January 2022 | Relay Blog

How upgraded technology can help you prepare for 2022

January 24, 2022/0 Comments/in Relay for Business

The pressure to constantly upgrade one’s technology can be a frustrating and pricey prospect. Most people can hang onto slightly outdated tech without seeming like Luddites, the same can’t be said of those in the hospitality industry. If you operate a hotel or event space, you can no longer rely on the previous iteration of technology to be good enough. Over the past two years guests have become increasingly dependent on their technology and expect the same of you.

In a report by McKinsey on the “next normal,” they observed many executives sped up 20-25% faster than anticipated on things like building supply-chain redundancies, “improving data security, and increasing the use of advanced technologies in operations.” So while it’s fine for you to wait to upgrade your personal iPhone, it’s probably not a great idea to put off investing in cutting edge associate alert devices.

At Relay, we’re proud that our devices connect distanced workers and empower them through the use of a panic button and a completely connected cellular network. Contact us to find out how to empower your staff and clientele through connectivity with a device that alerts anyone to potential danger.

Your team may be smaller, your tech should be better

One of the lingering effects of the pandemic are leaner operating staffs. And while your hotel might not literally have someone with the title of “Chief cook and bottle washer,” many staffers will be doubling up on their responsibilities. Some employees even work in multiple locations of your properties. So how can they keep up with their responsibilities, and fellow staffers? Technology, of course.

Your investing in better, smarter technology solutions effectively means your staff will be doing more with less. And it may be comforting to know that you don’t necessarily have to spend a fortune for the best possible technology. It would be immodest of us not to remind you that Relay creates highly customizable panic buttons systems that are both affordable and easy to use and implement.

Better tech increases efficiency- but only if staffers are trained to use it

It may seem counterintuitive to repeatedly take staffers away from their posts to train them to use the latest technology. It isn’t. To fully harness the power of the latest industry technology, it’s crucial that your staff fully understands what issues the tech addresses, how to use it and most importantly – how to become comfortable making it part of their every day. If your staff struggles with using new tech, your efficiency levels potentially drop. Most technology is created with the assumption that it frees you from doing certain tasks or makes others more convenient. Fully training your staff as often as needed means that your bottom line improves and your tech investment proves invaluable.

Whet their appetites

Travel predictions for 2022 almost all share travel surges, especially in long-term stays, business travel and corporate housing. With COVID concerns still in play, some potential guests will still be skittish about travel and hotel stays. Creating a virtual tour that’s accessible from their favorite screen means they can review your property before their trip and acclimate themselves with the parts they most want to visit or skip. You can also create incentives for travelers taking advantage of your virtual reality tour or 3-D imaging. For instance, you could hide upgraded amenities throughout the tour and then gift them to travelers upon check-in.

Another great option is to reassure guests their safety concerns are being addressed. Create a small and easy to use database accessible to guests that covers everything from your safety and cleaning protocols, to the way staffers and guests are protected with the use of an integrated panic button system.

Make them feel at home

The hospitality industry is built on making guests feel like VIPs. Beyond that, your hotel acts as their home away from home. Consider small upgrades your guests are already using. For instance in creating a hyper-personalized experience for guests you may find out that some love having their Echo devices handy. By giving guests the opportunity to interact with Alexa from the comfort of their hotel room, you’re using technology in a way that enhances their experience. You’re also saving staffers from having to answer basic questions about weather or driving conditions.

“Bottom line, hospitality related technology is geared to improve the guest experience while maximizing staff abilities.”

Help staffers help guests

Bottom line, hospitality related technology is geared to improve the guest experience while maximizing staff abilities. In many ways, it also creates a more human experience, since all guest preferences can be filed and saved for future visits.

Create hybrid meetings and experiences

Now is the time to improve everything from your WIFI (always have backup service) to having copious chargers and screens available for business and conference travelers. While we’re not quite there yet in terms of cull capacity for larger gatherings, it’s just a matter of time. Creating an upgraded experience for business travelers now also sends a clear message – you’re improving your tech in anticipation of welcoming guests back to an even better environment and space.

The Relay difference:

If you’re ready to set up your own network of panic buttons, look no further than Relay. Our products are affordable and efficient. Relay is an easy to deploy, flexible panic button. Best yet, it’s also an elevated communications solution, so you’re combining two critical line items into one (with better value). With Relay, you save money, setup is nonexistent, and our products offer hotel staff a practical, easy solution.

A year in review – What 2021 taught us about staying connected

January 19, 2022/0 Comments/in Relay for Business

By now most of us have heard every possible descriptor about 2021, a rollercoaster of a year during which we learned to operate with leaner staffing, mutable budgets, and an increase in brilliant tech innovations.

As we move forward to everything from increased business bookings to longer travel stays and more meaningful experiences for guests, we thought we’d do a quick recap of the most important lesson the hospitality industry learned in 2021: the importance of staying connected. In the year that passed we found new ways to connect with each other, with staff, and with guests in residence and when they’re back home again.

Making guests feel safer, not obsessed

If there was a single takeaway from 2021, it would be achieving the ideal balance between communicating safety protocols to guests without leaving them feeling panicked or overwhelmed.

Hotels learned that guests now expect the highest levels of disinfection and cleanliness standards possible. What guests didn’t want though was to endlessly discuss the daily disinfection processes. Hotel staffers understood that they had to regularly update and inform guests about corona safety protocol and then allow guests to enjoy their stay in a clean and safe environment.

Staying connected to hotel guests in 2021 meant informing them in all ways possible about your dedication to Covid cleaning protocols. It also meant remembering that at the end of the day, the hospitality industry is there to comfort, pamper and host guests, not cause them added stress.

Keeping remote staff connected at all times

Due to disruptions in the hotel industry, the panic button mandates didn’t roll out quite as expected. On some level that’s a good thing since it allowed (and still allows) hotels in some states to spend more time researching all options.

Having more time to set up a system of panic buttons also allows better and more personalized training for staff in the best use of their associate alert devices. It also allows for a better guest experience since staffers can be fully engaged with their work and the customer experience.

At Relay, we’re proud that our devices connect distanced workers and empower them through the use of a panic button and a completely connected cellular network. Contact us to find out how to empower your staff and clientele through connectivity with a device that alerts anyone to potential danger.

Creating a connection to nature

A trend many guests grumbled about on social media was being stuck indoors at home for months and then faced with an almost clinical pursuit of cleanliness in hotels. While it’s crucial to keep your entire property clean and disinfected, the challenge becomes avoiding creating what feels less like a hotel and more like a sterile or clinical experience. To combat that, many properties amped up their connection to nature within their hotels and throughout the grounds of their properties.

Going beyond traditional floral arrangements in lobbies, many hotel groups began experimenting more with the inside/outside experience in hotels. Plants in guest rooms and even fully grown trees in lobbies echoed the themes of a more nature-based or eco-friendly commitment. These thoughtful nature-based details also allowed guests to remain connected to the outside world even as they lounged in their rooms or common areas of the building. The Banyan Tree Mayakoba hotel in Riviera Maya boasts a soaring ficus maxima in their two-story lobby. It’s a visual cue to guests that they’re somewhere unique in the world.

Home away from home

A notable trend in the past year was the commitment to giving hotel guests touchpoints beyond typical hotel amenities. With the increase of long-stay travel and remote working, hotels became home bases for many. Sometimes creating an environment that was part home while still a hotel meant special sections available only to long-stay guests. We’ve also heard of quirky extras like a guests’ favorite food added to a private room service menu, or guest birthday celebrations becoming part of the hotel’s daily announcements.

Staying connected after their stay

Travel plans weren’t always reliable in 2021, that’s why it was so critical for hotels and resorts to stay connected to guests beyond their reservations. That meant and still means anything from sending out birthday messages or follow up thank you notes, to small gifts on special occasions. It also allows for the opportunity to create hyper-personalization in messaging reminding hotel guests that while your hotel might have specific policies overall, each and every guest matters to you.

The Relay difference:

If you’re ready to set up your own network of panic buttons, look no further than Relay. Our products are affordable and efficient. Relay is an easy to deploy, flexible panic button. Best yet, it’s also an elevated communications solution, so you’re combining two critical line items into one (with better value). With Relay, you save money, setup is nonexistent, and our products offer hotel staff a practical, easy solution.

Hyper-Personalization: The Future of the Guest Experience

January 12, 2022/0 Comments/in Relay for Business

Luxury hotels are fantastic. But any hotel that goes above and beyond to create a hyper-personalized experience becomes most memorable of all.

One of the best parts of staying at a top-rated hotel are the extras that show that you matter as a guest. Beyond soft sheets and great shower heads, a truly amazing property elevates the guest experience so every single visitor feels like the most important person there.

In their quest for the ultimate in hyper-personalization, hotel and marketing staff have to exercise extreme caution as well. After all, when dealing with customers, one has to find the right balance between incredibly thoughtful details and those that just might border on creepy.

Before we dig deeper into how to create the most uniquely hyper-personalized guest experience ever, let’s talk about what hyper-personalization is.

Making meaningful connections

In case you’re wondering just how important it is to create a guest experience that is tailored to perfection, multinational consulting firm Deloitte created a 37-page document covering all elements of hyper-personalization in marketing. In their definition of effective hyper-personalization, they said “Hyper-personalization is the most advanced way brands can tailor their marketing to individual customers.

It’s done by creating custom and targeted experiences through the use of data, analytics, AI, and automation.” They also included tips to send “highly contextualized communications to specific customers at the right place and time, and through the right channel.”

There are many ways to continue the good feelings beyond the hotel stay.

In Deloitte’s report, they stated that “hyper-personalized marketing provides the opportunity for organizations to meaningfully engage customers, deepen existing relationships and build new ones, and improve the customer experience.” While much of this was geared to CMOs and marketing officers, it can almost universally be translated to hospitality executives as well. Benefits to this extreme level of intention can increase customer satisfaction while building loyalty. One wonders if guests might also spend more to see what other delights could be in store for them.

Sense of wonder vs. sense of unease

In your eagerness to create an effective highly personalized incentive or experience, it’s important to above all protect your guest’s privacy. There’s a fine line between sending a guest flowers for their anniversary if they honeymooned at your hotel vs. seeing them post on Instagram and then sending a gift to their home address.

So how can a hotel marketing team navigate a potential privacy minefield? With the greatest of care, of course.

At Relay, we’re proud that our devices connect distanced workers and empower them through the use of a panic button and a completely connected cellular network. Contact us to find out how to empower your staff and clientele through connectivity with a device that alerts anyone to potential danger.

Before you begin

Before deciding on your next big promotions, it’s important to figure out just how deep a dive you’ll take on. If you’ve been effectively managing your data, you already have a pretty good idea of what your guests expect from their stay. After all, a more homey or family managed hotel might not want to bring out all the tech bells and whistles while a digital hotel or resort might intentionally create experiences meant to be shared widely online.

“Is your goal to delight your guests or their entire social media following?”

At your next marketing meeting, ask your team these questions:

Would you rather delight the guest or their entire social media following?
How much of an investment in time, resources or technology are you willing to invest in creating a hyper-personalized experience?
Will your guests care if a fellow guest has a similar gift or experience?
What if anything do you expect in terms of ROI?
How deeply will you mine collected information or resources?
What happens if something goes wrong with your activation or experience?
What are some of the best results you’ve had in personalized experiences or extras?
Are you breaching any privacy or sensitivity issues? Have you unwittingly included a pejorative in another language?
How will safety factor into this experience? For instance if you send guests on a complimentary hike around your property, will you outfit them with panic buttons and a guide?
Will artificial intelligence play into your planning, or will you have a dedicated staff member creating more hyper-personalized experiences?
Are you trying to outdo your competitors, or do you truly want to create moments to delight your own guests?

The differences between personalization and hyper-personalization

Many of us fondly share stories about the best hotel experiences we’ve had. At one resort in Turks and Caicos, we were delighted to find pillow cases embroidered with our initials. Incredibly thoughtful, right? Now imagine if the pillow cases had also included a private nickname theoretically unknown to staff unless they’d listened in on private conversations. Not quite as thoughtful anymore.

When building your plans for hyper-personalization take into account not only each and every guest, and their immediate reaction, but the way your stunt or surprise might age as well. While you might think your display of lights that flashes every guest’s name as they walk past is worthy of a few headlines, others might wonder how they’ve been tracked. Still others might fault your team for wasting resources.

In the quest to provide not only an amazing guest experience, but also a hyper-personalized one, your smartest move is sometimes choosing something slightly less personalized to be on the safe side. And when in doubt, check with attorneys specializing in privacy issues.

The Relay difference:

If you’re ready to set up your own network of panic buttons, look no further than Relay. Our products are affordable and efficient. Relay is an easy to deploy, flexible panic button. Best yet, it’s also an elevated communications solution, so you’re combining two critical line items into one (with better value). With Relay, you save money, setup is nonexistent, and our products offer hotel staff a practical, easy solution.