Big international companies like Amazon are often praised for their efficient machine learning programs that bring in new customers and create additional sales. Their secret is having customized systems that make recommendations to guests to use additional services. Additional services bring hotels and restaurants up to 35% more profit. Machine learning brings in more profit as it implies customer satisfaction. Customers are pleasantly surprised because they realize you understand exactly what they want. That moment creates positive emotions, which lead to impulsive decision making and your customer ends up making an additional order, something they haven’t even considered.
hat is machine learning? It is a branch of artificial intelligence that deals with designing algorithms whose efficiency rate grows based on empirical data. Machine learning has many features that can be applied to a wide selection of uses, from recognizing samples and deep data analysis to robotics, computerized eyesight, bio-computer science, and computer linguistics.
Here are examples of some of the most popular apps and devices that use algorithms:
- Google uses machine learning to improve the precision of its search results
- Facebook displays posts according to your interests and past behavior on its network
- Netflix suggests content based on its machine learning abilities
- Self-driving cars follow objects and environments and use data to improve their driving abilities
- Digital assistants use machine learning to improve speech recognition technologies
In the catering industry, machine learning offers customized suggestions and promotional campaigns, such as optimizing prices in real-time related to a certain current event, weather conditions and seasons.
For hotel revenue managers, price optimization in real-time depends on the current offering of hotel services with the goal of increasing upsell, making price suggestion politics in relation to current bookings, offering additional services during ‘the guest journey’ period before a guest will arrive, at their check-in or during their entire stay at the hotel.
Machine learning will definitely keep your customers interested, and will also make your customers happy and engaged with your brand for the duration of their stay. For a hotel, this means more valuable information that can be used to improve services. How is this achieved? The right guest will get the right information at the right time. This creates a better customer experience which brings in a higher upsell and higher ratings across social media platforms.
Upsell is not the only thing that matters. Customer experience is equally important. For example, when a guest arrives at the reception desk, machine learning will suggest to the receptionist that they should charge the guest a higher price – increase it from HRK 700 to HRK 1000. The receptionist will be confident to increase the price, while the guest will see the HRK 300 price increase as an upgrade that will give them an unexpectedly satisfying customer experience. That guest is more likely to come to the same hotel again, and also spend more and possibly make irrational buys for the duration of their stay. Worst case scenario, they will only write a positive review about their stay at your hotel.
In conclusion, when choosing AvailIT software with the option of machine learning, you will achieve bigger profits, you will have a more satisfied receptionists or waiter who will get bigger bonuses, and most importantly – you will have more satisfied guests.
If we take into consideration that we are possibly expecting a new economic crisis, hotels that have invested in machine learning will definitely have a huge market advantage to survive in the stormy waters we are about to encounter.
