Technology trends in the hotel industry have always been designed to enhance a guest’s experience, whether it cuts out the middleman or simplifies a process to ensure that your stay is a little bit more relaxing. At Kenwood Travel, we’re always looking out for the latest and greatest in upcoming technology trends. Here’s how some of our hotel partners are keeping up with technology trends.
Smartphone Hotel Keys
Hotel keycards can now be downloaded to your smartphone
Plastic key cards are slowly becoming a thing of the past, as hotels are now looking for new and efficient ways for guests to access their rooms. Resorts such as The Cromwell Resort in Las Vegas have recently introduced the ‘eKey’, a new modern technology which allows guests to use their smartphones as hotel keys. Before arriving at the hotel, visitors can simply download the app, check-in and use their mobile devices to enter into their room. Like ApplePay, guests can just to tap the lock with their phone, using the iTouch fingerprint recognition feature and simply enter. This new system has not only helped streamline the check-in process, but is projected to help reduce the amount of plastic production.
Digital Concierge Services and eMenus
You can now order room service from in-room iPads and tablets
Ordering room service is a luxury in itself when travelling. Requesting a private instructor, planning an all-day excursion and booking a babysitter for the night without even leaving your hotel bed, is the new way forward. Introducing the Digital Concierge, a programme designed to streamline guests’ request using a single system. Using in-room iPads and tablets, visitors can order food, book tables at restaurants and even request an in-room massage session with an easy tap on the screen. The Plaza Hotel in New York has used this service since 2011, with the Atlantis the Palm and Waldorf Astoria in Dubai following suit.
Hotel Airline Check-In Services and Luggage Delivery
Imagine being able to arrive at your destination with little to no hassle. While we can’t always prevent late flights or long queues at immigration, the folks at Walt Disney Resort have added an additional service to help make your journey a little bit smoother. The Disney Magical Express service allows for guests’ checked baggage from incoming flights to be delivered straight to their rooms in a few hours or less. This means that Walt Disney Resort guests won’t have to wait for their luggage to arrive at the carousel, but can instead make their way straight to their hotel
Walt Disney World resorts, including Disney’s the Grand Floridian, have introduced an easy way to check in to your flights
Just when you think checking in is a breeze, checking out is also just a walk in the park. Several Walt Disney Resorts in Orlando have introduced an Airline Check-In service at selected park hotels. After checking-out of the hotel, guests can check-in to their flight and even arrange to have their checked-in luggage to be delivered straight to their flight at Orlando International airport. Once completed, travellers can just walk through security when they arrive at the airport. Easy.
Virtual Reality Travel Experiences
Hotel partners are now using VR devices to give customers and tour operators a glimpse into their resorts
The rise of virtual reality (VR) experiences has had a steady growth in both commercial and personal use, and plenty of hotel partners and travel companies have now started to tap into the new technological development. This new tool has helped companies like Marriott Hotel provide their potential guests with a glimpse of what staying in one of their hotels would be like before they commit to a booking. For tour operatives, VR devices can help sales teams experience the look and feel of a hotel to provide more in-depth information to their customers. In fact, here at Kenwood Travel, our travel experts have experienced a virtual reality glimpse of one of our leading Caribbean resorts, Sandy Lanes, Barbados as well as the Atlantis the Palm in Dubai.
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