Tech Talk

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With Guests Checking Back In, Hoteliers Look to Take Next Step With New Tech
Posted: 03/07/2023

Business travel is picking back up and families may be taking their first or second real vacations since the pandemic cancelled so many plans just a few years ago. To ensure that guests have the best on-site experience possible, hoteliers are increasingly looking to new technologies to make their stay more comfortable than ever. With an advanced property management systems (PMS) and integration platforms, hoteliers can increase operational and staff efficiency, but also meet changing guest expectations for a high-value but relatively low-touch experience. We looked ahead to see what changes we expect to see sweeping the hospitality industry this year.

Long-term readers of this blog know that I rarely focus on a single company or product. My goal is to help readers understand new and emerging technologies, when and why they might be useful, and what to consider if you are buying them.

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The Future of Hotels
Posted: 02/21/2023

Hotels have always been a high-touch low-tech business. Today, and into the foreseeable future, hotels are moving away from the pure ‘people serving people’ model towards a more high-tech low-touch business, and doubling down on digitalization. In the paragraphs below, I envision ways in which tech can innovate and enhance the guest experience throughout the guests’ 6 stage hotel journey: Imagine-Book-Stay-Report-Recommend-Return.

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Definitely Doug 2/10/23: Planning for June
Posted: 02/10/2023

The question I have heard most often in recent months is “where are you going in the last week of June?”. As most readers are aware, two trade shows featuring hotel technology are scheduled during the same dates that week. Many of you are still undecided which to attend. Knowing that your decision will be based at least in part on where others are going (hoteliers and exhibitors both), I decided to try to get some real data that I could share.

The Shiji Distribution Solutions team provided the research on available partners, vendors, and technology, however, for obvious reasons, the chart doesn’t contain every single solution and partner available.

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Interactive Technologies Power Alibaba Group’s FlyZoo Hotel in Hangzhou-Could this ‘robotic’ property be a prototype for the future?

12/03/2018

by Fran Worrall

After two years of preparation, the FlyZoo Hotel — a futuristic property that uses interactive technologies to do everything from greet guests to deliver room service — is ready for business. Owned by China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, the hotel, which is currently on soft launch, is located on the company’s corporate campus in Hangzhou. The property is set to officially open later this year.

In late September, Alibaba A.I. Labs, which leads development of the company’s artificial intelligence products, announced a robot designed specifically for the hospitality sector. The tiny automatons, which stand about three feet tall and move at a speed of approximately two miles per hour, are encased in aluminum and feature multi-sensor data functionality and parallel computing. The robots come with an autonomous navigation system to recognize obstacles, a communications system to control elevators, facial recognition technology to verify identities, and semantic mapping to improve human-robot interaction.

At FlyZoo Hotel, robots are found throughout the property. Guests can ‘talk’ to the interactive assistants using voice commands, hand gestures and touch. The robots can perform a variety of tasks, from delivering laundry to closing the curtains. They increase efficiency and reduce overhead by bridging the gap between guest needs and response times and enabling the property to significantly reduce staff.

In the near future, Alibaba Group says it plans to open unmanned restaurants and libraries on its corporate campus. A.I. Labs will determine if the robots are suitable for other scenarios, such as hospitals and offices, after testing them in the hotel sector.

According to research firm Global Market Insights, the demand for service robots is on the rise, primarily due to advances in artificial intelligence, cloud technology, machine learning and the Internet of Things. These technologies not only enhance efficiency but also enable decision-making in real time.

Likewise, the International Federation of Robotics (IRF), a global industry non-profit organization, predicts a positive long-term sales forecast for service robots, with an expected growth rate of 20 percent to 25 percent within the next two years.