It’s perhaps the most overused and unheeded term in hotel technology: “Future proof,” which is defined as “unlikely to become obsolete.”
In the hotel industry, where cost often drives decisions over value, this term is often heard, yet equally often ignored. Longer-term benefits are too frequently put aside in favor of short-term cost savings. Fault the economic realities of the hotel industry if you’d like, but we (and I dare say most of hotel technology providers in the market) have seen hoteliers, who’ve failed to make future-proof decisions, spend more money than necessary over the life of their asset.
The increased dollars out of pocket rapidly become obvious, but the skyrocketing operational costs of, and fleeting guest loyalty toward, properties perceived as antiquated due to outdated technologies can no doubt be separately measured. Once recognized, the switching costs can overwhelm organizations, making change a challenge.
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No doubt the future is hard to predict, and mistakes can be made when considering an unknown future, whether in our business or personal lives. Flash to your parents spending high dollars on quality furniture they thought would be passed down to you, but that your spouse won’t let cross the threshold into your house - now you get it.
Even so-called quality purchases risk becoming outdated and detracting from the value of your offering over time, so where does it make sense to spend more? What are the steps to consider when making decisions to ensure you’re not paying for paperweights?
The buzz word today seems to be “smart,” but that’s an amorphous term with little meaning, so let’s break down 10 things to look for when considering new hotel technology:
1. A hub
Not to be confused with a platform that looks to do everything but succeeds at little, a hub connects best-in-class technologies and thereby ensures that your hotel has a choice of best-in-class technologies today and into the future.
While lots of companies strive to be a hub, including Volara with its Volara Connect offering, the growth of HapiCloud (which is making “connecting the dots” their business) is a great complement to any hotel technology stack. A hub like HapiCloud will make your technologies more powerful and connected, ensuring each piece of your hotel technology puzzle is leveraging the data and functionality of the others.
2. Flexible tools and teams
Respect the fact that your technology solution (if you selected best in class) is not going to do near everything for you, but tooling (that has a modular architecture which can be built atop the provided technology) is key. Request the additional pieces in which you see value and be a partner to your technology provider as they build. You’ll see the benefits of being an early adopter and have influence over the end product.
3. Agnostic approach
Large technology companies want to tie you down to their ecosystem, but this is rarely a good strategy longer term and never future proof. Look to work with technologies that are agnostic in approach and play well with others.
The recent announcement about the consortium of natural language processing providers committing to interoperability is a giant step forward and consistent with the approach I’ve trumpeted - in fact, this led to our name change in 2016.
4. Cloud-connected everything
If your technologies are not connected to the cloud, they are not (by definition) future proof. Bluetooth speakers without cloud connections will be “so last year” by next year. Analog phones will find their way to your dumpster.
But cloud-connected devices will grow, adapt and change with your hotel’s (or hotel group’s) needs. They’ll enable the personalization your guests expect and the fleet-management tools your hotel operations require.
5. Code-free interfaces
If you must pay developers to update or change your technology, the costs will add up quickly. Non-recurring engineering fees will eat your hotel alive, just to stay current. Look for technologies that provide a code-free interface that can be managed by non-technical staff. You’ll want to be able to manage your own technology solutions, not just to stay nimble but also to save costs.
6. Replace paperweights
When purchasing hardware that replaces something else, look to devices that provide the same - perhaps brand standard - features that your guests expect, but in a modern future proof way. A great new example is the Echo Dot with a clock from Amazon. Clock face? Check. Bluetooth speaker? Check. Potential to replace the telephone? Now we’re talking (pun intended).
If you’re a hotelier that still has an iPhone dock with a 30-pin connector in your hotel (take a deep breath) you should be sprinting towards the Amazon Dot with a clock before your guests race to the exits.
7. Value the feature-rich
No one likes to feel like they’re paying for something they don’t plan to use. I get it. But worse is realizing a year later that the feature would have saved you time and money.
Large technology companies want to tie you down to their ecosystem, but this is rarely a good strategy longer term and never future proof.
David Berger
A great example of a feature-rich solution in the hotel technology market today is the energy management system from INTEREL. It has a lot of features - including Bluetooth beaconing - that you may not see the need for today, but, mark my words, you will in the future.
8. Leapfrog
I started our hotel technology company in 2016 because hotels were the only businesses where I saw landline telephones and the “big idea” for guest engagement seemed to be tablets. Leapfrogging over technologies that clearly have a shelf life is a giant step forward in the quest to protect against future switching costs.
9. Select an innovative partner
Look at the track record of your potential partner. Are they resting on their laurels from the previous century or are they rapidly iterating and releasing new products? Are they innovating around one thing that they do very well? Or, are they trying to do a little bit of everything to keep up with the market?
Rather than highlighting the dinosaurs that go wide, let me focus on one unicorn-to-be, ReactMobile, that does nothing but staff-alert technology. ReactMobile does one thing very well: It ensures your hotel is in compliance with its commitment to protecting staff. You can bet that their product will innovate more rapidly because they are hyper-focused.
10. Tailor, don’t build
Whether you’ll admit this or not, 90% of your hotel operations and guest experience is the same as your peers’ hotels. Tailoring leading technology solutions to the differentiating 10% while leveraging the best practices built into an off-the-shelf product will save you time, money and ensure you avoid mistakes.
Technology is not static, and custom-building a product inherently means continued development costs just to keep up with change. Custom-built solutions become outdated the moment they’re released. I understand the reticence hoteliers have toward subscription fees, but SaaS technologies are the best thing to ever happen to hoteliers because they align incentives toward innovation. The cost of outdated tech will quickly outstrip the cost of a subscription to an innovative technology solution.
My final piece of advice applicable to any business is this: Know who your customers are today and focus on those who will enable you to build your business from this day forward.
Some hoteliers have told me that their clientele prefers FM radio, shops on Main Street and writes letters on a typewriter. Focus forward, or you’ll follow in the footsteps of Thomas Cook.