Top Tech Trends in the Hospitality & Lodging Industry… Some May Make Sense for Your Business

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Hotels, motels and other hospitality businesses once occupied a fairly simple space in people’s lives – they were a place for guests to lay their heads while away from home.

But anyone who’s spent time on the road in recent years knows that the role of technology has greatly expanded. Here are some of the top communication technology trends in hospitality today…

  1. Cloud migration – The hospitality industry is making the transition to the cloud, where opportunities abound for back office efficiency with low technology acquisition costs. Cloud technologies are simplifying operations, reducing staffing needs, and providing a better guest experience.
  2. Service automation through AI – Automation continues to be a trend that’s changing the way guests are served. With the advancements in Artificial Intelligence, hotels are interacting with guests digitally while freeing up hotel staff to work on other tasks. This also improves the travel experience as language differences can be eliminated, ensuring clear communication with travelers wherever they’re from.
  3. Integrated guest applications – Guest apps for personal mobile devices are the natural place to host everything from deal notifications to hotel services to loyalty programs. Innovative capabilities can be integrated into these hotel applications to grant guests increased ability to engage with hotel staff and other guests.
  4. Touchless interactions – The pandemic has emphasized the need to reconsider how guests interact with amenities. From digital room keys that allow guests to unlock doors using their phones to motion sensors that turn on lights, to voice-activated control of appliances, reducing contact with commonly touched interfaces allows guests to stay safe and housekeeping staff to sanitize and prepare rooms faster.
  5. Self-service meeting spaces – No longer are meeting spaces just about table and chair arrangements. Today’s meetings rely on multimedia presentations and videoconferencing to bring in remote attendees. And for marathon meetings, access to services like catering must be handled with minimal interruption. Advanced technology enablement is also becoming a must-have in ballrooms and event halls.
  6. Predictive Analytics – As more technology is added to improve the guest experience, more data is being collected about how guests interact with staff and amenities. When analyzed, the data can provide insights that can improve internal operations as well as the guest experience, resulting in your property becoming a preferred place to stay and the one that gets recommended to others.

If you see an application here that could help your business get ahead, reach out to the experts at TCI. Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

Digital Transformation in 2021… Keeping Up with Touchless & New Ways to Connect with Customers

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Adaptation has always been a necessity for survival, but now businesses are finding that they have to adapt virtually overnight to stay afloat. Touchless technology in the form of contactless payments, expanded mobile app offerings and remote contact centers is becoming the new normal for businesses across industries.

Touchless technology is impacting the B2C world primarily in payment transactions and customer communications. For example, contactless digital payments are replacing traditional paper checks in many transactions. While the primary driver is health and safety, there are other benefits: digital payments are received faster and cost less to process, improving cash flow and reducing costs.

B2B companies, as well as organizations with call centers or large sales teams, have had to quickly figure out how to stay in touch with customers and clients via a largely remote workforce…

  • Unified communications technology keeps the lines of communication open from any device and any location.
  • Cloud-based VoIP phones enable employees to communicate and collaborate via voice, text and screen share, making it easy to assist customers even when working from home.
  • A unified communications contact center empowers businesses to communicate with customers via chat, SMS, voice, email and social media – all with a virtual workforce.

All companies should consider the impact touchless tech will have on how their business is run, and we encourage you to explore Digital Transformation and new avenues of communications with your customers.

Looking for new ways to connect that will grow your business? Contact TCI today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

Creating a Superior Customer Experience to Grow Your Online Business

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In the brick-and-mortar world, windows entice shoppers into the store. Online, your website is the “window.” Is it visually exciting? Does it encourage shoppers to explore your services and capabilities? Is it easy to navigate, and does it load quickly?

These are only the basics. If you haven’t already, you’ll want to cover all the bases when it comes to developing a strong e-commerce platform. Here’s why…

Responsive communications

Today’s consumer won’t tolerate slow service. Shoppers want answers quickly – in minutes, not hours – and certainly not days. They’ve come to expect 24/7 service, where someone, somewhere in the world, is available to resolve any issues they encounter. And while they expect and use self-service options, consumers’ patience runs thin if they can’t find the answers they need quickly. When that happens, they expect a live person to step in and help.

Personalized service

Consumers expect service reps to know everything about their communications with the company, as well as key personal information and history. Successful online businesses use CRM tools to capture all customer data, across all channels, to create a seamless experience. By using the cloud and integrating with other internal systems – like supply chain and logistics platforms – service professionals can have all the information instantly available to meet customer requirements.

Easy, safe online check out

The desire to limit exposure to COVID will continue to influence shopping behavior for the near term. Enhancing the online shopping experience with tools for attracting and retaining customers becomes even more vital. That can mean offering the ability to save items in a cart and apply coupon codes to offering a range of payment and shipping choices. Shops that aren’t properly set up for online transactions will lose out.

Multiple delivery options

Along with increasing their demands on customer support, consumers have come to expect flexibility when it comes to shipping and delivery. Due to the pandemic, delivery services are expected and many companies are making delivery options part of their core business and arranging Just-in-Time inventory to help reduce costs.

Customer reviews

An essential part of today’s online shopping experience is the ability to read credible product reviews. That means not just publishing your customers’ thoughts about their purchases, but responding to any concerns they might have in the review section. Businesses that demonstrate that they’re listening to – and doing something about – complaints develop greater respect from both current and potential customers.

Remote teams

The pandemic has moved more employees into a virtual work environment, which can actually improve customer service. Call centers don’t need a physical location when reps can connect to the network from home. With the right communications tools, businesses can be more responsive and nimble.

The pandemic has put great pressure on businesses, but it has also presented them with great opportunities… TCI can help your efforts to exploit better technology go smoothly. Contact us today at (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.

 

Moving Beyond Band-Aid Collaboration Tools

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The impacts of the coronavirus on business culture have forced a critical need for unified business communication technology that goes well beyond commonly used band-aid solutions.

As we all continue to grapple with social distancing and lockdown protocols, everyone is searching for innovative ways to get back to “normal life.”

This has prompted business leaders to rethink customer interaction and strengthen remote collaboration in their B2B and B2C environments – while making it all work seamlessly.

  • Incorporate everything your team uses to connect and be productive in one system.
  • Choose technology that supports all of your collaboration needs with these three features – Dedicated Workspaces, Task Management, and Shared Files for each project.
  • Create an ideal environment that allows for quick responses with features such as Messaging, Telephony, and Video – no matter what your system includes, it’s important to keep it Unified.

Ready to make the switch from your emergency solution to a long-term solution? We’re here to help. Contact TCI today: (703) 321-3030 or info@tcicomm.com.