Can you build an emotional connection through AI?

Frank Reeves, Co-founder and CEO of leading hotel technology provider Avvio, on how the use of AI technology is likely to impact the hospitality industry

Today's hotel guests are expecting smarter and more tailored services to feel any emotional connection and loyalty to a venue.

This is where artificial intelligence comes in.It is revolutionalising how we use technology in every aspect of our lives, including the hotel industry.Hospitality has been undergoing a technological revolution and many manual tasks have become automated.

Personalised human element

But, what has been lost through the advancement of technology is the more personalised human element of the hotel booking experience and customer service.Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are taking our automated digital systems to the next level by enabling them to learn from customer behaviour, industry trends and more to personalise and target their offering.

Chatbots and mobile phone apps

While chatbots and mobile phone apps have managed to fulfil some aspects of ‘digital concierge’ services for some time, the addition of real AI is the moment the hospitality industry has been waiting for.Due to digital communications, most hotels now collect and store a huge amount of valuable data but do not have the manpower to assess, analyse and put this information to good use.AI and Machine Learning can make the difference.

"This will enable potential guests to find what they are looking for faster making it more likely they will book direct or remember the hotel for a later date."

Frank Reeves, Co-founder and CEO of Avvio

 

Tailored to individual needs

By tracking and analysing data across hundreds of properties, based on geography, guest history, booking preferences, interactions on site, conversations and more, AI can develop targeted and relevant marketing material aimed at specific individuals and create a booking journey tailored to individual needs.It is moving the hotels’ online interactions away from a ‘one size fits all’ model to a flexible and dynamic system which can adapt to appeal to different customers.

‘Perfect choice’

With so many options accessible through online searches, many customers are facing ‘choice fatigue’. It is no longer about greater choice, but about the perfect choice specifically for that individual.This more personalised approach to sales and marketing is something that technology, until now, has not been able to offer and which will make a hugedifference for hotels, their guests and the hospitality industry as a whole.This will enable potential guests to find what they are looking for faster making it more likely they will book direct or remember the hotel for a later date.Demand for the implementation of AI technology is also being driven by today’s hotel guests. They are becoming increasingly accustomed to the level of tailored service offered, a service that sophisticated new AI technologies intangibly provide.

Emotional connection and loyalty

As a result, your future guests will expect a more unique experience to feel any emotional connection and loyalty to your hotel. Last year Avvio launched the world’s first booking engine powered by artificial intelligence called Allora, which uses Learning Models to analyse large volumes of data and identify which variations will yield the best booking engine configuration. AI-powered systems like Allora, which have the ability to collate and analyse the data to create more effective and personalised offerings, and enable seamless integration with third party systems and software, are likely to become much more widespread over the next couple of years.