What do you need to know about AI in hospitality industry businesses? AI in the hospitality industry links massively to improving guest experience, real-time recommendations, and tasks like inventory management. It basically works as a honing power - making running businesses in the hospitality sector ten times slicker.
Hospitality industries are typically always chasing a schedule and battling time. So, having Artificial Intelligence (AI) on their side can be a game changer. This is especially the case for things like making data-driven decisions or providing a better service to guests. AI is constantly evolving as a valuable tool in the industry.
This guide will run you through the latest developments and precisely what you need to know. Whether you want AI-powered chatbots delivering personalized recommendations or AI to crawl guest reviews for customer satisfaction analysis - AI helps. Understanding the latest in the technology world can transform your business for the better.
Whether you run a hotel chain or restaurant, this latest technology can boost your game. It’s just up to you to figure out how - and why - to harness the powers of AI in the hospitality sector. Here are the essentials.
Why Use AI in the Hospitality Industry?
First things first, why use AI in the hospitality industry in the first place? Human interaction definitely has its place. For instance, managing guest behavior in in-person real-time, like conflict resolution, will likely remain a human task for decades. There is just something about humanity that has more understanding of complex communication than any AI robot under voice command. For now, AI is just responsible for the data-driven and objective stuff.
This does mean that technology can take over the menial tasks, though - like taking bookings, inventory management, and marketing. These are the top reasons why you should use AI in the hospitality sector:
Working with technology can hugely speed up processes. For instance, taking a handful of tasks out of your hands can reduce an hour close-down period to 20 minutes. You could leave cash calculations, bookings, and analysis to technology.
- AI takes the stress out of your hands
AI also reduces stress in hospitality industries. We all know about the sky-high staff turnover rate at restaurants. This is predominantly a result of overworking and stressed employees. If you can alleviate that stress, your turnover rate will thank you.
- It provides a better guest experience
Finally, technology helps to boost customer satisfaction and plays on a sense of novelty. These two combine to create a better guest experience. Whether you have a hotel chain or restaurant, your guests will get a quicker, more personal, and novel experience. It’s vital to keep up with the latest technology just to stay on edge with happy customers.
As you can see, there are many benefits to using technology like AI in the hospitality sector. You should also consider the individual ways AI can help your business. Have a brainstorm.
How Much to Budget To Use AI Technology in the Hospitality Industry
It might sound expensive to use AI technology in hospitality industry settings. However, AI in the hospitality industry doesn’t have to be extortionate. Depending on your chosen technology, many technological tools are incredibly cheap or even free. You should also remember that even with an upfront investment, technology can save money in the long term. For instance, you could use it as part of a strategy to overcome restaurant worker shortages.
The most valuable part of technology like AI is you can find suitable options to suit your business and budget. There’s plenty of software and developments. Each day brings a new piece of technology to the scene. With all that in mind, let’s consider how much you should budget for AI technology.
You can expect lots of AI-assisted software like ChatGPT - the popular writing tool when looking at free tools. You can also find tons of hospitality-specific tools online, many free. Just keep in mind that investing in free technology will likely require some ongoing input. For instance, how people input prompts to ChatGPT to create a menu. It might also charge later for premium packages.
Paid tools tend to cost a monthly subscription fee. This could range from $20 a month to $300, depending on your desire. However, the benefit of this is that you’ll get premium ongoing support and update access.
If you want something custom-created for your business, the price will likely exceed $5,000. And it can even reach as high as $ 100,000. AI consultants often charge as much as $300 per hour, which can quickly add up.
Top 5 AI in Hospitality Industry Examples
So, as you can see, it isn’t just food technology tools you should invest in or sparkly new booking systems. You should look into AI technology if you really want to grow your business. And this technology will get even more in demand as time goes on.
Such technology helps with everything from AI-powered chatbots to crawling guest reviews. Are you ready to take the plunge? Check out these leading AI in hospitality industry examples for inspiration on utilizing this technology in your business.
1. Chatbots
Chatbots use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create real-time, 24-7, and instant responses for customers. This helps build customer satisfaction for things like response rates and helps smoothline the business support service.
In the hospitality industry, chatbots are helpful for everything from allergy and booking queries to cancellation requests. It is essential to have rapid responses for customers. So, investing in chatbot technology is one of the best examples of using AI technology in hospitality industry businesses.
You can purchase software packages or invest in plug-in software if you run websites through WordPress. Your options are genuinely plentiful.
2. Translation
Another game changer in the hospitality sector is translation. You can use AI to automatically translate texts - either as software for websites or by manually inputting things like emails. This is brilliant technology for anyone working with international customers, especially if you run a business like a hotel chain.
Translation is also a skill that is difficult and otherwise very specific to outsource. A real person does likely not know five different languages. You may need to hire multiple translators if you outsource this to humans.
The translation tool is a great asset to any hospitality business. It is well worth considering translation technology as one of the AI developments to invest in. Remember: guest experience is critical. And rocketing your communication potential can only boost this.
3. Facial Recognition
Facial recognition is one thing that is really controversial in the current AI scene. However, if you abide by all relevant privacy laws, there’s no reason why you can’t utilize it. Facial recognition is fantastic as it can help you provide personalized recommendations.
You can even go as far as to do things like presetting room temperature and lighting settings using facial recognition. The possibilities are endless. You could store allergy information for restaurants using facial recognition as an extra safety measure.
With proper consent, facial recognition is becoming one of the most excellent tools in AI. And it is no different within the hospitality industry.
4. Concierge Services
Much like a chatbot, a concierge service run through AI would be a brilliant way to invest in guest experience. It can run real-time recommendations and handle human interaction to boost customer satisfaction. What’s not to love? Concierge services are time-consuming; there’s no denying that. But with an AI solution, you can maximize your guest experience by creating a technology that handles that entirely. Your guests can get stellar recommendations and a proper investment in their experience.
Concierge services don’t have to just be for hotels, either. Consider adding a concierge service to your restaurant or cafe as a sweet extra. AI could recommend unique nearby bars for that couple, family-friendly activities, or parks nearby for the young mother. It’s essential to get creative and see the vision of how AI can really transform your services as a business.
AI doesn’t have to be at the forefront of your business, either. AI can actually take more of a background role. For instance, it could be a valuable tool for predictive analysis. Predictive analysis uses technology to predict and manage guest behavior.
For example, tracking purchases at certain times of the year, email open rates, and even foot traffic. Using this information, it then optimizes - or suggests how you optimize - your business. You gain a handy list of suggestions and insights.
What is the best tool for AI in hospitality industry businesses? In short, it is the tool that best connects with your guests, mission, and individual business needs. Technology is a massively individual tool, and it depends on your needs.
However, to give a singular answer, a content creation tool like ChatGPT is best - especially as it advances. You can use these tools, from social media captions to menus and email marketing templates. There is just so much room for flexible usage regarding technology like ChatGPT. It is also free.
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Beambox’s spectacular WiFi platform helps you to create an effective marketing collection system that requires zero input. This system is a dream for any business owner wanting to invest but without time to run marketing campaigns. Let’s take control of your business and marketing today. Start your Beambox free trial now. AI in hospitality industry businesses is just the beginning.
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