In 2020-2021, the Coronavirus pandemic affected the previous freedom of movement and travel patterns, and the hospitality and event industries suffered from this change the most.
According to the recent Deloitte report on consumer behavior trends, only one-third of respondents feel safe attending in-person events, and only half are ready to stay in a hotel.
In the given circumstances, the importance of each guest and conference visitor has become tremendous. The previous “common” tiny mistakes and difficulties turn out to be severe and costly nowadays.
In the new harsh reality, it’s inexcusable to search for a missing phone number, contact an important guest, or not invite the potentially interested client to an event.
If before 2021 it was recommended to automate these processes, today it’s already a must. Consider getting digital solutions to attract, work with, and stimulate each client.
And our guide will explain the specifics and conceptualize the need for implementing online event management software for your business.
What Online Event Management Software Can Do
In essence, event management software is the set of technologies that assist in coping with handling conferences. Usually, its toolkit is wide, ranging from planning the event to maintaining the customer base long after the happening.
The main purpose of this software is to automate and optimize the existing processes and client base.
Even though investing in event management tools may sound like a low-priority task for a business owner these days, the possible improvements can bring you good in a long-term perspective. Among all, the solutions facilitate effective planning, engaging new and existing clients, and establishing solid networking.
The set of enhancements also includes an easier registration process, solid assistance to the sales and support team, and even next-gen content optimization. Check the top 5 improvements in the list below!
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5 Common Spheres of Applying Event Management Solutions
Registration. Event management software features enable building all-inclusive registration pages. Your clients can fill them from computers and smartphones, and you will have all the needed information stored in one place.
Sales. The functionality of event management software includes tracking sales in real-time, creating effective promotional campaigns, and working with mechanics like “early bird” tickets in one place.
Communication with clients. The remarkable feature of online event management software is working with the segmented client base in a language they understand better. Thanks to automated emails and event planners, your clients will get the information they need on time.
Networking. The developers recognize that people attend conferences to make new connections. Thus, event management software features include the enhanced matching techniques to facilitate finding common interests and starting conversations with other conference attendants.
Landing pages. In some cases, event management software can include customizable templates and design elements to build attractive and working web platforms to create a marvelous first impression.
5 Benefits of Event Management Software Implementation
Full automation. You no longer need to feel and control data manually. The purpose of a well-developed event management solution is to minimize the human effort on hotel maintenance. This way, you can save time and money on completing more important business tasks.
Next-level engagement. The toolkit of event management solutions includes various mechanics to increase attendee participation. This, in turn, leads to a higher event ROI. In simple words, an event management platform helps to make the most from the clients left.
Sophisticated reporting. The capabilities of this software type include enhanced statistics and an ability to draw solid conclusions from the data available. With more data you have at hand, you can make more accurate decisions and establish a more flexible business approach.
Cost-effectiveness. The general purpose of the software for event management is to make routine processes faster and effortless. Thus, even the most expensive technology works better for spending optimization than its absence.
Faster planning and execution. Event management tools collect all the data needed for gathering successful conferences: detailed analytics, various types of social media integration, and top-performing marketing instruments.
3 Key Things to Mastermind for Getting a Really Good Software for Event Management
First and foremost, event management technologies are designed to improve the existing processes.
Thus, you need an established system first. Before ordering, think of all the present and potential weaknesses your current event management possesses. After making this preliminary step, proceed to meet these recommendations:
Determining your needs clearly. The purposes of applying event management systems software are multiple, and your task is to get the top-matching solution for your particular case. That’s why the best software providers always start by discussing the project details. Together, the client and the executor can negotiate on the custom appearance and the specific toolkit.
Choose your top priority. There are multiple event management software features, and you should determine the thing that concerns you the most. Ask yourself a question, “What should I enhance as soon as possible?”. The answer may refer to task management, processes optimization, or participation encouragement, for example. In turn, your software solution should have an appearance that is corresponding to your top priority.
Find a reliable provider. The major part of a really good coding solution in the area of conference and event management software lies on the development side. That’s why we don’t recommend trying to cut costs here — especially if your project includes sophisticated features or includes mobile app development. The better your software is made, the better results it will bring you, and the longer it will work.
As you can see, strategizing on software implementation is the major part of software development.
No surprise here: there’s no need to invest in expensive features of the technology blindly if your business will never use them. In this case, the more you think before buying, the better tool you can get from your software provider.
10 Advanced Software Features Your Event Management Tool Should Have
Here is the rating of top-demanded software elements for event management in 2021. Note that this list is not complete: we recommend negotiating with your program provider on the particular features your business needs.
Smart lists. If you’re interested in getting easy-to-use registration, consider this tool. Basically, smart lists are segmented leads you can use to create a personalized experience for your attendees right after signing in to your event.
Analytics. For more accurate communication with your clients, consider incorporating essential metrics. Ask your developer to add settings for retargeting campaigns, conversion rate analysis, and integration with social media.
Widgets. If you need a quick website fix, request event management programs that have embeddable widgets. With them, you can add registration areas, conversation spaces, and sponsor spots hassle-free.
Social integration. Let your software enable sharing through social media channels so that clients can promote your services among their followers. Don’t underestimate the influence of user-generated content on your business performance!
Mobile app. Let your attendants access the conference schedule, check information about the participants, and communicate with their colleagues in your app! Later, you can use this tool to gather these people again.
Push notifications. As practice shows, push notifications reveal their best as real-time announcements during the event and reminders about the upcoming events.
Voting mechanics. Gamification and asking users’ opinions work in social media awesomely. Why not use them in your event management software? Enable real-time polling to bring power to your conference attendants. Let them change the schedule and invite a speaker once again, for example.
On-site check-in. Facilitate the registration process and make it compliant with the new social distancing reality. Online check-in can be your branding instrument and the place for sponsorship spots too.
Email campaigns. Consider connecting the email program to communicate with your client database effectively. Thanks to the personalization techniques, you can enhance this traditional marketing tool with more accurate messages and efficient templates.
Promo codes. Another marketing tool that matches event management technologies perfectly. Sell more tickets and test various psychological techniques in one place.
Where to Get Event Management Systems Software
If you’re looking for a place to get event management solutions, feel free to contact us! We’re Intellectsoft, a software development company offering various types of top-notch digital solutions for businesses worldwide.
If you already have a project idea in mind, just talk to our experts! We’ll discuss your future software in detail to ensure the delivery of a solution truly needed, without costly ads-on and irrelevant features.
By the way, if you need the complex technology that unites various sophisticated tools working smoothly, we’ll be happy to build them for you too! In this case, we’ll engage the most experienced developer in our team and put all our time-proven expertise at the heart of your software.
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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