As borders gradually reopen, hoteliers looking to stay ahead of their competition should start moving towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions.2019 saw the boom of sustainable and eco-friendly travel trends worldwide.
Booking.com’s 2019 Sustainable Travel Report found that “73% of travelers worldwide intend(ed) to stay at least once in an eco-friendly or green accommodation in the year ahead”. While the ongoing pandemic means that there is lesser travel worldwide, the sustainability trend is still growing.
Hotels should look to more sustainable and eco-friendly options to capture market interest and cater to guest expectations. Smart hotels, especially, are in a prime position to differentiate themselves from the rest of the market by adopting eco-friendly tech solutions.
Here are some ways smart hotels should leverage technology in pursuit of becoming more sustainable to stay ahead of their competition.
Minimizing the use of paper
Traditionally, the concierge or front desk staff would print out a physical copy of the booking confirmation, make photocopies of the guest's passport for security purposes, and confirm the guest's identity by eyeballing them.
In smart hotels, all check-in processes are completed entirely online using solutions like GTRIIP. This drastically reduces paper use and provides improved identity verification and enhanced security for guests.
GTRIIP’s proprietary photo ID and face recognition technology system consistently provide accurate verification of guests in real-time, allowing hotels to automatically identify a person attempting to check-in with a fraudulent passport.
Leveraging smart technologies allows hoteliers to transform the entire check-in and check-out process into a digital experience and stay green at the same time.
Reducing plastic usage
The cost of maintaining plastic keycards can add up from purchasing multiple plastic keycards for each room and replacing lost keycards to the routine renewal of cards for security purposes. Choosing to go digital is a boon for both guests and hotels.
Guests can always access their keycards via their mobile phones, and hotels do not have to deal with lost cards or replace the keycards every few years to improve the cards' security. Hotels can simply update the digital keys online, reducing the cost of purchasing and replacing keycards by going digital.
Digital keycards also circumvent the security issue of physical keycards being stolen and falling into the wrong hands since room access is only granted to the guest with the corresponding specific mobile device.
Using digital keys allows hotels to do away with plastic keycards, providing a cost-effective and sustainable solution for hotels.
Lowering energy consumption
Being conscious of the amount of energy consumed allows hoteliers to reduce energy waste and cut operational costs at the same time. According to EnergyStar, "On average, America's 47,000 hotels spend $2,196 per available room each year on energy, which represents about 6 percent of all operating costs.".
Smart hotels have smart sensors installed in hotel rooms to detect if the space is occupied or vacant, which reduces energy use by adjusting lighting and heating levels accordingly.
Using GTRIIP's in-room mobile features allows guests to customize the room's temperature, lighting, and TV controls, further enhancing the guest experience and simultaneously reducing energy consumption.
Smart hotels that lower their energy consumption benefit by staying eco-friendly and competitive, simultaneously reducing operational costs, which adds to more significant profits.
Conclusion
Smart hotels have the necessary infrastructure and hardware to leverage technology to become more sustainable and stay ahead of their competition. Committing to going green and staying sustainable brings about a host of environmental and economic benefits.
From saving daily operating costs and enhanced security to the environmental impact on the earth, both the tangible and intangible benefits of going green are apparent.
Hotels that wish to stay competitive in this already challenging economic climate should look to sustainable solutions to differentiate themselves from the competition.
To find out more about GTRIIP's contactless check-in and check-out solutions, head to this link: www.gtriip.com/hotel/
Learn more about the full range of contactless solutions that GTRIIP provides by reaching out to us via the link below. www.gtriip.com/consult-with-us/
