The New White Glove Service Has To Be Technology Driven

It is an interesting time to be in the hotel industry: global demand is growing and has recovered from Covid levels, albeit unevenly; and major investment firms are expecting substantial pent-up funds to start flowing during the second half of 2025, once we get past the current geopolitical uncertainty and as government policies become clearer. But beneath the headlines, there are urgent and complex challenges for hospitality investors and operators, as new generations of travelers intersect with rapidly evolving technologies. Today’s travelers look vastly different to those who dominated the pre-Covid market. People born between 1981 and 2012, often referred to as Millennials and Gen Z, travel more frequently than previous generations and now account for around 60% of all hotel bookings. And they are moving upmarket; Millennials and Gen Z consumers will be responsible for 45% of luxury sales this year, and this trend is accelerating. They are digital natives, brought up with the internet, smart phones, and digital technology, and they expect the newest technology in all aspects of their lives, at home, at work and when travelling. A safe, reliable Wi-Fi connection, and a seamless technology experience, is an absolute necessity and 70% of Millennials and Gen Z travelers also look for services such as mobile check-in and payments, keyless entry, and Smart TVs.

This is a trend which is accelerating as more Gen Z-ers enter the market and technology, particularly AI, progresses. Hotels will have to adapt to meet their demands, as we have seen in other aspects of travel such as online booking, airline check-in and car rental, where digital only experiences are becoming commonplace. Seamless digital check-in, digital menus, room and concierge services, accessed via smartphones, screen or even AI chatbots will be the standard expectation by the end of the decade. In addition to the digital services, Millennials and Gen Z expect personalized content with recommendations about local attractions and resort facility offers tailored to their preferences. Simply put, digital service is as important for the current generation as white glove service was for prior generations. Even many seasoned travelers notice that hotel digital experiences often lag behind what they are used to at home, a reversal of the long-standing expectation that a hotel stay should surpass the domestic norm!

Staying in front of customer expectations will be paramount to maintaining customer satisfaction and market competitiveness, but there is a clear gap between customer expectations and what the industry, at large, is currently delivering.

According to a Skift + McKinsey & Company report, 73% of all travelers are more likely to return to a hotel that meets their tech expectations. However, according to PwC, 81% of travelers want greater digital customer service from hotel brands.

The legacy approach to hotel tech services such as TV, video, phone and Wi-Fi, often delivered on unconnected technologies, provided by multiple suppliers, no longer meets the expectations of most travelers. Hotel owners and operators overwhelmingly recognize the need to close this gap, but IT has not historically been their core competency, and many are unsure how to navigate the array of shifting technologies.

It is my goal to ensure that Allbridge is their one -stop solution. We help with all aspects of hospitality technology, whether it is implementing multi-property complete digital customer experiences or retrofitting secure Wi-Fi, telephone, and video services.

We work with hotel owners and managers through every step of their technological development, designing, deploying, and supporting technology solutions to meet current, and future, customer expectations. We pay as much attention to delivering a reliable backend that integrates the different applications and information sources with hotel operations to make life easier for hotel management and staff, and we provide an around-the-clock managed service capability to respond quickly to any problem and enhance the hotels’ ability to deliver an outstanding guest experience.

If you need help with your technological evolution, please get a quote.