HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY REPORT:

Identifying New Revenue Opportunities

Table of Content

Chapter I Introduction and Executive Summary 03

Chapter II Enhanced Customer Experiences, Enhanced Returns 04

Chapter III Staff Communications: Empowering Your Workforce 06

Chapter IV Guest Communications: Opportunities for Experiences 08

Chapter V Guest Experiences in the Age of Mobility and the Internet of Things 10

Chapter V Security: Flexible and Scalable 12

Conclusion 14

vaya commissioned Canam Research to conduct a survey of hospitality managers, directors, VPs, and presidents from some of the most successful global brands in the world to better gauge and understand the behaviors and opinions surrounding communications in the hospitality industry today.

A

Introduction and Executive Summary

03

An executive summary of the findings is presented here:

have not upgraded their phone system in over five years.

33%

60%

can communicate outside of phone and email.

report the inability of staff to effectively communicate is severely diminishing their guest experiences.

plan to create and roll-out mobile apps in the coming future.

81%

Revenue and market share is being lost to online travel agencies (OTA) due to poor booking experiences.

$

The most pressing security issues are data and information security.

The in-room telephone offers exciting technological opportunities beyond a traditional voice device.

50%

n hospitality, the guest experience is everything. It’s both the product and the service,

and the quality of the guest experience affects everything from reputation and loyalty to revenue and retention.

Yet, according to 62% of global respondents surveyed, the quality of the guest experience at their properties would be significantly improved by enhanced in-room and on-property guest services. Including before, during and after their stay.

What’s missing?

Consider the level of sophistication your guests are accustomed to in their daily lives. Smart phones, mobile messaging, email, voice commands, video conferencing, mobile apps...these are daily technologies that guests have

available to them in their personal lives. While staying at your property, they expect at a minimum similar experiences. To provide the best possible guest experience hoteliers need to envision the hotel of the future. One where technology plays an even larger roll.

With the advent of mobile apps, guests can bank whenever they want, file insurance claims whenever they want, or hire a lawyer whenever they want. This is the new normal, and guests are looking for the same on-demand availability – or better – from their hospitality investment.

So how can properties offer better in- room and on-property guest experiences without breaking their budgets?

The answer is better, smarter technologies that enhance your digital world.

I

Enhanced Customer Experiences, Enhanced Returns

04

of global respondents surveyed say the quality of the guest experience at their properties would be significantly improved by enhanced in-room and on-property guest services.

62%

ENHANCED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES, ENHANCED RETURNS

Take the classic in-room telephone. According to the survey, while 32% say it is “virtually irrelevant to improving the guest experience,” a full 57% see it as valuable, with 11% feeling there is still “a lot of potential” to move beyond an analog to a fully integrated digital world.

When it comes to hotel amenities, a smarter in-room communications hub reduces cost of overhead for staffing,

securing, and maintaining them via intelligent remote control. Booking and reservation apps, can be deployed and used on an Avaya Vantage device and guests’ own mobile phones, give the power of choice to your guests as well as eliminate the need for reception and scheduling staff at the amenities themselves. Further, smart security, activated and monitored remotely, opens up the possibility of 24/7 on-demand availability to your guests by allowing you to lock or open your facilities whenever you like, while still granting access via password, key card, or even QR code generated via a mobile app. You get the security and cost-savings you need; guests get the on-demand experience they demand.

Guest experience is everything.

Enhance yours effectively and affordably with technology solutions built for a digital world.

05

Modestly valuable

Virtually irrelevant

Still see a lot of potential

57%

32%

11%

Your organization view the in-room phone

ynamic communication and collaboration tools are the key to growth,scalability and

providing the best possible guest experience.

All properties, larger or small, single or multiple locations require employee collaboration while also complicating it. Combined with the mobile nature of staff responsibilities, this means that sitting patiently by a landline and waiting for a phone call is just not an effective or realistic use of employee time.

Frost & Sullivan have identified “the need to optimize hotel daily workflows” and “the deployment of mobile unified communication solutions for staff communications” as two of the

highest-impact market drivers in the hospitality industry today.1

Many guest requests, like those made to housekeeping, room service, and to the concierge, depend upon the diligence of the staff receiving the request in order to be fulfilled in a timely manner. Delays, miscommunications, and complete omissions in the form of dropped requests degrade the customer experience and muddy management’s ability to gauge individual employee effectiveness. The unfortunate result of those experiences are bottlenecks and potential blind spots.

Modern UCC can turn these bottlenecks and blind spots into opportunities to impress your guests and build brand loyalty.

D

Staff Communications: Empowering Your Workforce

“The need to optimize hotel daily workflows” and “the deployment of mobile UCC solutions for staff communications” are two of the highest-impact market drivers in the hospitality industry today.

06

1. UCC Opportunities in the Hospitality Industry, Frost & Sullivan, page 15, Sep. 2016.

STAFF COMMUNICATIONS: EMPOWERING YOUR WORKFORCE

Agile staff communications solutions, like IP telephony that allows employees to “plug-in” to the network from anywhere, on any device, using the same phone number and contact information, eliminate many of these blind spots and bottlenecks.

The amount of requests that are delayed or omitted due to missed communication attempts is mitigated when IP telephony is employed, thanks not just to its inherently greater mobility, but to its easy integration with automation software. With IP communications, requests can be received, logged, classified, and routed to the correct department or agent. With built-in recording at each step, management knows the exact status of every request, at any time, and who is accountable for it.

07

oor guest communication – characterized by hold times, mounting frustration,

inefficiencies, and confusion – negatively impact your guests experience.

60% of Canam survey respondents say the inability of their staff to effectively communicate with guests is a “main factor” diminishing the guest experience at their properties.

55% of those surveyed claim they “struggle to engage customers online during booking,” and 70% say they “struggle to engage customers during and after their stay on-property.” 15% called it their single biggest guest experience-related struggle.

But with IP telephony and UCC, these problems get turned into brilliant opportunities to add value to your guests’ experiences.

ONLINE BOOKING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Let’s look at online booking. Online Travel Agencies (OTA) are consolidating industry-wide, and seeking to corner the market on efficient, easy-to-use hotel booking. Why do customers prefer OTAs? A whopping 47% of customers say it’s because “the website is easy to use.”2

That’s likely true. According to the Canam survey, when it comes to the tools that staff have to communicate with guests, 91% have phones, 84% can use email...and then the rates plummet, down to just 50% for chat, and 11% for video.

P

Guest Communications: Opportunities for Experiences

08

of Canam survey respondents say the inability of their staff to effectively communicate with guests is a “main factor” diminishing the guest experience at their properties.

60%

2. Phocuswright’s Channel Surfing: Where Consumers Shop for Travel Online, July 2016.

GUEST COMMUNICATIONS: OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPERIENCES

09

But with modern UCC integration, your own branded website can make it even easier for guests to book and communicate with you. With a click of a button, guests can be instantly connected with the front desk, management, even the kitchen if you’d like, all with automated call routing and queuing. IVR or Live chat is just a mouse-click or finger-tap away for your guests, is easily built right into your IP telephones, so your staff can respond immediately either from their smart desktop phones, or their own personal mobile devices.

Make your own booking website more intuitive, simpler, and improve your guests’ experiences while winning their business back from OTAs.

ON-PROPERTY COMMUNICATIONS Make it simple, quick, and even more fun for guests to reach your staff while on-property and their experience will be more pampered, more thoughtful, and generate more revenue per room.

The communication and collaboration tools your employees have to resolve guest complaints

91%

telephone

84%

email

11%

video

The best place to start is with the in- room phone. For example, go ahead and turn the guests’ own mobile devices into their room phones. With the scan of a QR code, or as part of the reservation, the guest can have all calls to the room automatically routed to their mobile device wherever they are on the property.

Further, Modern IP room telephones are more entertainment centers than phones. Let guests easily call any department they need with the press of a button on tablet-like screen, reserve

any amenities on the property, order room service, rent movies, or anything they could do face-to-face. Guests will be delighted, and you will save money on staffing the reservation desks at the amenities.

What’s more, by making it easy (and yes, fun) to book amenities, reserve things like guided tours from the concierge desk, and order movies and room service, you introduce attractive and lucrative ways to advertise and promote new revenue streams and improve RevPAR.

chat

50%

he mobile future is bringing with it tides of opportunities for the hospitality industry.

With the onset of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), mobile apps are more powerful and present in your guests’ daily lives than ever before. They can do everything from ordering a taxi to buying life insurance right from their phones, and they expect that same level of mobile functionality (or greater) while on your property. 48% of industry respondents said mobile apps have the biggest impact on the guest experience of any technology.

So give them what they want – it’s fairly simple with a modern UCC solution. With IP integration, guests can quickly connect with staff anywhere on the grounds. Whether they want

T

Guest Experiences in the Age of Mobility and the Internet of Things

10

to order room service, speak with the front desk, or make plans through the concierge, a dedicated mobile app makes it all faster and easier for guests, which also makes it much more likely. That’s likely why 81% of industry respondents want to create high- functioning mobile apps within the next five years.

What’s more, UCC integration lets guests call, video, or chat with staff right from the app. Question about an excursion offered through the concierge? Let guests speak live to the concierge from anywhere on the property. Have specific dietary restrictions that are important to convey? Press one button and connect directly to the chef or director of dining. Effortless integration is the key to crafting truly impressive guest experiences, and mobile apps unlock it for you.

of industry respondents said mobile apps have the biggest impact on the guest experience of any technology.

48%

And speaking of keys, mobile apps cut costs with smart versatility. Eliminate the need for traditional room keys (and their maintenance) with smart room keys available via the app. Likewise, leave revenue-generating amenities open later without increasing overhead costs like electricity and staffing by integrating smart building control through the app. Allow guests to access and unlock only the areas you want them to, when you want them to, via programmable codes in the app. What’s more, guests can view interactive maps of the property, receive notifications of on-property events like dinner reservations and conference start times, and even reserve a valet. Now, their app, your app, is their room key, their all-access pass, and their constant companion.

Mobile apps are an excellent cost- saving way to build a truly modern guest experience.

GUEST EXPERIENCES IN THE AGE OF MOBILITY AND THE INTERNET OF THINGS

1 1

ecurity” used to mean a guard with a key. Today, the guest-centric focus of hospi-

tality means not just physical security, but also information security of sensitive back-end reservation and billing sys- tems, security of guest Wi-Fi networks, and video/access control of facilities.

The data flexibility and versatility of UCC solutions are made possible by robust data security, and as the former becomes more and more central to hospitality operations in the coming years, so will the latter.

In fact, according to the survey, 55% of respondents called back-end information security the top security issue they face. This is followed closely by guest-facing information security at 45%. Data breaches can cost millions of dollars and ruin brand reputations for years.

“S

Security: Flexible and Scalable

12

Fortunately, they’re easily preventable with the right network security.

End-to-end network segmentation, and network hyper-segmentation, ensures that only the systems that need to communicate with one another can. So catering can talk to housekeeping (to make sure dishes get picked up), but not to billing, where sensitive customer data is stored. As more and more customers connect their mobile devices to your Wi-Fi, segment and isolate that entire network away from your back-end systems. And while the Internet of Things makes it possible for your guests to unlock the sauna with their smart phone, make sure they can’t unlock sensitive data by keeping it hidden away behind a robust network topology.

Not only is this network architecture more secure it’s more scalable, as well.

of respondents called back- end information security the top security issue they face. This is followed closely by guest-facing information security at 45%

55%

13

You can classify devices (e.g. guest mobile devices; kitchen refrigeration systems; fitness center lighting) and apply automatic security protocols to them, so five hundred guest devices are secured as easily as five. With unlimited segmentation configurations for all your networks, plus automatic security classification for devices, you can grow at the speed of your business, not the speed of security.

SECURITY: FLEXIBLE AND SCALABLE

GRAND CASINO CASE STUDY

http://www.avaya.com/en/case-studies/downtown_grand_cs_v2/ http://www.avaya.com/en/case-studies/downtown_grand_cs/

oteliers and casino managers want to give their guests better, more

impressive experiences.

To do so, the key is better communications. Better communications between staff, more accessible communications between guests and staff, and more feature- packed communications between on- grounds technology.

By wisely investing in a modern UCC solution, hospitality professionals can

set their property and their industry apart with the breadth, scope, and quality of guest experiences they can offer. Always responsive, almost predictive, and unwaveringly flexible: this is how hospitality communications should be, and can be today.

And you can do it all without sacrificing an ounce of network security or manageability, and at extremely modest cost.

The bottom line is this: modern UCC solutions increase RevPAR by opening

additional revenue streams, improve customer loyalty by offering better and more responsive guest experiences, and lower costs by limiting overhead and helping preventing security breaches.

If you’re ready to bring your property into the new age of hospitality, we invite you to look around and see for yourself why UCC solutions from Avaya are your key to the penthouse suite.

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CONTACT WITH US

CALL TO ACTION

HERE IS HOW AVAYA COMMUNICATIONS AND SECURITY PRODUCTS CAN IMPROVE YOUR RevPAR.

Conclusion

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CONTACT US

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