đWhat can the hospitality industry learn from Sonder?
Plus: Swire Hotelsâ simple approach to digitization
Today weâre looking at:
What the hospitality industry can learn from Sonder
Swire Hotelsâ simple approach to digitization
The NYU Hospitality Innovation Hub winner
Marriott reimagining guest room furniture with Ori
This newsletter is sponsored by Cendyn.
2022 may have just begun, but the hospitality industry is already seeing significant shifts in connecting with guests. With an unprecedented demand for digitization and automation as reduced workforce and challenges from the pandemic continue, thereâs a lot going on that hoteliers need to be aware of as we move into the new year. Join the Cendyn team Thursday, January 27th for a webinar on the trends they are seeing for revenue, marketing and sales in the year ahead.
What can the hospitality industry learn from Sonder?
Sonder is going public via SPAC.
If youâre unfamiliar with the company, they partner with real estate owners and landlords to manage both hotels and apartment-style long-term accommodations. Today they operate 16,000+ units in 10 countries.
Max Starkov wrote an article last year about how Sonderâs unique approach enables them to provide a modern design and technology-first guest experience.
There are more than 700,000 hotels and resorts worldwide. The unfortunate reality is too many of them are a disappointment - a downgrade from the technology and design we have at home or experience with other consumer brands.
Why is this? In the words of Max:
The current situation of dominant owners and subservient operators is the reason why hospitality is the most tech-averse and innovation-averse industry today, far behind even traditional sectors like agriculture and construction.
Whatâs going on here?
What do you think? Is this the future of hospitality?
Iâd love to hear your perspective why or why not.
Swire Hotels now has a majority of in-room orders made digitally
Swire Hotels took a straightforward approach to digitizing their guest experience. Instead of pushing complex applications, they allowed their guests to customize their stay using the digital devices they are familiar with. Scanning a QR code accesses a range of services â from scheduling a time to collect dirty laundry to selecting how you like your eggs done at breakfast.
The results two months after launch?
Decreasing phone call volume
60% of in-room dining transactions now comes from digital services
âEverything we do is about our guests and our people, which forms the cornerstone of our digital approach. Our goal is to make life easier and more convenient for guests, liberating them to do more important things while boosting operational efficiency. This also enables our team members to concentrate on the guest experience rather than administration and process management, thereby providing them with better services.â - Dean Winter, Managing Director, Swire Hotels
The NYU Hospitality Innovation Hub winner
The inaugural âPitch Your Passion & Seal the Dealâ competition, hosted by the Hospitality Innovation Hub Incubator at NYU, was designed to stimulate ideas for new industry innovation. Kenta Ramen, which offers autonomous micro-retail for ready-to-eat, authentic Japanese ramen delivered within 45 seconds, won the first-place prize.
âAutomation in the industry is imminent. Ideally, Kenta Ramen will be like Sweetgreen or Shake Shack (but for gourmet ramen and Japanese cuisine) all delivered with sustainability, automation, and convenience.â - Daniel Liu
Iâm intrigued by the use of automation to create fresh, high-quality food on site. Providers Iâve tried such as Cafe X seemed more gimmicky than anything, but Iâm hopefully new startups like Kenta can provide higher quality at lower costs in partnership with lodging providers.
Marriott partners with Ori to reimagine guest room furniture
Marriott International is partnering with robotics and architecture startup Ori as part of their new R&D lab. Brooklyn-based Ori combines engineering, technology and design expertise to produce furniture that effectively creates two rooms out of one.
Iâm intrigued on how this approach could make small hotel rooms more functional: