Transforming the guest experience

Photo courtesy of Accor

by Jade French

What will digital hotels really look like? Accor’s ibis Styles London Gloucester Road offers a glimpse into the future of travel with the first fully digital hotel in Northern Europe — as they take up the challenge of balancing technological developments with person-centered experiences. 

The move towards digital hotels is both indicative of a long-promised future trend as well as a response to COVID-19. As Travel Pulse outlines, a range of tech solutions have been developed in the last year to support safe travel during the pandemic. Closer to home, you’ve probably already experienced some contactless hospitality, including the humble QR code and customisable apps for individual venues.

In fact, for Accor, contactless functionality is at the heart of their hotel’s offering: at each step of their stay, guests are afforded agency as they check-in online, use digital keys to access rooms and access a guest relations WhatsApp chain throughout their stay. 

We’re still a long way off from Japan’s kooky robot hotel — indeed, as Carla Milovanov, SVP Customer Technology Services at Accor, puts it: “This is not about robots or faceless technology, this is about the smart integration of innovative, customer-facing technology at pace and at scale”. A digital hotel doesn’t mean losing the personal touch, with Forbes also suggesting that personalisation is only enhanced via digital innovations. 

Accor’s approach is certainly a far cry from traditional fears that AI automation will eventually take over. On the ground, hotel teams will be liberated from the check-in desk, able to move around freely and be approachable. The philosophy behind this new venture for Accor has been to ‘use technology to empower staff, not replace them’.

Luc Gesvret, SVP Loyalty, Partnership & Guest Relations at Accor Northern Europe, added: “We want to enable guests to get what they want in our hotels in the way that most conveniently fits with their everyday behaviour. We know that in this changing world, our guests want more safety and opportunity to maintain social distancing, so having technology at their fingertips that they can own and manage, comes at a perfect time.”

And with ‘Accor Key’ set to equip 20,000 doors in 2021 and all-new hotel openings launching from this summer, leading the charge on digital hotels means that more innovation is surely set to follow. 

We’re witnessing the start of contact-light travel experiences that allow for quicker, smarter movements around the world and place staff and guest relations at their core. Accor has laid down the gauntlet: expect technologically-driven transformations to be front and centre of other future travel updates too.

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ibis Styles London Gloucester Road