If the hospitality industry follows the lead of Hilton Worldwide, hotel room keys may soon be a thing of the past. The company recently announced a series of enhancements to the customer experience, made possible largely by digital technology. In additional to giving guests the ability to unlock rooms with their smartphones instead of a key, guests will be able to check-in and choose their exact room from digital floor plans using their mobile devices, tablets and computers.
"For nearly a century, our guests have counted on us to consistently deliver exceptional experiences around the world, and in today's digitally connected culture, that means providing them with more choice and control over their hotel stay through technology," said Christopher J. Nassetta, president and chief executive officer, Hilton Worldwide. "The tremendous scale of our world-class operating platform enables us to quickly and nimbly introduce exciting enhancements for our guests at all of our hotels worldwide."
At a time when customer loyalty is a hot topic among business leaders and many are realizing the important role that customer experience plays, Hilton’s strategy is to give the customer more choice and control over their experience, make the process simple and continuously add new features.
"For nearly a century, our guests have counted on us to consistently deliver exceptional experiences around the world, and in today's digitally connected culture, that means providing them with more choice and control over their hotel stay through technology," said Christopher J. Nassetta, president and chief executive officer, Hilton Worldwide. "The tremendous scale of our world-class operating platform enables us to quickly and nimbly introduce exciting enhancements for our guests at all of our hotels worldwide."
Hilton tapped into its customer loyalty program members, gleaning insights from customer data and feedback to identify the specific offerings that would add up to exceptional experiences for its guests. Having the ability to select their own room was a top wish, especially for business travelers who we tend to think of as seasoned and savvy road warriors.
"We analyzed data and feedback from more than 40 million HHonors members, as well as guest surveys, social media posts and review sites, and it's clear that guests want greater choice and control," said Geraldine Calpin, senior vice president and global head of digital at Hilton Worldwide. "In fact, in a recent study, 84 percent of business travelers surveyed said they wanted the ability to choose their own room. We are giving our guests the ability to do just that by enabling them to select not just their room type, but the exact location in the hotel, all the way down to their room number."
Hilton is touting that the new digital offerings will make checking in and managing a stay more simple and streamlined. Guests will have the ability to check in and select the room of their choice via a floor plan map or list of available inventory using an app. Special requests, like room upgrades or amenities, can also be made in advance of arrival. In 2015, Hilton will add the ability for guests to unlock hotel rooms with their smartphones.
Said Nassetta, "Travelers can use their smartphones as boarding passes to get to their seats on an airplane, so it is only natural that they will want to use them as a way to enter their hotel rooms. We have spent the past few years testing a number of different options to make this vision a reality, and we are developing proprietary technology that is safe and reliable for our guests to use, and cost-effective for our hotels to install."
Hilton plans to rapidly deploy and update its digital customer experience offerings. By the end of this summer, Hilton HHonors members will be able to check-in and choose their room using Apple and Andriod HHonors apps in the U.S. at Hilton Worldwide’s Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites and Home2 Suites brands. The functionality will be added to the DoubleTree by Hilton and Embassy Suites Hotels properties in the U.S. this fall. By the end of 2014, room selection will be available for over 650,000 rooms at more than 4,000 hotels across Hilton’s portfolio of 11 brands across the globe. Hilton properties in the U.S. will be updated with the technology that allows guests to unlook rooms with their smartphones by the end of 2015; installation will be completed globally in 2016.