How new technologies revolutionize the hotel rooms 

Since many years, we are facing an intense industrial revolution: the evolution of the new technologies. Today, thanks to our advanced technology, many industries are able to offer a wide range of new services and products to customers that are increasingly demanding.

Technological innovation in the tourism sector does indeed have its place. Indeed, in an increasingly competitive market as today, innovation is no longer an option, but an obligation to survive in front of market forces. Many tourism actors are using new technologies to diversify from their competitors, each one in his own way. Here we are going to focus on the hospitality industry, especially how hotels implemented new technologies in order to improve room modernity.

Keyless Entry 

How many of you have ever been locked outside their hotel room because they have lost the key or simply forgotten it inside the room? This will probably never happen again with the new Keyless Entry system. Basically and as simple as it seems, you will only need your smartphone as your hotel room key. The idea has first seen the light in the Starwood’s Hotel but seems to develop quickly. More and more hotels are expected to switch to app-based entry systems soon.

Texting concierge

Imagine you need one more towel, one shampoo or even just one bottle of water? But you just came in your room, lay on the bed and just chilling in front of your mirror television.. Clearly, you don’t want to go down at the reception to ask for these stuff. Thanks to your mobile device, you just have to text the staff and all you need is going straight to you without moving. So cool!

Mirror television

That is a real new trend in luxury hotels, which can already enjoy this new technology. Watch the TV while taking your shower, being in the sauna or the swimming pool, what could be more fun? 

Streaming devices to TV

At many hotels, guests can now stream their computers, phones or tablets directly to the large and high definition televisions in their rooms. This allows guests to work on these screens and make their work session more pleasant. They can also use them to watch content via streaming services and enjoy their movie or series. With this kind of technology guest can also plug devices into clocks or speakers to play music.

Smart lighting

This one involves using a guest's personal device. The guest can use an app on a smartphone to dim the lights in their room remotely. This can be very useful for those who are planning a romantic gateway. It exists also light sensors that turn on when a guest enters a room and turn off when the room has gone a while without any motion.

Robots
Some hotels have robots performing jobs done by staff such as making standard room deliveries. They just need to put in a request for service via an app like more towels and the robot will deliver what they need to the room. When he arrives, guests are alerted by a phone call and treated to an adorable robot dance.

From iPads and iPods to smart phones and netbooks, guests are always connected. In order to capitalize on in-room technology, hotels must learn to adapt quickly to the ever evolving changes in this area, but also make the connectivity process easy for the guest.

The guest experience is what hotelier are most focusing on. All those new systems and technologies contribute therefore to the satisfaction of their precious clients. Luxury hotels are glad of already having some of these features and hence keep their image as the best service quality hotels in our view. To follow the lead and keep competing with the big brand hotels, the smaller one should invest in In-room Technology. Above all, most of them are not very costly.

Even if those new trends seems to target first the new generation who feel comfortable with the new technology, the system and features installed in the room are very simple and can thus please everyone.

Sarah Forni, Claire Santandrea

References:

https://skift.com/2016/06/29/the-current-state-of-keyless-entry-at-big-hotel-brands/

http://www.electricmirror.com/ten-hospitality-technology-trends/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/hotels/2014/01/02/loews-four-seasons-zingle-texting/4222525/

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hotel-robots-20160207-story.html

JetSmarter, the “Uber” for Private Plane Travel!

      Nowadays, sharing economy is more and more present in our societies: you can share your car with unknown people, make your package delivered by private individuals or do your grocery shopping by a neighbor and more! But sharing economy has also gone into the conquest of the sky: it is now possible to share a jet!

Launched in March 2013 by the entrepreneur Sergey Petrossov, JetSmarter is an application which makes private jet flights more accessible to more people, who can create their own path thanks to innovative, economical and flexible solutions.

However, getting the services of the platform has a cost: people need to pay first $4000 of registration fees and then a $11000 annual subscription. As a student, we can find it expensive, but it is much less compared to the rates of private jet flight companies.

Once you have paid, you can use 3 main services:

·                     JetShuttle: this option allows the users to look for an already planned private jet flight that they can share with other people or to create their own JetShuttle. The JetShuttle flights are free for subscribers of the application.   

·                     JetDeals: it offers one-way private plane flights which are free for the members of JetSmarter. They can book from 2 to 5 seats. If they want additional seats, they have to pay an individual price for each seat.

·                     JetCharter: users can book a full private charter flight which can be customized (device, destination…). This service is available in more than 170 countries.

The platform gives immediate access to available flights offered by more than 800 private plane service providers. At the same time, users can book flights to go to a high number of destinations in the world and choose between more than 3 000 devices.

Other advantages are offered: free transport by helicopter in key destinations, concierge services which enable customers to go to exclusive events, prestigious restaurants or famous golfs. Furthermore, it is also a good way to avoid the line in airports and security controls: people can arrive 30 min before their flight.

According to JetSmarter website, their customer base is very large: there are businessmen and businesswomen, celebrities, royal family members and even some students! At the moment, JetSmarter is only a B2C platform but some partnerships with brands and firms have been created, as customizable subscription options.

The company can also rely on famous investors as Jay-Z and the Saudi royal family.  

In June 2015, the company launched its first roads in Europe, and they are planning on expanding their business to Asia and Latin America really soon, to offer more options to their members. This application can be good for the air and tourism industries. Indeed, about 30% of jets fly empty. How is it possible? Well, for instance a private jet is reserved by someone in Miami, while this jet is still in Paris. In a normal situation, the jet would fly empty to Miami to take this passenger. However, with JetSmarter, a sustainable solution is offered. Any members of the application could book the jet from Paris to Miami. Thus, it will pollute less, and be more profitable as fewer jets will fly empty thanks to this "Jet Sharing" application.

Moreover, it can add value for areas (regions, cities) that are using the JetShuttle option: the jets target a very wealthy type of people. They are very likely to spend big amount of money on luxury hotels, gastronomic restaurants and other touristic activities; which will boost the economy of the region.

Eventually, it could also be a good opportunity for business travel. Indeed, people who are sharing a private jet flight can take advantage of the situation to build a network of rich and successful businessmen.

  February 11th, 2017. Paris Hilton thanking Jetsmarter for enabling her to fly to Florida despite the snowstorm.

Hugo Dumurgier and Lucile Garin 

References:

https://jetsmarter.com/
http://www.tourmag.com/JetSmarter-democratise-les-voyages-en-jet-prive_a85190.html
http://www.forbes.fr/lifestyle/jetsmarter-une-application-trois-services-de-jets-prives/
https://www.ft.com/content/326d696a-e4a6-11e6-9645-c9357a75844a
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/tourism/fl-jetsmarter-funding-announcement-20161212-story.html

http://www.luxury-design.com/moteurs/aviation/jetsmarter-lapplication-qui-democratise-le-jet-prive 

Artificial Concierge

“Concierge, where is my room?”; “Concierge, when the next conference?”; “Concierge, where can I find the nearest restrooms?”. Imagine that as an attendee, you could be able to afford a private concierge that could help you and give you instantly all the answers you are looking for. And what if this service was for free…


According to Julius Solaris, Event MB founder and editor, the artificial concierge is one of the most interesting trends of 2017. Thanks to artificial intelligence, chatbots are revolutionizing the way to use event applications. Indeed, most of the events have an application that provides the attendee the information he needs: map, schedule, main events, side events, … But the attendee has to search for it in his application, so, attracted by quick targeted answer, he would prefer to ask rather than searching.
That is where the artificial concierge, that you probably already know under the name of Siri, Cortana or Alexa, takes a certain advantage. Instead of an apps giving information that you must seek through different screens that you should understand, you just have to ask, by messaging or talking, and wait for the answer.
Chatbots can instantly give a targeted and relevant information and with the easiest way possible.
In a service oriented industry, that innovation is going to change the event tech. That is why it is appealing venture capitalist and developers so much.


The company Concierge EventBot took the turn and is one of the most advanced Event Chatbot provider today. They convey a service with an “easy access and simple to use” thanks to an “engaging experience” and a “real time communication”.
With different options very useful, the Chatbot could take the application seat in the event industry for good.


We think that this innovation is going to live a massive increase during the following years and ease the attendees experience during the event. This is a very interesting solution for the event industry.

Maximilien Lefort & Brianna Williams 

• From “/10 Event Trends for 2017” – Report from Event MB 
• https://conciergeeventbot.com/ 
• https://blog.sciens.io/why-are-chatbots-and-ai-big-event-tech-trends-for-2017-a61ff04236af#.ldg5b5ofb

Event marketing helped by new technology

Event companies dedicate an important part of their budget to event marketing: « According to a report by the Convention Industry Council, (…) hosting, attending, and exhibiting at events comprise a whopping  21% of corporate marketing budgets. ».
Moreover, as we all know, technology is very useful in all sectors or activities. It helps companies to be more effective and efficient in their daily operations. Technology could be essential to event marketing. But, according to Franck Cespedes (Senior Lecture at HBS) and Pankaj Prasad (co-founder of DoubleDutch, a provider of mobile events apps), only three of five managers use technology tools.

An event is split into three steps: the preparation of the event, during the event and the measurement of results and feedbacks.
To begin, the manager needs to set the event’s goals in line with its strategy. Past results can help them to set those objectives and then to establish marketing budget. According to the authors, some pre-even registration system companies like Cvent can be a great opportunity for planners. Indeed, they handle tickets selling system, event promotion and then, they bring information about the effect of event promotion activities. The planner can adjust in a near future its marketing actions and budget.

During the event, the use of IT is a significant convenience in term of cost savings. Using mobile phones and tablets particularly could help planners in the organization of the event but also could develop sponsorship opportunities.
Through the app, attendees have access to all event information such as access plan, agenda, catering and speaker’s information. This technology also offers the possibility to communicate, interact, comment, and give their feelings during meetings. The app is most of the time connect with social media such as Facebook and Twitter.
Even if this technology exists, it is possible to have not enough interaction. That’s why Glisser and sli.do propose to develop the synergy during sessions and try to create more dialogs between attendees and speakers.

Finally, this last step is crucial. When an event is finished, there are still many things to do. Indeed, planners need to evaluate their events. This step is very important because it allows to see what could be improved on the next event. Planners need to measure different indicators like the return on investment and see if goals are reached. Before, papers were distributed but now, thanks to technology, most of the feedbacks and satisfaction remarks are given electronically which is an important time saver.
Moreover, the authors distinguish two types of customers and their goals: the current ones which want to keep their relationships, meet others actors and receive feedbacks on their products; the potential ones mainly want a first contact, be known in the sector, meet new prospects... SAP is a software company. Its activity is to inform sales representative of their sales lead’ interests. Sales representatives will then adjust their products and services. This method could increase company sales by 25%.

Event marketing has a capital role in the event. Doing a great marketing promotion need to be associated to the technology. It is an innovative way of creating an event, a time saver for planner but also big data provider. Thanks to the development of the technology, the event industry is taking another direction. Even if some people look perplexed, they don’t know what they are missing.

Yana Ussenko & Laëtitia Vié

https://hbr.org/2015/03/get-more-from-your-event-spending