As the summer season is over for this year and all the statistics and economic indicators, ratify that Greece is returning to the highest positions of the global tourism ranking, it becomes increasingly imperative for the hospitality industry to adapt to the new conditions created by the post-Covid reality, but also the looming energy crisis.

The rapidly shaping digital world does not leave tourism unaffected and especially the hotel industry, which is called upon to play a leading role in the transformation of the Greek economy and to highlight a complete, digital experience for the visitor.

On – line Booking

The point where the digital experience of a potential hotel customer begins, should be from the moment he seeks the reservation and continues even after leaving the hotel, whenever he records his impressions of the stay and the services received.

Speaking about the digital experience of a potential customer during the search process, we should definitely refer to the digital presence of the hotel, ie the website. This will largely determine his final choice to make a booking.

The website that will satisfy the above condition should gather three main elements:

• Easy navigation, with targeted menu and smart design.
• Access from all portable navigation devices, with emphasis on mobile phones (mobile friendly).
• Smart content, which will include keywords, for the further development of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), while at the same time will be accompanied by photographic material and video, which will highlight the hotel as a holiday experience.

Let’s not forget that for the potential customer to be led to the reservation, we have to create images and the desire to be at the hotel, to make him or her feel part of the experience we present.

So, in addition to a proper photographic material, which will be accompanied by a smart and robust description, the website should also support modern tools that make the user’s browsing more interactive. The 360 tour is a smart feature for the user, since they can a digital tour of the hotel, through their device.

Stay

After the booking is complete, the next goal for the hotel is to turn the stay into a special experience, with smart solutions and technology services for the guest. One of the main functions that increasingly  more hotels are adopting is contactless check-in / out, either through the website or through a separate application for smart devices.

This has a lot of advantages. Amongst them lies the flexibility that it provides to the visitor as it reduces the time they would have to spent, but also for the hotel that manages the reservation.

At the same time, there is a remarkable shift towards the complete digitization of the room, with smart lights, air conditioning control via Wi-Fi, Room Service and management of all functions through a separate application, or even through voice commands.

All these a few years ago might sounded sophisticated or distant, today it is a reality that has multiple benefits to offer, initially for the hotel, which is evolving and with smart technology solutions reduces its operating costs, makes its environmental footprint sustainable and evolves in a particularly unpredictable environment.

At the same time, the customer enjoys a unique experience, where basic functions and services are carried out in no time, with one click from his device.

Experience

Nowadays,  the customer doesn’t carry only the whole holiday experience along him as he departs from the hotel, but the digital trip as well from the reservation to his stay. At this stage, the role of the hotel comes to complete the digital experience and with the right tools at its disposal to turn the customer into a repeater and ultimately a means of advertising.

A useful procedure, which, unfortunately, is often omitted, is to encourage the client to evaluate the experience received, on any given  communication channel, through social networking or platform he wishes. Here, we could say that the digital route that we mentioned at the beginning is completed.

The hotel now, with the appropriate organizational structure, can detect and manage the flow of comments and in this way ensure its image while simultaneously prevents any negative reviews.

Finally, it is particularly important to emphasize that recording the customer’s preferences in a database, leads to the creation of a profile that is necessary to generate targeted digital marketing campaigns. With these campaigns, the hotel, amongst other things, strengthens the branding and highlights its competitive advantage in the market

It is a fair fact that both the post-Covid reality and the current energy crisis have constituted a demanding environment for the hotel industry.

In order for the modern hotel to become sustainable and competitive digital tools and digital marketing in general, can offer unique solutions, , through technologically smart services, flexible and environmentally friendly.

At Netmechanics, we have the necessary tools and know-how to give the hotel a complete, digital presence and a targeted strategy to optimize its performance.

We support every step in the transition to the new digital reality.