How to Assess New Technology for Your Hotel
Selecting new technology for your hotel can be a challenge. There are so many solutions out there - but only a few that will fit your hotel’s specific needs. We want to help you make the right decision with confidence. Here are our expert tips on how to assess tech products for your property.
Identify Your Needs
Take a step back and think about what your hotel actually needs. What are your pain points? Hotel technology can solve many of them, but you need to have a clear idea of what they are first. Does your hotel have long wait times or poor Food and Beverage service? Are guests constantly calling the front desk asking how to work the in-room TVs? There’s likely a solution out there that can help. But first, you need to establish what you need. Ask your Front Office staff. They’ll tell you what’s not working well on the employee side, and they’ll have great insight into what guests want to be improved.
Ask the Right Questions
When vendors are presenting solutions to you, it can be hard to think of everything in the moment. Having both general and specific questions prepared will make the experience a lot easier. One question we recommend asking when evaluating guest-facing solutions, for example, is how much training you and your staff will need to use this product (we recommend skipping solutions that have lengthy training requirements). It’s questions like these that can save you a lot of future headaches!
Think Critically About Current Solutions
Given the current state of hotel tech, it’s likely that at least a few of your current solutions aren’t giving you 100% satisfaction. Figure out the things that bother you about them. This is especially important if you’re replacing solutions, but can also work for evaluating additional solutions. For example, if your guests aren’t downloading your hotel app as much as you’d like, it might be better to go app-free. If you’re frustrated by lag time in your current solutions, you’ll know that you need something real-time in the future.
Make Sure New Products Will Actually Help
Some solutions have all the bells and whistles, but they don’t work very well on the day to day. Look past fancy marketing tactics to make sure that the product functions well. A big problem we’ve seen are solutions that tout time and money savings, but in fact create more work for your staff. This is a big part of the way Ameniti’s products are designed - we want to reduce staff workload, not create extra tasks or waste employee time.
Make a List
It sounds simple, but getting everything down on paper (or a spreadsheet) can be just what you need to make the right decision. List everything you know about all of the options you’re considering. Think about each product's strengths, shortcomings, pricing, functionality, and how well it meets each of your needs. Finding solutions for your hotel is a challenging task, but having all of the information right there in front of you (and other decision makers) makes it much easier.
Take Your Time
You have an important decision on your plate. A good hospitality tech company will take the time to answer all of your questions, and even go over their solutions multiple times with you - or hold additional meetings with other decision makers. They’ll walk you through their services patiently and answer any questions you have about day-to-day and big picture functionality. This is a sign of the level of service the vendor provides to their customers, and shows that they take your business seriously. If a company doesn’t provide this, it’s time to look elsewhere!