From the initial steps of booking a hotel stay through to check-in and check-out, the hotel experience has become highly automated in recent years. Hotels face intensely competitive market conditions and consumer demands. In an effort to speed up administrative processes in addition to modernizing the overall experience, the hospitality industry is looking to technology that will allow the consumer to have a hassle-free stay. From lighting and brightness to spa reservations and room service, every part of a hotel stay can be automated.

In fact, there are even some hotels where a guest can spend their entire stay without speaking to a member of staff. Here are some of the key features of this recent trend.

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Online reservation.

The days of ringing a hotel 3 weeks in advance of your stay are long gone. Reservations can now be made online the day of your stay. Automation in this area has lead to an increase in efficiency for hotels and an easier guest experience.

Check in.

Guests can notify the hotel of their expected arrival time using a similar platform to booking. The hotel can then send mobile codes to the guests enabling them access to their rooms or can have a programmed key waiting for them on arrival. One hotel in Poznan provides guests with a hotel iphone on arrival instead of a room key. The smartphone guides the guests to their rooms and unlocks the doors for them.

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During your stay.

Guest services can be entirely run through the hotel website, through hotel phones or mobile apps. Rather than phone calls, reservations can be made with the click of a button from anywhere in the hotel through the guest’s smartphone.  Touch screens throughout hotels giving information on local attractions, weather and flight information are on the rise. Several hotels now also offer virtual postcards which can be sent from guest and hotel devices with a few swipes.

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Automated check out.

Guests in a rush need not worry about queuing up upon arrival or for an early morning check out. These processes have been made much simpler with the use of advanced in-room technology.  This reduces the hotel’s staff costs and leads to price reductions for consumers. It also means higher efficiency and shorter waiting times.

Robots

Check out the robot concierge,Yobot, in Yotel New York. This robot patiently waits to takes guests’ luggage and valuables on check-in. Yotel have gone even further and have now synced their Yobot with the Jetblue luggage handlers at JFK Airport. This means guests can have their luggage easily stored and delivered from the hotel to the airport. Other robot concierges are being programmed to deliver requested items to guests’ hotel rooms. When the robot arrives it will trigger a phonecall in the guest’s room. The guest can then interact with the robot through its touch screen – guests are encouraged to tweet instead of tipping. One hotel in Japan is set to employ 10 robots as check in assistants and concierges when it opens in July 2015. The hotel is hoping that robots will run 90% of its operations in the future and plans to open 1000 hotels worldwide.

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Energy

Lighting, heating and air conditioning can be controlled by automated energy management systems. These systems can also include software to increase efficiencies in a hotel’s greatest areas of consumption: heating, cooling and lighting. Once the guest leaves a room, sensors can restore the temperature to initial pre-sets scheduled by the hotel, saving unnecessary energy consumption. This enables easier management of the energy systems as well as the ability to monitor consumption, keeping costs down and efficiencies high. These sensors can also alert housekeeping that the room is unoccupied and available to be cleaned.

Internet as standard

Wifi capability is now one of the key reasons for a guest to choose a hotel. This means investing in strong wifi and internet technology is just as important as comfy beds and clean linens. According to recent surveys 85% of travellers believe wifi in hotels should be free. 45% of hotel guests travel with two devices or more and 40% with three or more.

Entertainment is going virtual in hotels

High tech hotels have started using VR technology to give their guests multiple entertainment options. One hotel in Seattle offers a holodeck golf club which uses infrared technology to assist you in improving your game.