Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference (HITEC)

 

 

ADRF attends HITEC Toronto in Canada to exhibit our ADX V DAS (distributed antenna systems)

The Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference (HITEC) in Toronto cast a spotlight on the many approaches that hotels are taking to improve their guest experiences. While some of the demonstrations and discussions went into the weeds (using big data to more effectively price empty rooms), the general takeaways from the conference largely had to do with serving a more connected guest.

• Meeting guests on their own terms – One of the significant advancements in hotel technology is re-purposing a technology that’s more than 35 years old: SMS/text messaging. Vendors presented a broad range of solutions that allowed guests to interact with hotel representatives via messaging services, complete with studies that supported this use case. There were many approaches highlighted, including where to direct an SMS, efficient operating hours, and how best to establish service level agreements. One thing was clear: direct messaging is the future of hotel customer service.  

• The death of the key – We’re going to see the end of key cards in the very near future! Whether it’s hotels using their customer’s cell phones or NFC wearable’s; even bio-metrics, it’s obvious that hotels are looking to eliminate the key.   

• Keeping guests connected – Studies presented at HITEC highlighted the importance of keeping guests connected to the internet. One company indicated that spotty WiFi was among the most common guest complaints. To address connectivity concerns, companies offering solutions from small cell or DAS to WiFi were on site showing ways that hotels can improve network density and speed. It was clear that hotels are placing emphasis on connectivity and respect the power it holds with respect to guest experiences.  

Hotel technology is shifting rapidly, and the HITEC event shined a light on what’s to come. For travelers, the near future is very exciting. 

To learn more about ADRF’s Hospitality Solutions, click HERE