In my previous blogs, I have spoken about how seamless experiences drives increased customer satisfaction and improves productivity whilst also touching on the benefits of smart buildings. This week I want to blend discussions of the two into a specific use case: Hospitality and the anticipated evolution of guest behaviour.
The Anticipation
There have been many discussions of late on what the 'new normal' may look like. Coming back to London a few weeks ago has made me realise that a lot of what has been discussed is already a reality. Most businesses are operating in a new guise, whether it is food traders moving purely online working on a delivery basis, pubs selling takeaway beers and BBQ food or the fitness industry turning to virtual means to still make you sweat. From this, there is a great amount of learning.
Mobile Apps
Social distancing may remain a part of human behaviour beyond Covid-19 and mobile apps, as they are now, will become the main means of communication between guests and hospitality providers. Just as people are leveraging Deliveroo and Uber Eats to get their favourite meals, I would anticipate that digital services such as virtual concierge and digital menus in restaurants will become sought after technologies. Also, the same applications can be used for essential touchless services such as contactless payments, keyless entry and even mobile charging. The reason being, people are already behaving in this way and it not only builds customer confidence but also employee confidence as it reduces the need for unnecessary contact.
Social Distancing & Contact Tracing
Pubs and bars are great examples of how the most innovative are returning to a new normal. By operating on a takeaway basis, they are ensuring that individuals are maintaining social distancing whilst delivering a desired service. By implementing solutions that help enforce social distancing guidelines, trace body temperature of employees and maintain a record of interactions will ensure that businesses are doing everything possible to host guests safely. This kind of technology will give customers the confidence that their best interests truly are at heart.
Internet Bandwidth
Just as gyms and fitness instructors have turned to the virtual world to deliver their services, just about every aspect of life has moved in this direction. Whether it's socialising with friends or family or looking for entertainment, we have all had to turn to our screens. This same mentality will be carried across into conferencing and meetings as when room capacity is approaching it's max, being able to deliver conference content to rooms will be the next best alternative. Also, with the need to attend every meeting face to face reducing, customers will be expecting a strong internet bandwidth so that they are able to carry out their day as usual and access content when required.
Network as a Platform
To enable these services, having a robust and secure network is key. Also by converging networks, you will be able to save significant cost as you will not need to deploy multiple networks or run additional cabling to be able to start realising these technologies, today.
If you would like to understand more or have an understanding of our ecosystem partners who we use to deliver the technologies discussed, do not hesitate to contact me via the below contact details;
David Woodward, Aruba UK Hospitality
M: 07387258454 | E: David-William.Woodward@hpe.com