self-service technology
Training Customers to Do It Themselves
Shep Hyken | July 11, 2024
More and more, customers are open to using self-service solutions. Our customer experience research shows that while customers might prefer the human touch, some expect digital, self-service solutions. In certain cases, they even demand it. And it’s not just in customer service. Consider Amazon, the perfect example of a self-service retailer. From researching to purchasing a product, and even in most customer service situations, everything is a self-service experience. Each step of the process is logical and intuitive. For customer service issues, the customer is prompted through a process. Along the way, if the customer still wants ...
Stayntouch Launches Stayntouch 2.0, a Fully Integrated Hotel Technology Suite to Drive Direct Bookings, Optimize Distribution, Simplify Payments, and
Stayntouch | October 19, 2022
The industry-leading cloud PMS and self-service technology provider invested $15 million to offer an end-to-end payments platform, a customizable booking engine, a powerful channel manager, and robust chain management capabilities. Bethesda, MD | October 19, 2022 – Stayntouch, a global leader in cloud hotel property management systems (PMS) and guest-centric technologies, today announced the launch of Stayntouch 2.0, a fully integrated technology suite featuring an amplified version of its flagship cloud PMS and guest kiosk. The new technology suite also includes a secure payment gateway, a customizable booking engine, and an easy-to-use...
Studies Show That the Guest Self-Service Era Has Officially Begun
Venkatesh Sakamuri | August 2, 2022
By Venkat Sakamuri, CEO and Co-Founder, Stayflexi Decades ago, self-service was largely defined by one, often lackluster offering: vending machines. We would carefully feed a bill into the designated slot, punch in the code for our desired drink or snack, watch the machine whirred to life and push our selection forward, and then often watch in dismay as it got stuck against the glass on its journey down to the basket for retrieval. In this sense, vending machines were hardly a luxury offering. Instead, they served a distinct (and limited) purpose and were often reserved for moments in which we had no other food or beverage options to exp...
How Hotels Can Cater to Guest Preferences Through Self-Service Technologies
Austen Asadorian | July 14, 2022
By Austen Asadorian Contactless services have become a part of everyday life over the past two years and, as travel begins to surge again, they are continuing to pick up steam in the hospitality world. So much so that, according to a recent study, 73% of travelers want to use their mobile device to manage their hotel experience. Hotel guests now increasingly expect their experience to include contactless solutions that can uplevel their experience. By taking advantage of on-premises reservation capabilities from QR codes to the aggregation of guest data, hotel operators can successfully cater to the new guest of 2022. Streamlined Onl...
Self-Service Technologies: The Next Frontier in Hotel Service
PolyU’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management | March 29, 2022
Self-service technologies (SSTs) have simplified many aspects of everyday life. However, their relatively recent introduction means that the pros and cons of SST adoption in the hotel industry are still being explored. The potential advantages of SSTs notwithstanding, hotels in China seem to have some reservations, say Professor Kam Hung of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and her co-researcher. Without a clear understanding of how preferences for SSTs over human staff are formed, hoteliers are perhaps right to be wary. Moving beyond previous work, this ambitious study integrates indivi...
How Mobile and Self-Service Technology Can Set Your Hotel Apart from the Competition [Guide]
August 2, 2018
StayNTouch introduces a free guide to help hotels explore mobile strategies that increase staff efficiency and operations while creating a unique guest stay that is reflective of their brand promise Whether we like it or not, we are living in a mobile-first, self-service world. From dating apps to online shopping, app-based taxi service and food delivery, mobile check-in and more — the modern consumer has demonstrated a decided preference for on-demand, uninhibited access to services via mobile devices. This trend has quickly worked its way into the hospitality industry, breaking down the traditional hotel service-model to one whi...
Modern Food Service Challenges are Driven by the Modern Guest
Larry Steinberg | September 18, 2017
By Larry Steinberg, Sr. Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, Agilysys Consumers want more options. For every practiced chef, there is a collective of guests eager to spend their hard-earned dollars on something exotic and different. They want to experience a bit of culture by way of their next meal, and they want to find it using the latest technology. How do businesses prioritize which technologies to embrace? How do they stay in business in such a saturated, competitive marketplace? How do they keep up with the constantly-expanding demands of consumers? This highly competitive landscape, combined with changing guest expectat...
Technologies That Will Have a Major Impact on Hotels in 2017 and Beyond
ALICE | January 18, 2017
Technologies that were big in 2016, and are only getting bigger. HOTEL STAFF TECHNOLOGY. Ops is the new black. Happy staff = happy guests, and 2016 was the year where staff technology and back of house operations finally got the attention and validation it deserves. Until last year, most attention was on guest technology, particularly on guest apps and on guest-facing innovation, like keyless entry and in-room controls. Companies like Marriott and IHG poured millions into their mobile guest applications, while their staff were left to fumble with clunky, poorly designed systems. Staff are the heart of hospitality. Without them, hotels a...