Technology is transforming people’s lives, according to Dana Shefsky, Director of Digital Product Innovation at Hilton Worldwide. So much so that Hilton Worldwide has been a leader in innovative customer experience via technology in the hospitality space.
Due to that omnipresent commitment to technology innovation, Hilton Worldwide earned the Bronze Award in the Best Technology & Trends in Customer Experience category of the Loyalty360 CX Awards, which were handed out at the Engagement & Experience Expo earlier this month in Dallas, TX.
“Our goal is to remove friction, and driving loyalty and brand affinity through guest convenience and exclusivity,” Shefsky said. “It’s about purposeful innovation for us. It’s about understanding what our guests and potential guests are looking for and then coming up with simple solutions and helpful information that can make their travel experience easier.”
What do guests want?
“They want more digital amenities,” Shefsky said. “And we’re doing that through data-driven innovation.”
Shefsky said Hilton leverages SALT, which stands for Satisfaction and Loyalty Tracking System.
Digital Key and digital check-in are two major technology innovations Hilton has launched, Shefsky noted. What’s more, since launch in July 2014 the app has been downloaded more than two million times and we’ve seen more than seven million digital check-ins.
The Digital Key is one of Hilton’s latest innovations, which lets Hilton HHonors members use their digital devices as the key to their stay.
“We have [Digital Key] in over 40 hotels so far,” she said. “We’ve had tremendous feedback. Guests say it really enhances their experience. Because of strong guest feedback, we’re implementing it on a broader scale.”
Hilton also offers its HHonors members digital check-in with room selection, where guests can select their room of choice from a digital floor plan via the HHonors app. Hilton’s seen seven million digital check-ins within the first year. “Usage is growing exponentially and really catching fire,” said Shefsky. “Guests really want to customize their stays and want to do that from the palm of their hand.”
Authentic and personalized are two buzzwords that drive Hilton Worldwide’s mission for its global customers, Shefsky said.
“It’s about staying true to what we do best: providing amazing hospitality experiences for our guests, while adapting to the digital channels they use most,” she said. “As customers flock to digital channels, there is so much data to review which we can turn that into actionable insight. Getting data-driven insights can be a challenge, but it’s one we’re well equipped to handle, and we do so partly through our surveying and loyalty system.”
Monitoring social media is another pivotal way to listen to customers and understand their needs.
“We’re listening to what our guests have to say on social,” Shefsky explained. “We deploy people around the world who respond to feedback received on social channels. For example, we heard from our guests that they want to be able to customize their stays and better tailor their experiences to meet their needs, no matter if they’re traveling for business or leisure. We use insights like these as the foundation for our innovations. This is how we conceived innovations like digital check-in with room selection and Uber Local Scene, which shows our HHonors members the best local restaurants and nightlife locations to explore in-market.”
Hilton has also made it a point to intently listen to the needs of its HHonors loyalty program members. Through the careful dissection of member feedback, the program has unveiled new offerings that better adapt to the ways members are engaging with the brand both digitally and on-property.
To further understand guest desires and their biggest pain-points, Hilton recently commissioned an in-depth study that looked at customers’ travel behaviors.
“We wanted to know what we could do to enhance the guest stay experience,” said Shefsky. “We’ve received a lot of great insights from our study which we’ve been using internally to inform how we think about our loyalty program and digital innovations. We always look to develop tools and programs that are based on what we believe the traveler wants.”