A recent study from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) found that business travelers want free Wifi and smart power outlets more than anything else.
While this study may seem like common knowledge on the surface, there is one element that the GBTA explored, which is that business travelers also only use hotel mobile apps for managing their reservations – not for interacting with hotel staff.
This may also seem like “surface knowledge,” but there is something else going on here. Why do these travelers only use these apps in such a limited fashion?
The answer may be that these travelers are not fully encouraged to fully leverage hotel mobile apps. For example, if a hotel app offers detailed information about area restaurants and events (i.e., updates on a concert or other cultural event that could make for a great evening with a client), then it would be possible to make the mobile app experience more dynamic.
This approach is taking a page from the frictionless guest travel model of innovation where hotels use data and analytics from actual behaviors and in-experience reporting to anticipate travelers’ needs. From there it is possible to make targeted, timely and personalized offers to guests that will help increase brand loyalty.
Ideally, this should be done in a mobile app environment. Ultimately, it will allow hotel brands to interact with guests on a much deeper level.
In addition, many hotels are dealing with revenue losses from guests preferring to take advantage of food delivery services, as opposed to using room service. This new mobile app approach allows hoteliers to compete with these services by presenting customized offers that can keep them leveraging on-property services.
Of course, free Wifi is now a given, which was reinforced in this study. However, the real story is about how to get business travelers to better interact with hotel brands in a mobile environment. By engaging with guests more, it is possible to develop long-term brand loyalty in a very viable travel demographic: the business traveler.