Hospitality Consumer

Behavior and Insight

LO1: Examine the factors that influence hospitality consumer
behavior and attitudes.
Introduction to Consumer Behavior
• Definition

The behavior that consumers display in searching for,

purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and
services that they expect will satisfy their needs.
• Consumer Behavior is the study of when, why, how and where
people do or do not buy a product.
• It basically depends on the psychology of the consumer. It
attempts to understand the buyer decision making process
both individually & in groups.
• It studies the individual consumers such as demographics &
behavioural aspects to understand the people’s wants.
• In the study of Consumer Behaviour main focus is the
customer satisfaction because customer is the only person
with whose presence makes businesses actually exist.
Types of consumer
• Consumer : According to International Dictionary of
Management “Consumer is a purchaser of goods and services
for immediate use or consumption”.
• Ultimate Buyer : He is the person who purchase goods either
for resale or for use in production or for use of somebody else.
• Customer : He is the one who purchases goods for his own use
or for the use of others or else he is regular customer of a
particular product and he is a regular customer of particular
shop.
• Institutional Buyer : These are either govt. institutions or
private organizations.
Characteristics of consumer behaviour
• It is a process where consumer decide what to buy, when to
buy, how to buy, where to buy & how much to buy.
• It comprises of both mental and physical activities of
consumer.
• Consumer behaviour is very complex and dynamic which
keeps on changing constantly.
• Individual buying behaviour is affected by various internal
factors like his needs, wants, attitudes & motives and also by
external factors like social groups, culture , status,
environmental factors etc.
• Consumer behaviour starts before buying and even after
buying.
Factors influencing consumer
behavior
• Consumer Buying Behavior refers to the buying
behavior of the ultimate consumer.

• Many factors, specificities and characteristics

influence the individual in what he is and the
consumer in his decision making process,
shopping habits, purchasing behavior, the brands
he buys or the retailers he goes.
Factors influencing consumer
behavior
• Consumer s buyer behavior is influenced by four major
factors:

1) Cultural,
2) Social,
3) Personal,
4) Psychological
Culture
• ‘Culture’ is one of the most widely used and yet misunderstood terms in
our vocabulary.
• Culture is crucial when it comes to understanding the needs and behaviors
of an individual.
• The influence of culture on buying behavior varies from country to country.
• Therefore marketers have to be very careful in analyzing the culture of
different groups, regions or even countries.
• Throughout his existence, an individual will be influenced by his family, his
friends, his cultural environment or society that will teach him values,
preferences as well as common behaviors to their own culture.
• Example : A child growing in United States is exposed to following values-
achievement, success, practicality, progress, material comfort,
individualism, freedom, space where as a child growing in India is exposed
to following values- family, relatives, religion, progress, food, responsibility,
income.
Listed are some attitudes and behaviors
influenced by culture

• A sense of self and space

• Communication and Language
• Dress and appearance
• Food and feeding habits
• Time and Time Consciousness
• Relationships
• Beliefs and Attitudes
• Work Habits and Practices.
Characteristics of Culture

1. Culture is learned
2. Cultural Values act as guides to our behavior.
3. Cultural values are difficult to change.
4. Culture is dynamic
5. Culture differentiate people from one another.
Hofstede’s cultural dimensions:
• 1. Individualism vs Collectivism
• 2. Uncertainty Avoidance
• 3. Power Distance
• 4. Masculinity vs Femininity
Cultural Factors that influence
Consumer Behavior
1. Subcultures
• The culture can be further divided into subculture wherein the people are
classified more specifically on the basis of their shared customs and beliefs,
including religions, geographic regions, nationalities, etc.
• The different sub-cultures forms several market segments whose needs can be
carefully studied by the marketer, and the strategic marketing decisions can be
taken accordingly.
• Subcultures not only influence buying patterns, but can also influence the way
marketing messages are received. For example, some research suggests that
French-speaking Canadians focus on message source or who is presenting the
advertisement, while English speaking Canadians are more concerned with the
content of the advertisement (Smith, 2003: 83).
• Example: Such as the needs of the people living in metro cities and the ones
living in B-grade cities must be identified before the launch of the marketing
campaign.

•
Major forces under sub-culture
1. Religion (Christianity, Hindu, Muslim, Sikhism, Jainism etc)

• Religion is a shared, taught and learned set of beliefs that one follows
his entire life.
• In most cases religion are inherited but people may change religion in
later course of their life.
• A Hindu bride wears red, maroon or a bright colour lehanga or saree
whereas a Christian bride wears a white gown on her wedding day. It is
against Hindu culture to wear white on auspicious occasions. Muslims
on the other hand prefer to wear green on important occasions.
• For Hindus eating beef is considered to be a sin whereas Muslims and
Christians absolutely relish the same. Eating pork is against Muslim
religion while Hindus do not mind eating it.
• Refer the movie PK to analyze how religion impact people’s thinking.
2. Status (Upper Class, Middle class and Lower Class)
• People from upper class generally have a tendency to spend on
luxurious items such as expensive gadgets, cars, dresses etc.
• You would hardly find an individual from a lower class spending
money on high-end products.
• A person who finds it difficult to make ends meet would rather
prefer spending on items necessary for survival.
• Individuals from middle class segment generally are more interested
in buying products which would make their future secure.
3. Gender (Male/Female)
• People generally make fun of males buying fairness creams as in our
culture only females are expected to buy and use beauty products.
Males are perceived to be strong and tough who look good just the
way they are.
4. Nationality
• People belonging to certain nationality show certain types of
behavior that is distinct from others.
• Geographical orientation has a major role to play on shaping
people’s behaviour.
• Groups such as the Irish, Polish, Italians, and Puerto Ricans are
found within large communities and exhibit distinct ethnic tastes
and proclivities.
• Religious Groups such as the Catholics, Mormons, and Jews
represent subcultures with specific cultural preferences and taboos.
• Racial Groups such as the blacks and Orientals have distinct cultural
styles and attitudes.
• Geographical Areas such as the Deep South, California, and New
England are distinct subcultures with characteristic lifestyles.
2. Social Class
• The social class to which an individual belongs influences the buying decision.
• Generally, the people belonging to the same class are said to be sharing the
similar interest, value and the behavior.
• Our society is classified into three social classes upper class, middle class, and
the lower class.
• The consumers belonging to these classes possess different buying behaviors.
Such as an individual belonging to the upper class buy those products or
services that advocate his status while the lower class people buy those
products which satisfy their basic needs.
•  Social classes are evidence for distinct product and brand preferences in many
fields, including home furnishing, spare time activities, clothing and cars.
• Some marketers center their work on one social class. For example Rolex focus
on upper-class to sell their products while Tesco focus on middle and low-class.
3. Cultural trends
• Cultural trends are defined as trends widely followed by
people and which are amplified by their mere popularity and
by conformity or compliance with social pressure.
• The more people follow a trend, the more others will want to
• follow it.
• For example, Facebook, Tablets such as i-Pad or Galaxy Tab
 Culture and Hospitality consumer
Behavior
• If culture reflects the norms and values of a group or society it
is clear that it will have an impact on the hospitality
consumption.
• Consumers purchase hospitality goods and services both for
psychological and cultural reasons.
• Tharp and Scott (1990), identified five symbolic roles of
hospitality products that they suggested reflected cultural
values.
-Product as a means of communicating social status.
- Products are a means of self-expression
- Products are a means of sharing experiences
- Products are hedonistic
- Products are experiential
Social Factors
• It includes groups (reference groups, aspirational groups and
member groups), family, roles and status.

• This explains the outside influences of others on our purchase

decisions either directly or indirectly.

• They fall into three categories: reference groups, family and

social roles and status.
1. Reference groups and membership
groups
• The membership groups of an individual are social groups to
which he belongs and which will influence him.
• Reference groups also include opinion leader (a person who
influences other because of his special skill, knowledge or
other characteristics).
•  Consumers may use goods or brands to be recognized with or
to become a member of group.
• Consumers learn from observing how people of their
reference groups consume, and they use the exact criterion to
make their own consumer decisions, for example members of
certain skate-boarding societies tend to purchase shoes from
certain brands like DC Shoes, Van, Osiris.
• The impact of reference groups varies across products and
brands. For example if the product is visible such as dress, shoes,
car etc then the influence of reference groups will be high.
•  In the case of opinion leaders marketers should monitor those
leaders as they set the trend and have influence to the groups.
For example hip-hop wear should be designed and marketed in
line with the style and behavior of the typical artist in that
branch.
• Because the individual can also be influenced by a group to
which he doesn’t belong yet but wishes to be part of. This is
called an aspirational group.
• This group will have a direct influence on the consumer who,
wishing to belong to this group and look like its members, will try
to buy the same products.
• For example, even if he doesn’t need it yet, a business person
may want to buy business class air ticket or go to some specific
restaurant just like other established businessman (aspirational
group) in order to get closer to this group.
Roles Within a reference group
• The initiator: the person who suggests buying a product or service

• The influencer: the person whose point of view or advice will

influence the buying decision. It may be a person outside the
group (singer, athlete, actor, etc..) but on which group members
rely on.

• The decision-maker: the person who will choose which product to

buy. In general, it s the consumer but in some cases it may be
another person.

• The buyer: the person who will buy the product. Generally, this
will be the final consumer.
2. Family
• The family is maybe the most influencing factor for an
individual.
• It forms an environment of socialization in which an individual
will evolve, shape his personality, acquire values and develop
attitudes and opinions on various subjects such as politics,
society, social relations or himself and his desires.
• Buyer behavior is strongly influenced by the member of a
family.
• Therefore marketers are trying to find the roles and influence
of the husband, wife and children.
• Example : If the buying decision of a particular product is
influenced by wife then the marketers will try to target the
women in their advertisement.
• Here we should note that buying roles change with change in
consumer lifestyles.
• For example, if you have never drunk Coke during your
childhood and your parents have described it as a product full
of sugar and not good for health . There is far less chance that
you are going to buy it when you will grow up that someone
who drinks Coke since childhood.
3. Social roles and status
• The position of an individual within his family, his work, his country club
and his group of friends etc. All this can be defined in terms of role and
social status.
• A social role is a set of attitudes and activities that an individual is
supposed to have and do according to his profession and his position at
work, his position in the family, his
• gender, etc. and expectations of the people around him.
• For example, a consumer may buy a Ferrari or a Porsche for the quality
of the car but also for the external signs of social success that this kind
of cars represents.
• Moreover, it is likely that a CEO driving a small car like a Ford Fiesta or a
Volkswagen Golf would be taken less seriously by its customers and
business partners than if he is driving a German luxury car.
• Again, many brands have understood it by creating an image associated
with their products reflecting an important social role or status.
3. Personal factors
• It is commonly agreed that personality influence consumer’s
perceptions and buying behavior.
• Marketers believe that personality influences the types and
brands of products purchased
• Studies of purchases show that people generally prefer brands
and products that are compatible with their self-concept.
• It includes such variables as age and lifecycle stage, occupation,
economic circumstances, lifestyle (activities, interests, opinions
and demographics), personality and self concept.
• These may explain why our preferences often change as our
`situation‘ changes.
• Decisions and buying behavior are obviously also influenced by
the characteristics of each consumer.
1. Age and way of life
• A consumer does not buy the same products or services at 20
or 70 years.
• His lifestyle, values, enviroment, activities, hobbies and
consumer habits evolve throughout his life.
• Family life-cycle consists of different stages such young singles,
married couples, unmarried couples etc which help marketers
to develop appropriate products for each stage.
• The factors influencing the buying decision process may also
change.
• For Example : The family life cycle of the individual will also
have an influence on his values, lifestyles and buying behavior
depending whether he single, in a relationship, in a
relationship with kids, etc.
2. Lifestyle
• The lifestyle of an individual includes all of its activities,
interests, values and opinions.
• The lifestyle of a consumer will influence on his behavior and
purchasing decisions.
• For example, a consumer with a healthy and balanced lifestyle
will prefer to eat organic products and go to specific grocery
stores, will do some jogging regularly (and therefore will buy
shoes, clothes and specific products), etc.
3. Personality and self-concept
• Personality is the set of traits and specific characteristics of
each individual.
• It materializes into some traits such as confidence, sociability,
autonomy, charisma, ambition, openness to others, shyness,
curiosity, adaptability, etc.
• While the self-concept is the image that the individual has or
would like to have of him and he conveys to his entourage.
• For example, since its launch, Apple cultivates an image of
innovation, creativity, boldness and singularity which is able to
attract consumers who identify to these values and who feel
valued in their self-concept by buying a product from Apple.
4. Occupation
• The occupation of a person has significant impact on his
buying behavior.
• For example a marketing manager of an organization will try to
purchase business suits, whereas a low level worker in the
same organization will purchase rugged work clothes.
5. Economic Situation

• Consumer economic situation has great influence on his

buying behavior.
• If the income and savings of a customer is high then he will
purchase more expensive products. On the other hand, a
person with low income and savings will purchase inexpensive
products.
4. Psychological factors
• Other people often influence a consumer’s purchase decision.

• The marketer needs to know which people are involved in the

buying decision and what role each person plays, so that
marketing strategies can also be aimed at these people.

• Among the factors influencing consumer behavior,

psychological factors can be divided into 4 categories:
motivation, perception, learning as well as beliefs and
attitudes.
1. Motivation
• Motivation is what will drive consumers to develop a purchasing behavior.
• The level of motivation also affects the buying behavior of customers.
• Every person has different needs such as physiological needs, biological
needs, social needs etc.
• The nature of the needs is that, some of them are most pressing while
others are least pressing.
• Therefore a need becomes a motive when it is more pressing to direct the
person to seek satisfaction.
• To increase sales and encourage consumers to purchase, brands should try
to create, make conscious or reinforce a need in the consumer’s mind so
that he develops a purchase motivation.
• They must also, according to research, the type of product they sell and
the consumers they target, pick out the motivation and the need to which
their product respond in order to make them appear as the solution to the
consumers need.
2. Perception
• Perception is the process through which an individual selects, organizes
and interprets the information he receives in order to do something that
makes sense.
• The perception of a situation at a given time may decide if and how the
person will act.
• There are three different perceptual processes which are selective
attention, selective distortion and selective retention.
• In case of selective attention, marketers try to attract the customer
attention.
• Whereas, in case of selective distortion, customers try to interpret the
information in a way that will support what the customers already believe.
• Selective retention means what the individual will store and retain from a
given situation or a particular stimulus. For example, consumers will
remember especially the benefits of a brand or product they like and will
forget the drawbacks or competing products advantages.
3. Learning

• Learning is a change in the behavior resulting from the

experience.
• The learning changes the behavior of an individual as he
acquires information and experience.
• For example, if you are sick after drinking milk, you had a
negative experience, you associate the milk with this state of
discomfort and you learn that you should not drink milk.
Therefore, you don t buy milk anymore.
• Rather, if you had a good experience with the product, you will
have much more desire to buy it again next time.
4. Beliefs and attitudes
• A belief is a conviction that an individual has on something.
• Through the experience he acquires, his learning and his
external influences (family, friends, etc..), he will develop
beliefs that will influence his buying behavior.
• Customer possesses specific belief and attitude towards
various products.
• Such beliefs and attitudes make up brand image and affect
consumer buying behavior.
• Marketers can change the beliefs and attitudes of customers
by launching special campaigns in this regard.
• Example: Goldstar
Emerging/Changing Trends in
Hospitality

In order to take advantage and stand out in the competition, it is

important to stay updated with the latest trends in the hotel
industry.
1. Catering to millennials
• Millennials (those ages 18-34) are expected to represent 50%
of all travelers to the USA by 2025, according to the 
Cornell Center for Hospitality Research.
• Companies need to define their strategies based on this
demographic group’s personality traits and habits
• They travel a lot; are early adopters of technology; like
personalized interactions and are spontaneous.
• Hotels will want to please them with easy check-in and
gourmet dining experiences at reasonable prices.
• In return, satisfied millennials will actively promote their
businesses on social media channels.
2. Tech explosion

• The majority of guests today are self-sufficient, tech-savvy

travelers who are comfortable using apps or mobile websites.
• Hotels need to make sure their offerings are up-to-date and
user-friendly.
• At business meetings and conferences, travelers expect hotels
and conference centers to have high quality tech equipment
and a knowledgeable support staff.
• Not to forget FREE WIFI.
3. Influx of international
visitors
• International leisure travel is on the rise- Dubai International
Airport has become the busiest airport in the world.
• Hotels must be able to provide services in a multitude of
languages
• And tailored experiences properly suited to the culture and
unique needs of their international visitors.
• U.S. Travel Association has warned that the U.S. is not keeping
pace with global long-haul travel expansion. In the United
States, international inbound travel is expected to continue to
grow at a rate of 2.2 percent while the same traffic worldwide
is estimated at 6 percent.9
• Thailand alone saw record of 38.27 million international
tourists in 2018.
4. Increased emphasis on
health and well-being
• Guests today are taking charge of their health
• Hotels are responding with well-equipped fitness centers, pools and spas.
• Increasingly, travelers are expecting innovative wellness options.
• In addition to healthy food options, growing trends include lighting that
energizes, air purification, yoga spaces, in-room exercise equipment and even
vitamin-infused shower water.
• Example: MGM Resorts and Wyndham Hotels and Resorts’ Stay Well rooms,
Pullman’s focus on sleep, food, sport and spa, Hilton’s Five Fee to Fitness
program that puts the capability of a gym in the guest room.
• https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9DA8vQs6R4&fbclid=IwAR08Cr5xvKrWo0Ww4L_
JBMIZPaKhxTVxgitHSNvQM5uazzESXu_25EcK2ak

• https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kayiXJiabhA&fbclid=IwAR09jazUN6KTW47mkvoO
LCsfh_MVmCN9WUz62XZr7z77-II1mT2QnxG44WI

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CGjzGk57EQ
5. Need for seamless
technology
• Seamless connectivity across platforms and devices is growing
more important.
• Many hotel groups are offering mobile check-in and digital
concierge services.
• At Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, guests are issued high-
tech cards that detect their presence and unlock the door
before they even reach it.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qG9cowFSV8
6. Sustainability rules

• Eco-friendly practices are becoming the norm, as properties

focus on renewable energy resources and water scarcity.
• Many hotels are installing solar panels and updating systems
so that air conditioners and lights automatically switch off
when guests leave their rooms.
• Example : Accor Hotels are aming to be fully solar power
charged hotel through its Acting here: Planet 21 program.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXoz1qcEu44
7. Destination promotion
• The explosion of social media is causing hotels to become
more involved in destination and self-promotion.
• Many are featuring guests’ images and tweets on their
websites; some are even using the material in their advertising
campaigns.
• Material here means, promoting the place, areas near to hotel
or themes rather hotel itself.
• Example: Promotion of vacation package with literary,
through #Hotelfie, sangria-la hotels advertisement, Planners
can visualize spaces in multiple destinations through
augmented reality ads without leaving their computer.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OewNWlOQWy0
8. Real-time damage control

• If a hotel guest is dissatisfied, he or she can easily complain on

Facebook, Twitter, Yelp or TripAdvisior.
• Hoteliers must be able to quickly respond.
• Engaging with customers and responding to their needs
through these public forums help maintain positive guest
relations and drive future bookings.
9. Unique perks

• With so many brands to choose from, properties need to find

a way to stand out.
• Some are offering free daily wine tastings in their lobbies or
bars;
• Some are incorporating sophisticated informational screens in
bathroom mirrors; and others are giving away curated set lists
of downloadable music.
• Example: a different world created by Disneyland resorts
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyLmgCWW8V8
10. Social media promotions
• Social media offers an easy way for guests to share their
experiences about their recent trips.
• It also offers a  great opportunity for hotels to self-promote.
• Some hotels feature guests’ images and tweets on their own
websites.
• Social media platforms not only help self-promote your brand but
serve as tools to encourage user engagement.
• This inevitably brings more bookings and greater revenue
towards hoteliers’ advertising efforts.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRpvdeb1INA
How 4 factors are changing
trends?
• Catering to millennials - culture
• Tech explosion - personal
• Influx of international visitors - culture
• Increased emphasis on health and well-being-social, personal
• Need for seamless technology-psychological
• Sustainability rules-social, psychological
• Destination promotion-culture
• Real-time damage control-psychological
• Unique perks – culture, personal
• Social media promotion – culture, psychological and social
Linking trends to restaurant
business
These trends are being changed or emerged by cultural, social, personal
and psychological factors :
• Catering to millennials (Age factor) - Age group of fast food customer.
• Tech explosion- use of technology at restaurant business both at
operational and personal frontex.
• Influx of international visitors (frequency of eating out)- How often
people prefer to eat out. What kind of people.
• Increased emphasis on health and well-being-social- Hygenic and organic
• Need for seamless technology (importance of wifi)- connectivity and use
of technology
• Sustainability rules (waste management)- how restaurants treat wastage.
• Destination promotion (focus on ambience and environment)-
environment around and inside. Location. Garden, lighting etc
• Unique perks - extra features apart from food
• Social media promotion
The challenges of quality service delivery
to meet consumer expectations
• 1. Understanding Customer Expectations
• 2. Reaching Out to Customers
• 3. Not meeting Customer Expectations
• 4. Consistency
• 5. Lack of Customer Service Professionals
• 6. Creating a Customer-First Culture
Changing Customer Trends
due to digital Technology
1. Chatbot to assist you 24*7

• With the growing digital channels, it is getting difficult for the

hotels to give rapid response to guests’ inquiries across all
channels which can lead to a revenue loss.
• Therefore, hotel chatbot is one of the latest technologies
being used to improve experiences. 
• This way, the hotel staff can focus on providing personalized
guest experience.  
2. Mobile app for easy access

• The continuous zoom-in and zoom-out of website will leave

your potential customers frustrated.
• Hence, in this digital era, it is vital for the hotels to offer an
app that is mobile-optimized.
•  Hotels are providing a mobile app to encourage potential
customers so that they can easily perform the action.
• For example; book rooms and check availability, read reviews,
browse through hotel services, view hotel images, and more
with the help of a hotel app.  
3. Digitized room keys for quick room access

• Swipe cards have been replaced with smartphones and apps

to ease check-ins and reduce the loss of the key.
• Now, with the help of smartphones, your guests can use the
digital key to speed up and efficiently undergo the check-in
procedure.
• After an endless day filled with meetings or traveling, the
guests feel to rush to their hotel rooms to take a shower and
sink into a freshly made hotel bed. But in the middle of all that
chaos, finding a room key is a headache. Hence, to avoid this
frustration, today several hotel brands are rapidly rolling out
smartphone keys.
4. Self-check-in to minimize guests’ waiting time
• In the era of mobile technology, hoteliers can improve both their
operations and guest experience by implementing a few simple things
at their property.
• Today, your guest doesn’t want to wait at your reception desk anymore.
• As the internet has become an inseparable part of their lives, hotel
guests are now expecting everything digital, which is a part of the
recent hotel industry trends.  
• Self-check-in service through kiosks and mobile guest self-service
portals are gaining popularity among the top hospitality industry
trends.
• With the implementation of such services in hotels, the guests can
easily find whether their room is ready, can make requests for
amenities, check their bills, update their preferences and a lot more.  
5. Voice-activated virtual assistants for anything, and
everything  
• It delivers a superior customer experience by reducing
response times, streamlining multiple operations in minutes,
changing room status in seconds, and more through the voice
commands.
• With the help of this technology, customers can easily make
requests for room service, fresh towels, managing lighting,
cooling, heating to ordering food and more.
• Hence, this feature in smartphones or standalone devices like
Amazon Echo and Google Home is definitely one of the most
interesting new technologies for the hotel industry.
6. Technology to run hotels and bring bookings
• Technology has become critical to attract and retain hotel
guests as a major part of the hospitality industry trends. 
• Therefore, most of the hotels are in the process of exploring
innovative technology solutions. It’ll help them to better serve
guests throughout their stay and help them remain on top of
their mind.  
• Hotel technology solutions like;
• Property management systems to manage the day-to-day of
hotel operations
• Hotel booking engine to increase exposure and bookings 
7. Social Media
• Billions of people around the world are using social media and
the numbers are increasing day by day.
• People these days post many things about their personal life
on social media like pictures, interests, hobbies, birthdays,
likes and dislikes.
• This gives opportunity for hotels to market its offerings frees
on cost just by initiating people to market it for them on their
social media page.
• Not only that but it also gives an opportunity to attract
different types of travelers at the same time. For instance; the
youth, corporate business travelers, influencers, and more.  
8. Recognition Technology
• Recognition technology in particular, biometrics is being used
to usher in a new age of seamless authentications, and this
could benefit hotel processes and customer purchases.
• For example, imagine if finger print or facial recognition
technology could be used in your hotel to unlock rooms. Now
consider the uses of the same technology for check-in and
check-out purposes. In the future, this technology is also likely
to allow for completely seamless purchases, with payments
being authenticated by touch.
• Example: Facial Recognition Check-in in Marriott China
9. Artificial Intelligence
• In the modern age, customers expect to be able to interact with
hospitality companies across a variety of digital channels and
receive rapid responses.
• Of course, actually having staff monitoring all of those channels
and delivering swift responses can be difficult, if not impossible,
which is where chatbots and AI come in.
• Chatbots are able to understand simple questions and provide
answers almost instantaneously, taking the burden away from
customer service staff and improving the experience for
customers.
• Meanwhile, AI’s uses extend into other important areas for hotels
too, including data analysis.
• Example: Hilton and IBM pilot “Connie”
10. Internet of Things (IoT)
• ‘The Internet of Things’, or IoT, involves extending internet
connectivity to everyday objects, devices and appliances.
• These devices can then collect data and communicate or interact over
the internet, turning previously unintelligent devices
into ‘smart’ devices, which are often semi or fully autonomous.
• An example of this already being used with the hospitality sector is
internet-enabled thermostats, which are used to automatically adjust
room temperatures at check-in and check-out times, or in response to
temperature swings caused by the sun, or by windows being opened.
• The same concept is also being deployed for lighting, improving
energy efficiency by, for instance, reducing light intensity during
daylight hours.
• Example: The Internet of Things comes for the hotel network
12. Augmented Reality
• Finally, augmented reality has exploded in a similar way to VR
technology, but only with little more access to a smartphone and the
internet.
• Unlike VR, which places users in a digital environment, augmented
reality is about enhancing the real-world environment through
information overlays.
• Imagine if your hotel provided AR-compatible wall maps, where
customers can point their phone at the map and find out information
about specific locations.
• Alternatively, how about an app, which allow users to see customer
reviews of local restaurants by looking at the building through their
phone?
• Example: Augmented reality within the hospitality industry
•  
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