US EUROPE AFRICA ASIA 中文
    Business / Industries

    Making room for development of digital-age hotels

    By WANG ZHUOQIONG (China Daily) Updated: 2016-08-15 11:11

    Making room for development of digital-age hotels

    The Internet has become such an integral part of modern life that people want to stay online all the time, even when they are on an exotic vacation. [Photo/IC]

    When Chinese travelers were asked by a recent survey to name three hotel facilities most important to them, they put free Wi-Fi at the top. It received a weighting of 23 percent.

    According to the Chinese International Travel Monitor 2016, conducted by Hotel.com, an online booking platform, travelers' preferences signal the growing significance of digital connectivity in the hotel industry.

    Free wireless internet access is considered so important because almost all Chinese travelers stay in touch with family and friends while abroad.

    For 73 percent of the 3,000 Chinese outbound travelers surveyed for the report, the top mode of contact is free Wi-Fi at hotels or public places. The report also surveyed 5,800 hoteliers globally in May.

    So, hotels now plan to offer a wide range of new services and packages for Chinese travelers. Some 45 percent already provide free Wi-Fi. And, 46 percent more plan to offer it sooner than later, according to the report. Only 9 percent of the hotels surveyed said they are yet to finalize Wi-Fi plans.

    Also, the survey found important differences in the needs of the guests in different regions.

    For instance, free Wi-Fi is the most frequently requested service in all regions, but was particularly important in North and Latin Americas.

    Jessica Chuang, regional marketing director, Hotels.com, Greater China, Southeast Asia and India, said: "Technology has become an essential part of travel, from planning, booking, to every moment of your journey.

    "You can find more and more of our hotel partners have launched different technology elements in their properties, like self-check-in lobby, in-room digital control, so on. We can foresee there will be more and more hotels applying new technology to elevate guest experiences."

    She said Hotels.com, too, has been incorporating handy tools in smart watches and other devices, to offer a seamless, device-neutral and personalized experience in terms of booking, travel and hotel stay for travelers.

    Hotel.com does this by analyzing big data compiled from various sources, including clickstreams, reviews, personal preferences of users and hotel profiles.

    For example, Hotels.com's technology can identify a registered user's device and also memorize destinations searched on its booking platform. When the user visits the platform using another device, she can pick up where she had left off, said Chuang.

    "We continuously improve our technology to make it compatible with PCs, mobile phones and the latest wearable technology."

    Like for Hotels.com, digital connectivity is key to hoteliers as well. Kenneth Macpherson, CEO, Greater China, IHG, said the company's global online survey conducted in partnership with YouGov, showed nearly half of adults, or 43 percent of its guests, would choose not to stay in a hotel that charged for internet.

    In 2013, IHG became the first and only hospitality group to offer free internet at all of its hotels globally to its loyalty program members, whether they stay for one or more nights or come in just for a coffee or an impromptu meeting, said Macpherson.

    "Our guests dream, plan, book, share online and, one could argue, even stay online, given how connected people are when they are in our hotels. So, we break the guest journey down into five distinct steps, each of which makes effective use of mobility and other technologies," said Macpherson.

    IHG was also the first hotel company to launch apps across all mobile platforms. "It's very important to know where your consumers are and what they like, and go with them to these platforms and fulfil their needs," he said.

    Hot Topics

    Editor's Picks
    ...
    波多野结衣在线aⅴ中文字幕不卡| 无码国产精品一区二区免费式直播 | 中文成人无码精品久久久不卡| 无码H黄肉动漫在线观看网站| 中中文字幕亚洲无线码| 无码人妻精品一区二区三区66 | 色综合久久最新中文字幕| 国产精品无码一区二区在线| 小13箩利洗澡无码视频网站| 最近免费中文字幕mv在线电影| 亚洲国产精品无码久久九九 | 少妇人妻无码专区视频| 在线天堂资源www在线中文| 中文字幕亚洲欧美日韩在线不卡| 国产精品va无码一区二区| 亚洲精品无码av人在线观看| 中文成人无码精品久久久不卡 | 一二三四在线观看免费中文在线观看 | 久久久久久久久久久久中文字幕| 毛片一区二区三区无码| 国产成人AV一区二区三区无码 | 88国产精品无码一区二区三区| 亚洲乱亚洲乱妇无码麻豆| 无码丰满熟妇juliaann与黑人| 中文字幕亚洲精品| 色综合天天综合中文网| 亚洲欧美日韩在线中文字幕| 亚洲人成中文字幕在线观看| 日本妇人成熟免费中文字幕 | 精品久久久久久中文字幕| 中文字幕一区二区人妻| 亚洲无码视频在线| 一本大道无码日韩精品影视| 中文字幕极速在线观看| 国产精品中文久久久久久久| 亚洲精品无码专区在线播放| 中文字幕在线观看亚洲视频| 无码人妻少妇久久中文字幕蜜桃| 婷婷综合久久中文字幕蜜桃三电影| 亚洲精品中文字幕无码蜜桃| 日本中文字幕中出在线|