 
Back To News/PR Index | 
|
Businesses are constantly breaking new ground, embracing rapid marketplace change and redefining the consumer experience. With this realization, comes an increased competitive demand to remain ahead of the curve for each emerging trend, and the hotel and travel industry is no exception. After all, if you’re late to embrace a trend that proves to be a defining factor in a positive customer experience, you could lose that customer entirely. So, ask yourself: What is the key to a great travel experience? Most of us would likely say a seamless, entirely convenient and ultimately stress-free experience — no last minute ‘hiccups’, miscommunications, additional steps or unexpected delays, right? This is where Zaplox comes into play, a complete mobile guest experience that take’s care of reservations, pre-arrival messages, mobile check-in, access to hotel rooms with a mobile key, to offers, upgrades and mobile check-out. Everything your guest needs to ensure a totally seamless experience, right there in the palm of their hand. Of course, technology is never meant to be a replacement for face-to-face customer service and guest interaction, but rather, an enhancement. With the addition of Zaplox’s complete mobile solution, you can rest assured that your guests are receiving a seamless, cohesive travel experience, from start to finish. Travel, is by definition, a mobile activity and the use of mobile devices can enhance the travel experience. According to Statista's worldwide forecast, the number of mobile phone users in the world is expected to pass the five billion mark by 2019. That’s a lot of potential customers whose lives you could make easier, by ensuring all the information they need, and every action required from them, can be found on a device they already own. With this insight, mobile booking and check-in has become an industry norm and expectation across most hotel chains, but why stop there? What if your guest never forgot or misplaced their room key or had a room key malfunction, because the room key was their phone? What if they didn’t have to comb through a brochure or call the front desk staff to learn about potential upgrades to their room, reservation details and more? What if they could order room service with the swipe of their finger via an easy-to-use, always accessible app. A big anniversary surprise? No problem. Instead of calling ahead to make arrangements, your guest could order champagne before arrival, ready and waiting to impress. Perhaps they fell in love with a product from your spa, or even the irresistible comfort of a bathrobe|—|they could even order those after departure, right from their smartphone. Easy upsells for your hotel, and an enhanced experience for your guests; complete, customized service with a simple tap or swipe, any time. This is the age of the smartphone, after all, where the ability to remain constantly connected has become a pinnacle of the customer experience… and it isn’t slowing down anytime soon. With popular devices such as the Apple Watch now offering travel apps such as Passbook, TripCase and Booking Now, convenience has undoubtedly become the ultimate luxury. With this in mind, apps and technologically-forward hotels that make travelers’ lives easier when it comes to travelling, are incredibly valued. In fact, the development of smartphone technology is more than just the norm across both small and large hotel chains — it’s seemingly taking the hospitality industry by storm, and Zaplox is leading that charge. The Hong Kong hospitality industry has been at the forefront of this trend, with many hotels now offering mobile check-in and keys, rooms with mobile streaming available (for internet radio), air conditioning (and more) controlled through an app on an in-room iPad and travel guides sent to guests’ phones by the hotel’s concierge. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, because the future is mobile. With mobile concierge and offers, every guest has access to 24/7 service and travel information, via their mobile device. Furthermore, your hotel will then have access to critical insights regarding guest behaviours, preferences and more, which will allow you to refine and adapt your messaging and offers. In fact, with Zaplox’s administration portal, you can easily create offers that are customizable and adaptable to fit your various customer segments. Even better, you can create, change and configure those targeted offers in real time. And for a deeper understanding of your up sales and operations, you have a user-friendly analytics dashboard at your fingertips. This specification of mobile marketing and guest experience will help you to serve your guests better each time, while improving engagement and ultimately, profitability. This provides your hotel with the unique opportunity to not only upsell to guests in a more personal, simplified and seamless manner, but it could even change the way in which your staff interacts with your guests entirely. As discussed in Hotel Owner, Accor hotels has announced a new London Ibis Styles hotel which will remove check-in desks, with the help of mobile optimization. The hotel will be run via an app on the mobile device of each employee, which will free them up to interact with guests and provide a more personal, unique experience as they enjoy the refurbished welcome area, bar and restaurant. Think about it — what could the staff and guest experience of your hotel look like with the help of a fully integrated and comprehensive mobile solution to aid in every step of the hotel experience? The possibilities are exciting, don’t you think? To learn more about the ways in which Zaplox can transform and enhance the guest experience within your hotel, click here. About
the Author
About
Zaplox: A leading provider of advanced mobile key services to the global
hotel market.
Zaplox is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm First North. Sedermera Fondkommission is the Certified Adviser. For
more information about Zaplox: http://www.zaplox.com
longer
do we need the hotel doorman (aka bellman or porter) to assist in opening
doors for today’s guests. With the emerging advances in technology, guests
now have the ability to define and customize their entire hotel experience
destiny – including opening doors with mobile
keys. Yes, there are still times where a hotel may deliver that one
to one experience by showering guests with overflowing service on a personal
level. But, the winds of change are at hurricane strength, and through
the implementation of technology, hoteliers can now empower their guests
to choose the unique levels of service (or self-service) they prefer.
Not only do “mobile travelers” want to check-in and out of their hotel room using their smartphone, but they also want their device to be the room key itself. The demand has proven itself as mobile digital keys have become a game changer for some of the world’s leading hotel brands. Hilton for example, launched its Digital Key in late 2014. As of August, last year Hilton’s the technology was available in over 2000 hotels, setting new records for usage and engagement with more than 13.6 million doors opened. The brand expects to have at least 3000 hotels up and running within 2018. How many times has a guest waited to check in to a hotel and have their plastic key card encoded only to have to return to the front desk because of key card malfunctions? The answer? Too many times! Just peruse a few TripAdvisor comments to see how troubling this situation can be and how detrimental it is to the guest’s initial perception of the hotel. The power of smartphones to enhance the guest experience is just scratching the surface of what the true impact of mobility can become within the travel ecosystem. Mobile check-in, mobile checkout, and mobile to open doors is just the start. The expanding capabilities of mobile devices also enable new types of interactive marketing. Merchandising will have an impact on the mobile engagement model that hotels will implement. Hotels will be able to send relevant messaging based on proximity, preferences, and behaviors, driving engagement and revenue. The future of mobile guest captivation is looking incredibly bright. Guests today are texting, talking, communicating, buying, searching, watching videos, and taking photographs all on their mobile devices. The use of smartphones will continue to grow, and in the highly competitive travel marketplace, it is crucial to be unique and offer differentiative products or services. To see how Expedia collaborated with Zaplox to redefine the mobile guest journey, just follow this LINK.
About
the Author
About
Zaplox: A leading provider of advanced mobile key services to the global
hotel market.
Zaplox is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm First North. Sedermera Fondkommission is the Certified Adviser. For more information about Zaplox: www.Zaplox.com. Contact
|
Over
the past few years, Phocuswright has done a number of research papers that
try to unravel the traveler engagement landscape. At the top of the list
is mobile. Utilization of a mobile device, primarily a smartphone, has
made it possible for new and innovative solutions to be developed that
enhance the guest experience as well as decrease the cost of hotel operations.
In a report titled “The U.S. Mobile Traveler in 2017,” it was determined
that the largest group of mobile travelers are millennials, comprising
nearly half of those queried. Of the total responses, 51% wanted to use
their smartphone to check-in to their room. The report also stated that
mobile travelers, those who a proficient in using their smartphones to
research, book and maximize their trip, are likely to spend more. Items
that are purchased on a smartphone vary. However, 67% shopped for hotel
rooms on the smartphone. This means that there is still a great deal of
opportunity to be had when looking at selling travelers even more products
or services before, during and after their stay.
