The travel and hospitality industries are constantly growing and changing. With technology being developed every day, it can be difficult to keep up with the newest gadgets and platforms. However, it’s important to learn about and incorporate these technologies, as they have the potential to elevate every aspect of a traveler’s experience.
4 Technologies Changing the Travel Industry
Whether you’re a hotelier, tour operator, restaurant owner, or avid traveler, utilizing these 4 technologies will enhance the experiences of you and your guests, and ensure that you’re in the know on today’s tech!
Mobile Travel Assistants
Mobile travel assistants are revolutionizing the hotel experience across the globe. Rendering hotel apps obsolete, mobile travel assistants provide everything a traveler needs, all packed into one smartphone. The capabilities of these devices can’t be overstated.
Hotels are placing mobile travel assistants in their rooms, giving guests access to the device 24/7 for the duration of their stay. Mutually beneficial to both guests and hoteliers, mobile travel assistants help guests organize their trip, allowing them to make bookings, find restaurants, watch audio guides and videos, get directions, and access all the tips and tricks they’ll need to have a great time. The smartphone also works in the hotel as a tv remote, room key, and mainline phone, allowing guests to contact the concierge, order room service, and more. It’s almost hard to believe all of this can be done from one device!
Linking up with mobile travel assistant technology is incredibly beneficial for hoteliers. With an organized web dashboard, hoteliers can access data (basic, non-private data) from the linked devices. This allows them to help guests quickly, centralize hotel services, receive more feedback, and access analytics and data regarding their guests’ average routines. This means that any hotel using these devices will be able to see which restaurants, activities, hotel services, and more are preferred by their guests.
Given that mobile travel assistants also allow hoteliers to control their own advertisements on the device (creating an additional revenue stream), hotels can market the best possible services to their guests.
These handy devices are capable of providing free unlimited local and international calls, and free unlimited 4G WiFi with hotspot capabilities. Needless to say, mobile travel assistants have become a rising star among hoteliers and travelers alike.
Social Media and 360 Videos
It’s a bit of a no brainer that social media has affected the travel industry. However, considering these platforms are constantly updating, there’s always a new feature to take advantage of. Instagram has come out ahead as an important social media platform to master if you’re looking to bring attention to any destination. With viral hashtags and beautiful filters, some travelers even plan their trips according to what they’ve viewed on Instagram.
This is why it’s more important than ever to understand how to market your business, city, or event online. Some current methods of marketing on Instagram include:
- Advertising through popular Instagram accounts
- Extensive research regarding popular hashtags
- High-quality photo and video content
- Consistent content upload schedule
- Giveaways and contests for likes, shares, and follows
- Sharing special discounts and coupon codes
There’s a new feature being used on various social media platforms that is changing the way people in the industry are marketing to potential travelers. Three-hundred-and-sixty-degree photos and videos are allowing businesses from all around the world to display their destination and services in a more immersive, emotional, and experiential way. Luckily, with the right camera, this feature is completely accessible to any business on social media. Take advantage of this amazing tool and connect with potential guests like never before.
Virtual Reality Travel
Virtual reality technology is becoming more and more prevalent across industries, and travel is no exception. This exciting platform takes immersive marketing to a whole other level. Using video and/or 360 photos, travelers can be transported all around the world with a VR headset. What better way to market your destination than by letting people experience it digitally?
Virtual reality headsets go beyond pictures. Want to see the California redwoods? How about one of the shopping streets in Tokyo? Due to the design of the headset, people can immerse themselves in sounds and other physical sensations that make them feel as if they’ve just been flown across the planet. Interestingly enough, it’s not just parks, beaches, and other natural landscapes embracing virtual reality. More and more hotel chains are beginning to use VR to allow their potential guests to view their selection of rooms. People like to know what they’re getting into when traveling far from home. VR fills that gap.
Virtual reality is slightly less accessible than the other tools on this list, but that’s likely to change as this technology is being incorporated into more and more industries.
Packaged Travel Booking Websites
It’s pretty typical to book your flights, hotels, and activities online. What has become increasingly popular, however, is the rise of interlinked or multiuse booking websites, offering packages and deals for multiple aspects of the standard travel experience. This allows tour operators to offer clients a more convenient booking experience, and oftentimes, a better deal. Here are just a few of the reasons why booking online has completely crushed booking by phone or email:
- Convenience
- Ability to access quick reviews
- Coupon codes
- Place multiple bookings at once
- Content available in multiple languages
- Suggestions automatically generated
It only takes one look at the wildly popular website Trip Advisor to see the success of centralizing bookings for accommodations and events. Second only to the aptly named Booking.com, these websites have been incredibly dominant forces in the travel industry.
Almost every new piece of technology, whether intended for the travel industry or not, can be utilized to enhance the experiences of both guests and business owners. This can be in the realm of increasing your hotel’s efficiency, in marketing your location, or in simply building an experience that is more convenient for travelers. If you aren’t using these four technologies, give them a try and see what they can do for you and your business!
