by Georges Panayotis
As humanoid as it may be, Nao is not the future of the hospitality industry. This little robot that has learned to dance, and was recently received at the Elysée, symbolizes new technological progress that may make it possible to give complex functions to expert machines.
Robots and other sophisticated machines are increasingly present in our daily lives, and the same is true in the hotel industry. While we may rejoice over their performance and usefulness, it must be remembered that they are only auxiliary and their purpose is to free our time to make more room for human relations.
Technology cannot do everything and could, on the contrary, lead to increasingly uniform products if new concepts rely only on automated functions. While it is true that the client wants more autonomy, more connectivity, increased availability of hotel services, he does not want to give up human contact. Process cannot replace spontaneity. The efficiency of a machine does not eliminate the desire for personal relations. Quite the contrary!
As concepts increasingly rapidly copy one another and catch up with one another, the quest for added value and differentiation is happening within a more affirmed human dimension. It would be unfortunate to not support the technological investment with an equally important human investment. Training for “front office” personnel must insist on new customer expectations. Old jobs have been fragmented and recombined. The receptionist is now concierge, confidant, personal shopper, barman as well as theater critic and computer expert. This position no longer provides just a function: the receptionist-concierge incarnates the property through his attitude, personality, and conviviality.
This certainly complicates recruiting since it is important to valorize interpersonal skills even more than know-how as machines increasingly fill this role. The motivation to provide service goes with new models for remuneration. The personal implication of front line collaborators, who work with guests who are creative and affective, friendly or wrathful, cheerful or panicked, demanding or endearing…, deserves recognition through additional stimulus.
Previous generations lived in an era when tips were an expression of customer’s satisfaction and justified this additional dose of soul or desire to “provide a service” in the good sense of the term. The regulation and negotiation of different categories of personnel made this system incompatible with a form of universal egalitarianism, which hurt individual motivation. And yet it’s an important area that human resources managers and personnel representatives must grapple with because it will not be easy to achieve the right balance. It is a matter first and foremost of encouraging employees to go beyond simply doing what is asked of them in their contract.
The difficulty in recruiting reception personnel is due, in part, to the low wages, and the image potential candidates have of these professions. And yet, the reputation of certain properties, the largest ones, is heavily reliant on the personality of the concierge, ma”tre d’, barman, bouncer… all characters who have given the notion of service its distinction. Without necessarily adopting the model of “actors waiting for their next gig” that is widespread in large American cities, it is possible to innovate through sources of staffing and especially by training receptionists by valorizing the fun, even theatrical aspect of the work. The customer’s first impression is the one that will stick, so its effect can be as beneficial as it can be catastrophic.
Hospitality truly begins to makes sense again when the machine relieves us of tedious tasks. Progress does not lie in the progressive and intelligent automation of every stage of the stay. It lies in the new inter-personal relationship it enables for developing customer loyalty so customers can differentiate when booking reservations… even if these are made via computer!
