How is beacon technology customizing the guest experience?

Beacon technology, one of the most disruptive innovations of 2014, could exist thanks to the geofencing system, which is the ability to put a virtual fence around a location and enable mobile devices such as smartphones to react when they cross it.

Companies use corresponding apps (e.g. the LocalPerk app, of the Marriott hotels), allowing guests to access special offers, view maps, request services and many other services. LocalPerks, for instance, provides guests tailored localized offers, ranging from food and beverages to spa and golf deals.

In the hospitality industry, this appears as an opportunity to offer better services, special and customized offers and a lot of hotels such as the Marriott chain understood the need to adopt this new technology.

     

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As Kim Adams highlighted in his article, How beacons change hotels and hospitality, « hotels seek to deliver the right message, to the right person, through the right channel, at the right time – and in merchandising cases - for the right price. »

Beacons are used during the in-stay period of each traveler and enables hotels to better meet customer needs before the end of their stay, the moment they usually have to fill in the traditional guest survey. Guests could be pleasantly surprised to benefit from good deals and extra services at the hotel (all kinds of information about the hotel, the property itself, its area) but on the other hand, it could be awkward for some of them to be disturbed by their smartphones at any time during the day. Not to mention the importance of human interaction in the service industry.

This brought us to think of the real added value of the beacon technology in the guest experience. According to us, hotels have to be careful when using this new technology. In order to better satisfy guests, boost their experiences and create more upsell opportunities, hotels have to target their customers and to differentiate beacons into two categories:  

•         Beacons that could please everyone and which would be offered to all guests
•        Beacons that could bother some guests, which should be optional

For example, you enter your room and it’s at perfect temperature, the lights are dimmed to your liking and your favorite playlist is playing in the background. Isn’t it a real customized service to make your experience more enjoyable? But similarly, who couldn’t understand that receiving special deals at any moment of a journey could bother some guests trying to enjoy a peaceful stay?

Taking this into account, hoteliers should consider adopting this trendy and innovative technology to be up-to-date and to better face competition. Improving guest experiences while respecting their wants and privacy at the same time is possible!

Cécile ROUX & Margaux SCHERER

Source: http://blog.estimote.com/post/129215375430/how-beacons-change-hotels-and-hospitality