A self-service kiosk system is a digital touch screen application where guests are able to complete the check-in process themselves without relying on hotel front desk staff. With this, the hotel also provides additional options to your guests to check in or out at any time without interacting with hotel staff and it gives more time for your staff to handle other hotel operations tasks.
Self-service kiosks are now a common sight in fast-food restaurants, supermarkets, international airports, and increasingly at hotels in the era of convenience. Competition in the industry is fierce and hoteliers are striving to improve the guest experience in new and innovative ways, which in turn, would bring greater customer satisfaction and higher occupancy rates. From the few clicks needed to make a booking to the fast checkout, guests are becoming more and more tech-savvy demanding instant gratification. Here is why it comes as no surprise that the next big trend in the industry is hotel kiosks.
Here are 4 benefits for a hotel when implementing self-service kiosks at hotels:-
Quicker services
One of the benefits of self-service kiosks is that they can speed up routine processes, thus will result in decreased delays and queues. Normally at hotels, when it comes to peak season, many of the guests will experience a long queue waiting for their turn to check in. The process becomes even more of a hassle when they need to manually fill up their information. Some of them are tired after a long journey, and they hope for nothing more than a smooth procedure during the check-in process.
With self-service kiosks placed in the hotel lobby, the long queue process will no longer be experienced by the guests. They can just check in by simply scanning their I/C or passport and confirming their booking details. Averagely, the hotel guests can complete the entire process of check-in through the kiosk within 2 minutes or lesser than that (if they have made the bookings online). Besides that, some of the kiosk systems allow guests to select their room and create their own room keys after they have a check-in. Not only does removing the pause at the front desk, but it also simplifies and personalizes the entire check-in process.
Increase the hotel’s revenue with more upsell opportunities
The self-service kiosk system also allows hotels to upsell hotel amenities, tour packages, hotel F&B, spa services, and other add-on services. It allows your guests to browse more services, upgrade their room easily, redeem special offers or purchase additional add-ons at their leisure.
An easy process that enables guests to find more information about hotel amenities and services, will give them more opportunities to make purchases. Thus, by promoting add-on services through kiosk machines, hotels can save the cost of advertisement as well as increase hotel revenue.
Avoid and Reduce Unnecessary Errors
Misspelled guest names are a common mistake that happens often upon check-in. It happens when the front desk enters an incorrect name or typo into the system. These problems may cause unhappy moments during the check-in process such as not being able to find the guest’s reservation resulting in longer wait times and long queues.
Hotels can prevent such instances as well as duplicate profiles with the kiosk's automatic check-in system. As part of the check-in, having guests type in their personal information and interests reduces human errors to a minimum. The data entered is sent to your PMS directly and information can be easily retrieved.
Improve Guest Stay Experience and Build Long Term Relationships
With the hotel kiosk system connected to the hotel PMS, customer data can be quickly stored and accessed, allowing the hotel to learn about its customer base and deliver a customized experience for the customer to improve customer satisfaction.
This will allow you to service them better the next time the guests book another stay with you. Based on the system having stored guest profile data, they can use the easy check-in option. Knowing who is returning customers and reacting accordingly creates an opportunity to convert them into regular customers. With a kiosk system, hotels can analyze how each guest enjoys their stay and they have full control of their stay at their fingertips.
Read also: How Hotels Can Implement a Contactless Guest Experience?
Conclusion
With self-service kiosks that allow hotels to improve the guest stay experience in many different ways, the main factor is the short and simple check-in process that can help reduce the time spent standing in queues. The convenient and simplified process is a big bonus to guests, giving them more time to settle down before heading off on their adventures. For hotels, it can help to save or reduce labor costs. Make life easier not only for the front desk but also for the back office as the hotel kiosk eliminates much of the processing and recording, reducing the workload for night audit and finance departments.
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