Insight: Elevating the Hotel Guest Experience with Digital Technology Solutions

Today’s travelers are tech-savvy explorers who value seamless, intuitive, personalized, and hassle-free experiences throughout their journeys and stays at hotels. And increasingly, they rely on their digital companions – smartphones – to plan and manage their trips. In fact, 80% of US travelers own a smartphone, and a significant majority utilize these devices for travel planning. Furthermore, 68% emphasize the critical role of engaging with companies recognized as technology leaders, and 64% advocate for continuous tech investments by hotels to enhance the guest experience. 

Onity's DirectKey™ Technology is a game-changing mobile access technology poised to help revolutionize the hotel guest journey and experience. Simply put, DirectKey™ technology lets guests easily unlock doors they can access, with a mobile app on their smartphone. But for hotels, it’s much more than that. Across a five-stage journey, from hotel selection to check-out to rebooking – and everything in between – digital solutions can unlock a litany of benefits for guests and hotels alike. 

Embarking on the Journey: Hotel Selection and Pre-Arrival Communications 

The incorporation of digital solutions starts the moment guests decide to select a hotel. It provides a streamlined booking process, allowing travelers to reap rewards and enjoy eco-friendly incentives, such as plastic-free discounts. The app may also provide flexible entries encouraging guests to check in earlier and prolong their stays. 

Once a guest has booked their stay, the app provides an avenue for useful pre-arrival communications. Guests may receive early check-in alerts, local activity suggestions, and essential guidance on using the mobile key, setting expectations, and building anticipation for their stay. In general, these early interactions are pivotal for both guests and hotels. For hotels, these stages provide an opportunity for refined logistical planning and personalized upsell opportunities, enhancing the overall guest experience prior to their arrival. Hotels should strategically showcase mobile access advantages on their websites and during booking to entice guests with unique benefits. 

Seamless Convenience: Check-in and the Hotel Stay 

Upon arrival, the perks of DirectKey are maximized. The technology eradicates the nuisances of front desk lines and the time-consuming check-in processes. Guests gain the autonomy to bypass traditional check-in if they please, heading straight to their rooms and initiating a truly contactless experience. For hotels this not only streamlines operations but also significantly reduces front desk congestion, allowing staff to focus on guests requiring in-person assistance. 

During their stay, guests enjoy an unparalleled level of convenience and security. Losing or forgetting a room key becomes a relic of the past, as guests' smartphones – an item they’re unlikely to leave behind – double as their room keys. They can receive real-time notifications for on-site events, emergency protocols, and amenities, with the added advantage of accessing hotel services directly via the hotel app. 

For the hotel, this digital integration means more than operational efficiency and elevated guest service. It opens new revenue streams through in-app purchases and promotes a sustainable, eco-friendly business model by eliminating paper and plastic waste. 

Concluding the Journey: Check-Out 

The final stage of the journey, the check-out, is as effortless as the check-in. Digital solutions can enable guests to handle their check-out procedures in the app, view their receipts, provide feedback, and even leave tips, all without the need to visit the front desk. This seamless conclusion to their stay further cements their positive perception of the hotel's brand. 

This level of convenience extends benefits to the hotel operations by encouraging valuable guest feedback, reducing paper use, potentially increasing staff gratuity, and freeing up employees for other essential tasks. 

Revolutionizing Hospitality  

Digital access is more than just a tech innovation—it's the future of the guest experience and loyalty in the hotel industry. By integrating it into every stage of the guest's journey, hotels can stand out in a crowded marketplace and drive brand loyalty by demonstrating their commitment to innovation, guest convenience, and environmental responsibility. The future of hospitality is right at our fingertips.