At present, more and more industries are now moving to the various processes of digitalization. The hospitality industry is not an exception, since efficient hotel management software can greatly increase the overall company’s ROI.
In the hospitality industry, hotel rooms are the primary inventory, which affects the entire business operations, no matter whether it’s the small independent unit or the large hotel chains.
The implementation of a hotel inventory management system can, in fact, provide you with efficient solutions related to booking management, room supplies stock, etc.
According to McKinsey, there are 2 main benefits hospitality units can get with hotel inventory management: interacting with their new customers, holding the existing ones, and receiving better revenue by improving their service delivery.
But there are much more to consider for inventory management in hotel industry, so let’s now dive in to discover the main information you should be aware of before its implementation.
What is a Hotel Inventory Management System?
In fact, the hotel management system software consists of a set of automated software modules that help the hotel staff to operate the list of the various functions.
This system enhances the hotel processes management, provides important information about the reservations, room supplies, guest transactions, overall hotel unit revenue, and more.
Here we will list the critical hotel management system modules, which are to be implemented on the first-come.
Booking System Software
It goes without saying that cooperating with the external hospitality providers which can offer your hotel services to potential consumers is more expensive than managing your own system. For sure, such popular services as Booking.com or Airbnb can directly sell your rooms with high fees.
However, the creation of hotel management system software is now a cost-effective solution for launching specific applications which perfectly fit all the needs and targets of a hotel unit.
Additionally, the specific booking management software can receive, process, and analyze the details of reservations provided by the tour operators, travel agencies, and automated online bookings.
Furthermore, such a system provides a better understanding of the booking management, knowing the room availability and its reservation status, thus completing the remote reservation automatically.
That feature is exceptionally useful now when all the visitors are concerned about minimizing the social contacts during pandemic times.
Room Management Module
However, the hotel inventory management is not solely about the booking operations. One of the most initial inventories of any hotel unit is their rooms. And, to provide the best services to their visitors, the hotel inventory management system is one of the most effective options for constantly enhancing business development.
For instance, you can manage the room status, its standard supplies, and availability, or else block the rooms for cleaning, repair, or renovation.
As a result, you will always be aware of the real state of affairs with the room management, can account for your spendings on the room inventory, and make sure all your visitors will be provided with the rooms ready when they complete the check-in procedure.
Guest System Module
Another great option you should consider for your hotel management software is implementing the guest applications module to the hotel system.
This method will help provide better communication with the hotel visitors, inform them about the payments and transactions made in the hotel, thus making their stay more comfortable and safe.
Besides, with that hotel management system software, it becomes much easier to introduce all the hotel services to your visitors at once, so they can always find something for themselves: fitness centers, remote workspaces, restaurants, and additional services - plenty of rooms for enhancing the customer experience.
These applications can be introduced at the stage of booking or checking in, and offer personal offers, additional services, and some other useful information that might enhance the experience of your guests.
And, after they have checked out, they can also get some specific promotions for their next trip. Thus, you can easily turn the one-time visitors into loyal customers of your hotel.
General Management Application
That module type is exceptionally important for the detailed management and tracking of the hotel’s internal processes.
Such operations as guest transactions control, staff resources management, employee’s personal information, specific hotel fees, promotions, and discounts’ details - by concentrating all this information in one place, you can significantly increase the hotel workflow.
Besides, according to the recent research, that’s a great option for your hotel employee training and development, duties, responsibilities, and tasks assignment, which is simply a must for your successful hotel functioning.
By separating and tracking the guest purchase behavior, staff workflow, you can put your hotel management onto the next level of development. That’s why this hotel inventory management system is now highly appreciated by the separate hotel units and the hospitality chains as well.
Benefits of a Hotel Inventory Management System
The implementation of inventory management in the hotel industry has a lot of different benefits for the hospitality businesses, and that is one of the key reasons why it’s so popular in the hotel management systems nowadays.
Let’s now discover the initial advantages you will get along with launching the hotel inventory software.
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With online sales, it often happens that the same product or service has been purchased simultaneously by different clients.
And, if the products can be additionally manufactured and delivered to the consumer, this is nearly impossible for the hotels to find the additional apartment for their guests. In most cases, this problem appears during the holidays and vacation season but can be easily resolved with the hotel inventory management system.
#2 Enhancing the Hotel Inventory Management
In general, being aware of the real situation with the critical hotel inventory units can greatly help you to manage and track all the internal processes of your hotel.
Furthermore, that system can also provide you with a better understanding of the weak points which should be improved firstly, so your guests will be always provided with comfortable and professional services, which means increasing your business ROI.
#3 Saving the Hotel Investments
One of the most critical tasks for any hotel unit is how to provide the best services with the most cost-effective strategies. The hotel inventory management system application is the right solution for this target, as it helps the hotels to reduce their dependency on the external hospitality services by using their specific software, and, which is more, get more revenue of the room sales.
Besides, that is a perfect method of getting the reports about the hotel functioning, and estimate the costs needed for the certain hotel department.
Furthermore, by analyzing the financial reports, you can get the important data of the processes that need to be optimized, and get the latest updates about the implementation and efficiency of the changes.
#4 Staying Informed of the Room Availability
Being aware of the real situation with the room reservations provided by hotel inventory management software, you can easily define the strategy for the hotel development.
For example, if there is an excess of rooms available during the off-season, it’s a nice option of delivering specific promotions, discounts, or some other great offers for your customers.
This can significantly increase the seasonal ROI, as well as ensure you are getting the most of your hotel management.
Additionally, this will help you minimize the risks of the rooms’ stock-outs and excess stock, so you won’t lose your clients because of the inconveniences caused by the internal system errors, and will always have a stable and high revenue from your hospitality business.
#5 Getting Better Profit from Your Hotel
The profitable business solution for the hospitality industry definitely includes process optimization. Needless to say more, the hotel inventory management software is a perfect option for getting the most from your hotel management, analyze the booking tendency, helps to define the weak points, targets, priorities, and build the best strategy for your hotel development.
All these improvements can not only enhance the consumer experience but also greatly increase the business ROI: the more clients you have, the more cost-effective strategy you follow - the more revenue you will get from your hotel unit.
Challenges of a Hotel Inventory Management System
Nevertheless, there are still lots of pitfalls and challenging tasks that the hotel inventory management software needs to resolve.
That is why, before you start building your hotel inventory management system, you should also be aware of the following challenges in this area:
Hotel inventory management system implies huge investments of costs, time, and efforts. This is to make sure all the core ingredients of the inventory excellence are utilized in your software. According to Deloitte, these components include the inventory strategy, analytics, process planning, and monitoring, data visibility, and access, business management tools, etc.
Constantly monitoring and improving the system gaps. Again, the hotel inventory management software as any other digital software needs to be updated and improved on a regular basis. This is caused by security purposes, and also is critical for the processes optimization and improvement, but not really everyone is ready to invest huge sums of money in that project. But we also must admit, those who have already given it a shot, have got much more benefits of the hotel management system software.
Last but not least, inventory management in the hotel industry also needs to track plenty of different processes for ensuring the overall hotel performance optimization. That is why, the hotel inventory management software usually includes not only one specific area, like staff tasks or booking systems but needs to unify all these into the complex hotel management software. Such a great challenge usually becomes the initial criteria of why most developers reject the projects of creating this type of software.
Conclusion
To sum up, the hotel inventory management software is a must for optimizing the hotel’s internal processes and enhancing the customer experience in this area.
This kind of software for the hospitality units can provide you with better revenue, make your investments more cost-effective, assist in creating the detailed strategy of the processes completing, develop your customer service, and lots of other perfect benefits for the hotel units.
That is why nowadays we can see the increasing demand in hotel inventory management software creation.
Are you considering implementing the hotel inventory management system for your business?
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The hospitality industry depends a lot on keeping customers happy, but it’s getting harder to attract and keep them. The pandemic hit this industry hard, and now market competition is tougher than ever, with competitive offerings swaying customers. Hospitality businesses are willing to spend big to win customers back. The main questions for many are: how can we stay ahead of the competition, keep our customers, and increase revenue? Keep reading—we’ve got some answers.
Customers today have so many options that getting their attention is a real challenge. It’s not easy to make them choose your business over others. What worked 10 years ago doesn’t work the same way now. Back then, people often chose businesses based on reputation. But with new types of businesses (boutique hotels, craft cafes) popping up or big enterprises getting a new strategy, expectations have changed. The good news is these businesses have shown what works: great customer service. They focus on personalizing the experience, making things easy for customers, offering loyalty programs, and using smart technology.
In this article, we’ll explore these tech strategies and show you how they can help your business grow, and double the revenue. Keep reading to learn more!
The Importance of Customer Satisfaction in the Hospitality Industry
Customer satisfaction, which equals exceptional customer experience, is the backbone of the hospitality industry. It plays a central role in driving revenue and loyalty, as satisfied customers are more likely to return and recommend a hotel, restaurant, or other hospitality business to others. In fact, a study by the Harvard Business Review found that a 1% increase in customer satisfaction can lead to a 0.5% increase in revenue. Moreover, loyal customers are more likely to forgive mistakes and continue doing business with a company, even if they experience a negative encounter.
Let's quickly review the challenges the hospitality industry is facing right now so we can move on to the solutions and our case studies.
Challenges in Hospitality
As businesses navigate the changes in the hospitality industry, there are some key areas where a little improvement can go a long way. From improving customer service to embracing digital transformation and tackling labor shortages, we’ll take a closer look at today’s biggest challenges—and, more importantly, how technology can step in to help. Let’s get started!
Poor Customer Service
Even with strong and high-quality business offerings, poor customer service can drive potential customers and existing customers away. Common issues include:
Long wait times in customer service queues (it is worth remembering that our attention spans 8 seconds, and we live in a very busy world, so quick and efficient responses are more important than ever.)
Poorly trained customer service representatives
Lack of follow-up
Services not being done properly or quickly
Recall issues that require multiple service calls
These problems can frustrate customers. But, at Intellectsoft, we believe that the right approach, combined with technology, can address them effectively.
Digital Transformation Gaps
Approximately 50% of hotels are adopting new technologies, with 43% automating repetitive tasks and 39% upgrading existing systems. Source: workstaff.app
While many businesses are adopting digital solutions, some still struggle with outdated systems and fragmented data. Legacy companies often face chaos when trying to manage their data and create new systems or add features.
Some of the recent examples include clients coming to us to create AI solutions for their services while their data simply was not ready for the advanced tasks. We advise stepping back, communicating with a company objective, and working on keeping the data clean (centralized, structured, and segmented).
When we’re asked to create advanced systems using AI, we always emphasize the importance of organized data. To train AI and build such complicated systems that truly work, you need to start from the very beginning—collecting, storing, centralizing, and organizing it. We encourage our clients to align all departments to work internally on the data so we can create a unified digital system that delivers personalized experiences.
If you’re unsure where to start with your data, we can help. Collecting feedback at various touchpoints along the customer journey is crucial for gaining insights into customer satisfaction and loyalty. Book an IT consultation with us, and our experts will guide you in mapping out a path to get more from your data and build a system that works for your business and team.
Reskilling Staff
The pandemic hit hard in early 2020, especially for the hospitality and travel industries. Even five years later, many businesses are still feeling the impact. Recruiting and retaining skilled staff has become a major challenge post-pandemic.
Reskilling to address technology’s impact is of utmost importance, as about 40% of hotel General Managers place it among their top three workforce challenges.
We strongly believe that adopting the right technology can help. For example, creating an app to train your staff not only saves time but also ensures consistency in learning. AI assistants can also work alongside your team, helping with tasks like recruitment (providing industry insights, crafting emails) and staff training. Imagine having an app dedicated to making your team’s work easier and more efficient!
How Technology Tackles These Challenges and Supports a Customer-Centric Hospitality Culture
Automation, AI, and similar technologies may threaten many. However, the debate about replacing humans isn’t about that—it’s about cooperation and working hand in hand with technology to achieve the highest standards and establish brand-new “golden standards.” Technology is here to assist staff in listening to and collecting customer insights from data.
Let’s review some of our cases to see examples of how technology helps improve customer experience and supports customer service.
Examples of Intellectsoft projects
Property management systems (PMS)
We created a web platform and mobile app that makes managing daily tasks easier and offers extra services to improve residents’ experience. It gives a clear overview of daily activities and helps with managing units and users. Residents can easily book amenities, submit service requests, and report incidents. The platform also includes features for equipment management, key instructions, workflows, and custom permissions. This makes it easier for staff to stay on top of equipment and ensure residents have all the information they need. Plus, tools like announcements, quick votes, a forum, and a community calendar help build a connected and engaged community.
Guest Experience Management App
Our next app helped our client improve their guest experience by replacing printed marketing materials and the need for phone calls with a smart solution. Now, guests can easily order in-room dining, make reservations, and interact with staff— through a simple tablet in their room. The solution includes three parts: a custom in-room tablet with a variety of services, an admin panel for hotel staff and service providers, and a backend system that connects everything together. This approach makes things easier for guests and staff, improving both convenience and efficiency.
Existing Customers First: Building Loyalty with Personalized Touchpoints
Keeping existing customers is not just a strategy; it’s well-known that retaining existing customers is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. In fact, research shows that it costs five times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. KPMG named customer retention as the number one revenue driver for the company.
Moreover, a 5% increase in customer retention can lead to a 25% to 95% increase in profits, showing the significant impact loyal customers can have on a business’s bottom line. Retention strategies, like personalized experiences and loyalty programs, can foster long-term relationships and generate recurring revenue, ultimately making them an invaluable part of any business model.
Personalization: How Technology Can Help?
Everyone loves to feel special—it’s part of being human. In hospitality, personalization has evolved from being a luxury to an essential standard. With the right technology to manage your data effectively, you can deliver those “wow” moments that guests won’t forget.
More than half of hotel chains are already using personalization features on their websites, booking platforms, and apps, and another 39% are planning to follow suit soon. They’re tailoring experiences to fit guest preferences perfectly.
Source: Deloitte
How does technology make it happen?
CRM Systems: They help you keep track of guest preferences, booking history, and special requests so you can offer services tailored just for them.
Loyalty Programs: Personalized rewards and offers show your guests that you value them, keeping them coming back for more.
AI Personalization: AI analyzes guest data to predict what they’ll love (from room upgrades to local recommendations) before they even ask.
IoT Gadgets: Smart room features like voice-activated assistants, or temperature controls adjust to your guests’ preferences, making their stay more comfortable.
With tech-powered personalization, you’re building loyalty and maximizing the lifetime value of every customer.
Our Case Study: Smart Hotel Management & Loyalty Program
For one of our clients, we created a smart room solution, complete with a custom IoT system. Guests can use a mobile app to control services, explore amenities, and find resort information-- with a special touch to their suite type. For the client’s entertainment business, we improved their legacy software by running a full IT and code check, fixing issues, and making the system better for customers.
Along with that, we developed a mobile app for the loyalty program, allowing businesses to effortlessly reward their customers and keep them engaged with exclusive benefits.
Our solutions not only helped the client with special experiences for guests; it also improved operations, cutting costs by eliminating inefficiencies. Here's what our experts shared:
"We transitioned away from ESB (Enterprise Service Bus) systems, which previously cost millions, and replaced them with more efficient, self-managed solutions. Similarly, we’ve implemented Device Farms that improved operations and saved resources."
Leveraging Software to Increase Upsell Opportunities
Here are some examples of tech tactics that will help your team sell more and introduce new offerings to existing customers, improve overall efficiency leaving your team grateful:
Dynamic Pricing Algorithms
For finance and marketing teams, manually calculating pricing by segment to introduce your clients can be incredibly challenging. AI-powered tools can strongly optimize these strategies by analyzing your database in detail.
Upselling via Apps
Boosting revenue in the hospitality business often comes down to personalized experiences. Imagine this: a guest books a room, and then your app suggests a spa package or a room upgrade at just the right moment. Later, it nudges them to book a dinner reservation or a guided tour designed to their preferences. With apps offering these personalized recommendations during and after bookings, you’re not just increasing your revenue per guest but also skyrocketing their experience. And you do it in a sustainable way, not by speculating, but by offering what your customers desire based on their previous experiences. It’s a win-win: seamless, helpful, and far from pushy.
Inventory and Resource Management Software
Making every resource count in your hospitality business is key. Inventory and resource management software allows you to effortlessly track everything from linens to room availability, ensuring nothing goes to waste. Having real-time insights to reduce overstock, avoid shortages, and optimize operations assists sustainably keep everything under control and know what you need to focus more. It helps maximize room occupancy by aligning bookings with available resources, ensuring every room and item is used effectively. This approach leads to smarter management, better guest experiences, and a noticeable boost to your bottom line.
Adopting these strategies not only optimizes your operations but also drives business growth. Ready to discover how technology can elevate your goals? We’re here to create a tailored solution for you.
Steps For Implementing a Customer Service Technology Solution
Improving customer service in hospitality doesn’t have to be a daunting task. With the right technology, you can smooth the path of your operations, speed up response times, and elevate the overall guest experience. Here’s where you can make it happen:
1. Understand Your Needs
Start by identifying the challenges your business is facing. Are you struggling to manage high volumes of inquiries, track customer feedback, or personalize the guest experience? Pinpointing your needs will guide you to the best solutions.
2. Pick the Right Tools
Choose technology that aligns with your goals. Look for solutions that are scalable, easy to use, and integrate effortlessly with your current systems. Options like CRM software, live chat tools, or a guest experience app can make a difference.
3. Equip Your Team
Technology is only as effective as the people using it. Train your staff to make the most of the new tools, so they can deliver exceptional service and resolve issues quickly. Confident, well-equipped staff creates happy, loyal customers.
4. Keep Improving
Once implemented, monitor how well the solution works. Are response times improving? Are customers more satisfied? Regular evaluations will help you fine-tune your approach and keep things running harmoniously.
Some Tech Ideas for Hospitality Businesses
CRM Software: Manage customer interactions and preferences.
Guest Experience Apps: Delight guests with personalized experiences right at their fingertips.
Amenity Management Systems: Simplify operations for everything from room service to facility bookings.
Live Chat Tools: Offer instant support and answers.
Social Media Management Tools: Keep customer interactions engaging and organized.
Integrating these strategies will not only improve your customer service but also deliver unforgettable customer satisfaction, loyalty, and, ultimately, your bottom line. Ready to take the next step? Book a consultation with our experts.
Conclusion
To wrap up everything we've discussed, customer satisfaction and experience are at the heart of hospitality. Retaining customers is more than just keeping them around—building strong, long-lasting relationships and consistently meeting their evolving needs. By understanding their pain points and offering personalized solutions, you can inspire loyalty and drive progress. With the right technology and continuous improvement, your business can stay ahead, let go of what no longer serves you, and keep growing.
At Intellectsoft, with over 17 years of experience in software development, our expert team is ready to help. We create everything from mobile apps to full-fledged portals and systems, leveraging the latest technologies like AI, Cloud, and Machine Learning. With deep experience in the hospitality industry, we’re here to craft personalized solutions that bring your business unforgettable customer experience and retain your valuable clients.
Ready to double your revenue and level up your customer retention strategy with personalized technology? Contact our experts, and we look forward to working hand in hand with you to build or revitalize the perfect app or system for you.
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