view TV is considered an outdated relic by today’s travelers, so properties are now looking to more closely mirror home-based entertainment to keep pace with modern preferences.
The desire by guests to easily interact with personalized TV content has led to the development of hotel-tailored streaming/casting solutions offering intuitive access to a wide range of streaming subscriptions such as Netflix or Disney+. These systems can suggest movies and shows based on previous viewing history, while enhanced privacy and security measures provide guests with the confidence needed to feel safe logging into their own streaming accounts.
Beyond streamed TV content, guestroom entertainment experiences are also more closely mirroring consumer homes by providing access to music devices that can play songs from a guest’s personal digital library or from popular services like iTunes or Spotify.
Gaming consoles are even beginning to make an appearance in guestrooms, with cloud-based gaming options providing a cost-effective solution that is undoubtedly appreciated by families traveling with children.
6. Internet Connectivity
One thing that virtually all the previously mentioned trends have in common is that an online connection is required to be able to function. Internet service quality has to be both reliable and fast to avoid the risk of poor device or system performance and dissatisfied guests.
If not suitably designed, a property’s Wi-Fi network capabilities can be easily overwhelmed. To avoid disruptions, networks need to be supported by the latest cabling such as fiber optic that can handle the fast speeds demanded by modern devices and online-based services.
Thought should also be put into the kind of access points (APs) selected to transmit a Wi-Fi signal throughout a property, with most favoring APs that can be installed within guestrooms instead of hallways. Guestroom-installed APs offer the advantage of eliminating co-channel interference that can disrupt WiFi signal and data transmission quality when APs are installed too closely together. Forward-looking hotels should also consider adopting scalable APs that can increase bandwidth output and adapt to new internet standards.
A core network component that all hoteliers should invest in is a reputable gateway solution. Responsible for connecting disparate networks and standardizing data protocols between each, an ideal gateway for hotel purposes can also combine a range of other functions into a cost-effective all-in-one device.
Advantages include more streamlined and centralized management thanks to the ability to serve as a web server, firewall, user/device authentication, and ad server, to name a few examples. With 80 percent of guests stating that high-quality Wi-Fi is crucial, selecting an effective gateway solution will quickly prove to be more than worth the investment.
7. Big Data
A major advantage of having so many internet-driven solutions and services is that it presents hoteliers with an opportunity to collect vast amounts of information from guest experiences and interactions. From hotel mobile apps and social media pages to PMS/POS systems and in-room smart amenities, properties are now facing a game-changing opportunity to personalize guest stays in ways that were previously unimaginable.
Using hospitality-designed platforms to compile and analyze data, hotel staff can instantly know if a guest is staying for work or leisure. They can determine if a guest has a preference for drink specials or fitness classes, with centralized profiles automating suggestions and allowing staff to create each guest’s idea of the perfect stay before they’ve even finished walking up to the front desk counter.
Hoteliers can also leverage big data at the right moment in the guest journey by using new AI tools to comb through mass databases to instantly identify patterns and trends, a practice that will prove crucial to maintaining a competitive edge.
8. Virtual/Augmented Reality
VR and AR devices have seen some notable improvements since the days of Google Glass. Today, major players such as Apple, Meta, Sony and Microsoft have also entered the market, driving up the competitive stakes and leading to more breakthroughs with the launch of new features and use-cases.
For hospitality-based businesses, VR/AR offers the potential to provide virtual property or nearby attraction tours, giving guests a taste of what they can experience during their stay. Hotels aiming to offer a tech-savvy stay can provide in-room immersive experiences in the form of gaming, exercise classes, meditation sessions, or simply watching TV.
VR/AR is even being effectively used to train hotel employees, with Best Western experiencing a 70 percent drop in complaints since implementing their own VR-based training program.
9. Energy Management
Maintaining low operating costs is an obvious business goal, but when it comes to energy usage, keeping consumption to a minimum is all the more important with so many devices and systems tapping into a property’s grid.
By adopting an energy management system (EMS), hoteliers can leverage automation to adjust amenity/device settings when a room is not in use or unoccupied and can instantly readjust settings when a guest returns. With no reduction in guest comfort or convenience, properties equipped with an EMS can look forward to cutting energy costs by almost half.
10. Blockchain Technology
The hospitality industry is unfortunately known for its fair share of data leaks, so guests unsurprisingly feel concerned over a hotel’s ability to protect their purchase history and financial information.
To regain guest trust, more properties are switching to running transactions via systems such as Blockchain for enhanced security and transparency. Acting as a public ledger of anonymous records and transactions, Blockchain’s decentralized design and use of cryptography prevents manipulation and data from being taken offline or removed.
In addition to making payments more secure, Blockchain’s use of decentralized data and networks provides opportunities to make ID verification more seamless, with examples that include the use of fingerprint scans to retrieve passport or license information.
11. Facial Recognition
Guest demands for instantly personalized service might initially seem unfeasible, but the combined abilities of AI together with facial recognition technology are causing many to reconsider their engagement strategies.
From the moment a guest sets foot on a property, facial recognition-enabled solutions can instantly pull up individual profiles listing personal details, reservations, and preferences. Such technology can potentially extend to all touch points during a guest’s stay, providing individualized experience suggestions in real-time that would make anyone feel like a VIP.
While credited with speeding up check-in times at hotels, airports, and theme parks, facial recognition does pose potential privacy concerns, so hoteliers should aim to provide opt-out options and service transparency.
12. Managed IT
With so many hospitality industry trends involving the adoption of technology, hotel IT operations are set to become even more complex and harder to manage than they already are.
Rising labor costs and a lack of experienced talent often translate into understaffed IT departments that expose businesses to security vulnerabilities, malfunctions, and service disruptions.
Managed IT services have risen as an effective, if not better alternative to having a fully staffed onsite IT team. At a fraction of the cost and with 24/7 support, hoteliers can leave IT and network performance issues to certified experts who proactively monitor for any issues. Managed IT also serves as another crucial layer of online protection, with experienced personnel able to recognize the signs of a potential cyberattack to isolate and prevent damage.
A managed IT provider can further be relied on as a trusted advisor over how a hotel’s tech stack inevitably needs to evolve. With IT infrastructure serving as the foundation for most guest services and backend operations, experienced managed IT services can provide vital guidance on what upgrades or integrations are necessary to achieve goals while keeping expenses down.
With more and more organizations making the switch, managed IT as a market is expected to grow to $731.08 billion in value by 2030.
Embracing the Latest Hotel Technology Trends
Thanks to exciting breakthroughs in fields such as AI, the hospitality industry is on a fast track towards increased innovation in technology, with no department or guest-facing service being left behind.
Yet the rapid evolution of technology means that hoteliers more than ever need to keep a watchful eye on changing trends, seeking out guidance where needed to identify opportunities resulting in higher satisfaction rates and an increased competitive edge.
HIS has been a leading provider of high-speed internet access, next-generation communications, and in-room entertainment technology for more than 20 years. With our GuestCast in-room entertainment solution and hospitality WiFi solutions, HIS offers cutting-edge connectivity solutions to help hotels stay up to date with the latest revenue-boosting trends. Contact us today to learn more.