Amongst all the other industries, hotels and travel industries highly focus on core areas like operational efficiency, tailored experiences, and customized guest interactions to maintain employee engagement and increase the satisfaction rate. And because of this hotels and airlines never miss a chance to adopt the latest technologies.
With the change in the industry standards, hospitality and travel industries are increasingly adopting contactless technologies, specifically artificial intelligence (AI), for enhancing guest experiences during check-ins and check-outs.
AI in travel is bringing the shift driven by a combination of health safety concerns and the desire for operational efficiency. But how still remains a major question for the new startups stepping into the industry. For them here’s a comprehensive guide to explore how hotels and airlines are taking advantage of AI capabilities for seamless contactless travelling.
What is AI in Hospitality?
Earlier the industry which was traditionally driven by personalized service and human interaction, is now increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to enhance guest experience. While talking about AI we do it consists of numerous technologies and holds various capabilities such as robotics, natural language processing, and machine learning. The combination of these top-notch capabilities contributes to streamlining the operations in the hospitality sector.
Different technologies play a different role. Machine Learning enables systems to learn from data patterns, Natural Language Processing boosts communication between AI and guests allowing chatbots and virtual assistants and robotics helps in the automation of repetitive tasks.
The Rise of Contactless Travel Check-ins
Post the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for solutions promoting contactless services in the hospitality sector has increased. Guests are prioritizing safety and convenience and this leads to a significant demand for technologies that minimize physical interaction. A survey highlighted approximately 80% of hotel guests are willing to leverage the mobile application for facilitating contactless check-in and check-outs.
Let’s take a look at the core areas where the integration of AI has seamlessly transformed the whole working mechanism of the process. And how an AI development company is helping businesses to achieve this AI integration and transformation.
AI-Powered Contactless Check-in Process
Recall the days when as a guest you stood in a long queue waiting for your turn to complete the check-in process. But now all you need is a smart device and a few clicks to complete the check-in process from the comfort of your home.
Here’s how AI-powered contactless check-in with AI in travel can benefit the guests:
1. Simplifying Pre–Registration Process
By leveraging the contactless check-in process, guests can easily complete the pre-registration process by sharing their personal information and payment details online through their smart devices. This approach not only helps in saving time but also enhances the guest’s sense of security by reducing the need for face-to-face interactions.
2. Digital Identity Verification
In order to further streamline the process, AI for hospitality leverages technologies to transform the way identity verification was done earlier. Guests can upload the government-issued IDs, which are then processed using facial recognition software or other AI-driven methods to confirm their identity before their arrival. This helps in ensuring a secure and efficient check-in experience for the guests.
3. Mobile Room Access
Once done with the digital verification process, guests can acquire their specific rooms by using digital keys or key cards. This is one of the most ideal applications of AI in hospitality, which eliminates the need for physical keys and prevents contacts with any other individual.
The implementation of generative AI in travel and hospitality not only enhances guest satisfaction but also aims to improve the operational processes. These technological advancements help in reducing the number of guests at the front desk. This ultimately helps the staff to focus on other essential tasks, resulting in overall increased efficiency. By opting for generative AI development services, hospitality businesses can implement these unmatched capabilities of AI into their business without any challenges.
Moreover with AI in use hotels can seamlessly analyze guest data for optimizing room assignment and manage booking dynamically. This helps in ensuring that hotels operate at maximum capacity while providing personalized experiences.
Self-Service Kiosks and Virtual Assistants with AI in Hospitality
AI in the travel industry is a game-changing solution and the major application can be seen in the form of self-service kiosks. By using these kiosks guests can check in without the need for any human assistance.
It reduces the wait times and enhances the convenience for the guests. Now to match the competition, many leading names in the hospitality industry are also implementing self-service kiosks. For instance, Radisson Group has implemented an AI-powered self-service kiosk to streamline the check-in process.
One of the most useful applications of Artificial Intelligence witnessed in the travel and hospitality industry is the implementation of AI-powered virtual assistants to enhance guest user experiences. By using these digital assets, guests can seamlessly proceed with the booking process, they can inquire about the hotel amenities, and even receive personalized recommendations based on guest preferences.
With the use of these chatbots on the hotel website, the firms can facilitate seamless communication between guests and hotel staff, ensuring that all incoming inquiries are addressed promptly.
Significance of AI in the Travel Industry
Similar trends and adoption of AI technologies have been witnessed in the airline industry as well. The surge for contractless solutions in the airline industry is also increasing. And airlines along with the airport authorities are working actively to implement these solutions to ensure seamless and safe travel experience from check-in to boarding.
Here are some of the applications of AI in travel that streamline the process, improve customer satisfaction rate and ensure to bring in a contactless check-in for the comfort of the guests.
1. Check-in Kiosks
The numbers are increasing when you check the list of airlines implementing self-service kiosks in airports. These AI-powered bots allow passengers to complete the check-in process independently by eliminating the need for staff. With these kiosks in use passengers can easily select seats, and print boarding passes, without getting in contact with any person.
2. Integration of Biometric Technology
One of the major applications of AI in the travel industry is the implementation of biometric technologies. Few airlines have adopted biometric technologies with facial recognition systems allowing passengers to board flights without presenting physical tickets. These AI-enabled technologies compare the images with stored data from government-issued IDs or previous check-ins, to allow passengers to board the flight, ensuring contactless check-in and verifications.
3. Mobile Applications for Better Services
How do you manage to book a flight, cancel it, or make any changes? Do you still prefer going to airports for all these processes? No, right! The digital era we survive is a mobile app era where there’s an application for everything. And similar to this all the airlines are also continuously enhancing their mobile applications to support contactless travel initiatives.
These mobile applications are multi-purpose featuring mobile boarding passes, real-time flight updates, flight bookings, and the best contactless payment options for the passengers. So you see from start to finish, everything here becomes contactless
Benefits of AI in Travel Industry
There are several benefits of adopting AI-powered contactless solutions in hotels and airlines, and here are some of those:
- Enhances Safety Measures: With minimal or no physical interaction, it helps in reducing the health risks associated with the shared surfaces.
- Improving Guest Satisfaction Rate: The involvement of streamlined experiences, results in higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- Cost-Efficient: Since with the contactless concept, businesses reduce the reliance on physical resources, and reduce the operational costs for hotels and airlines alike.
Conclusion
As of now you surely will be convinced by the fact that AI in travel and hospitality is emerging as the game-changing solution. With an aim to prioritize seamless check-in processes through mobile apps, self-service kiosks, and biometric systems, hotels, and airlines can enhance both operational efficiency and guest satisfaction.
Moving ahead it will be fair enough to say the future of industries like travel and hospitality is unpredictable and they are on the verge of being well-equipped with the latest technologies. And the increasing demand fora travel app development company is proof to showcase how fast travel and hospitality businesses are adopting AI.