"Connected consumerism and the influences of new technologies and services on human behavior disrupt markets."
This is what is known as "Digital Darwinism" and is what will be underpinning a major series of initiatives being pushed by Sabre that, it hopes, will form the basis of a platform approach to hotel technology.
First, some background.
Richard Wiegmann, managing and chief commercial officer for EMEA at Sabre Hospitality Solutions, speaking at a briefing during the ITB exhibition in Berlin, says the hotel industry has traditionally "not been very good at keeping up with new technology".
The issue is now compounded by the expectations of guests who demand an experience that is above and beyond perhaps what was being provided to them in the hospitality sector just a handful of years ago.
This is not just a "millennial issue," he says, with the experience of guests being driven by how a property accommodates their needs both from a service level and how they interacted with a brand throughout the entire shopping and booking process, and during their stay.
Most importantly, this happens, more often than not, in the digital realm.
Deep diving
An upcoming report pulled together by Sabre and Altimeter Group says: "Digital Darwinism doesn’t differentiate. Hospitality brands now compete with the likes of Uber, Tinder, and the Dollar Shave Club.
Altimeter's principal analyst, Brian Solis, adds: "The good news is that digital Darwinism favors those companies that try to understand the technological and human dynamics of their markets. Modern guests don’t know or care to think about the reasons why you cannot provide guest experiences in the same ways that Uber, Airbnb, HotelTonight and others do.
"While you must consider how to keep up with or outdo traditional competitors, you must also consider that you also compete against on-demand startups and any app or online service that introduces modern services in modern ways."
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Sabre says the basis of a new iteration of its computer reservation system will be built on a "platform" approach to providing hotels with the tools they will need to handle digital communications with the guest alongside connectivity to the external world of bookings.
Solis says there are a number of key factors that hotels now need to consider when figuring out how they will pull together their digital and distribution strategy.
Modern takeaways
1. Reimagine the guest journey as an infinity loop. Prepare a digital transformation roadmap based on a guest journey that is organized by an infinity loop where one side is aimed at “attracting” guests and the other is focused on “retaining” them and earning their loyalty.
2. Plot key moments in the guest journey. Organize the guest journey by each micro-moment: dreaming, planning, booking, and experiencing. Add to each respective section key transactional moments and touchpoints that will greet guests as they move from step to step. Articulate what modern guests are thinking and hoping for in each stage. Humanize it.
3. Map guest journeys via existing data and input. Reconstruct the journey as aligned with the infinity loop. Document areas where you excel, identify friction points and fragmentation and uncover areas where you are absent or lacking against expectations of modern experiences and your brand promise.
4. Map customer journeys of external brands. Map customer journeys of popular modern brands outside of hospitality to gain insights into behavior, preferences, wow factors and operations. Reverse-engineer insights and chart a course to implement them into your guest experience transformation roadmap.
5. Cross-channel journeys that prioritize personalization. Digital transformation of GX builds from a single view of the guest and an integrated platform that engages them as an audience of one. Whether they’re on desktop computer, mobile phone, or navigating new voice-controlled IoT devices, messaging apps, smart watches or whatever’s next, modern guests expect native, intuitive and personalized engagement.
6. Explore what modern customers value. Getting back to the roots of hospitality starts with putting people at the center of everything. People are different. Standards have changed. We can no longer take for granted legacy policies, processes and assumptions of guests. There is value to be delivered in every touch point, and that value lies in the eye of the beholder: the modern guest.
7. Blur the lines between digital and physical experiences. Study the preferences and expectations of modern guests/customers, invite UX experts to the digital transformation table. UX philosophies and approaches can apply to both digital AND analog. In fact, it’s leading many traditional legacy brands to ctrl-alt-del dated design experiences.
8. Get organized! It’s critical that the group prioritize efforts and divide and conquer based on ownership. Emphasize pilots to get quick learning and wins. Make sure to prove and communicate success to all stakeholders along the way.
Solis says:
"Now in an era of digital Darwinism, modern guests desire rich, immersive and one-on-one personalized experiences across devices, channels and physical spaces in each moment that matters and throughout their entire journey.
"As times, tastes and trends change, you have to be willing to innovate and reimagine your value proposition. Always.
"You must take risks knowing that sometimes you will fail. But, overall, these failures will teach you, give you new experience and expertise and make your company and team stronger."
* The full report is available on the Sabre Hospitality website.