There is no doubt in the fact that hotels treat their guests like royalty. To do so, they work constantly and tirelessly to ensure their services rival the definition of perfection; and to keep at it, they manage to incorporate the latest trends and techology into their state-of-the art facilities.

But the greatest challenge to keeping up with the latest trends and tech is that there is really no end to them. New ideas and developments in the sector means inevitable change - sometimes rapid change. The ability of hotels to parallel and integrate these trends and tech into their daily work is what truly makes them worthy.

Hotels have moved from paper and ink to light screens and voice activation. The time has now come to assimilate the latest trend and tech into the industry – Wearable Technology. Mankind’s craving for more in smaller packages has led to a rise in wearable tech.

What is Wearable Tech?

Once upon a time wearable tech was any device that helped simplify daily activities. In the ye old days spyglasses and compasses qualified, and in the near past, digital watches and Bluetooth headsets were considered wearable technology. Well, times change and words are redefined. Wearable tech now is simply the presence of IT in everyday accessories.

Mundane accessories can now collect and store data, then sync that data to other devices through the Internet of Things and a stable internet connection. Wearables are usually designed to go hand-in-hand with fashion so as to mirror the latest trends and lure the interest of the easily distracted ‘new generation’.

How can it help Hospitality?

The hotel industry can easily benefit from engaging with wearable tech. Not only by having their guests use it to personalize their stay but also by having the staff adopt these wearables to create easy and updated workflow which in turn maximizes the guest experience.

With wearable tech, Guests can replace their pesky room keys that always seem to get lost in wallets and purses, even ditch keycards that never seem to ease out of pant pockets. In fact, they can eliminate the whole front desk operation from their hotel experience.

Hotels already let guests make reservations and check-in through smart phones. With designed apps smart accessories can be linked to the smart phone which means they are capable of accomplishing any feat a smart phone can. It won’t be hard for hotels to incorporate wearables into the system like they did with smartphones. ^[1]

The Posterchild

All innovation starts somwhere, for wearables it all started with Smart Watches, the first experiment for wearables in the field of hospitality. This smart accessory opened the doorway that led to the use of more smart accessories in the industry.

With the emergence of Smart Watches, Hotels have begun providing their guests with apps that allows their smartwatches to act as keys upon booking a room. These Smart Watches can also act as an AC control unit, check-in and make reservations at local leisure and F&B spots.^[2]

Starwood has already begun using guest smart watches to give their guests a keyless experience while also sending them notifications and allows them to manage their loyalty programs. The latest Smart watches requires no extra expenses from the hotel as they use accessories already owned by the guests. ^[3]

In recent times, Hotels would offer their guests wearable devices like wrist bands; for e.g. Walt Disney World Resort and their ‘MagicBands’ which grants their guests access to multiple locations at the resort and even lets them make purchases.^[4] While these devices allow the hotel to collect, store and analyze data in order to maximize guest experience for future guests, it is still an extra investment. Today, this same feature can be interfaced with the guest’s Smart Watches, thus being cost-saving and personalized at the same time.

The true potential of Smart Watches in the industry lies in the staff using them. An easy glance during their busy work schedule is all it takes for staff to respond on time, avoid miscommunication and update the management system in real time and on-the-go. 

The Up and Coming

Smart watches aren’t as new as Smart Glasses and Smart Rings. These new wearables can do just as much as Smart Phones and watches but with even more ease and efficiency. These new tech are slowly being embraced by consumers and the industry needs to welcome these innovations too. Not just for consumer convenience but for better staff performance as well.

Smart Glasses have the ability to recognize guests the second they arrive at the property through facial recognition.^[5] The staff can have guest bookings set before guests can even arrive at the desk. With access to guest profiles through the glasses, staff can instantly greet guests by name and recommend offers that would delight the guests creating a more personalized guest experience.  

Smart Rings too can do everything a smart watch can from receiving notifications and opening doors but the best things about a smart ring is that it can completely replace a wallet and is easier to swipe than a watch.^[6] Smart Rings come with the utmost security to protect user identity as well as payment transactions.

The Untapped Potential

And so creative inventions keep coming. Most inventions are relevant to the industry from both the guest and staff point of view. Hotels can truly benefit from new innovations which provide their guests ultimate comfort, infinite choices and delightful surprises; one just needs to incorporate them by thinking outside the box.

There have been many different Smart Hats popping up in the creative inventions department. Here are a couple that could benefit guests in the industry. Equipped with a heart rate monitor, the LifeBEAM Smart Hat can measure performance as well giving it the potential to be popular on the golf course or the tennis court.^[7]

The hotel can provide guests with smart hats for any leisure sport within the property. The Smart hats like LifeBEAM can measure calories and heart rate of every guest who uses it. The hats can harness this data and link it with the guest profiles which can help the hotel come up with special personalized fitness routines for their guests on their next visit. 

The Most Desirable Asset

Maintaining guest happiness when it comes to the room temperature in public and sometimes even private spaces is truly an arduous task. Here is an insanely convenient invention that can fix your problem.

Hotels can provide guests with personal thermostats upon request in public areas where large fluffy blankets just wont do. In shared spaces like the lobby, terrace, ballrooms and spa where the AC is set to a free for all temperature, this innovation could certainly benefit the guests. Even when guests head out into the hot summer sun for some fun this nifty tech can help cool them down.  

Both from Kickstarter projects, here comes a wearable personal thermostat for your body. No need to squabble over the temperature anymore, it’s much too easier to convince your body otherwise - with Embr Wave and Aircon.

Both these products works on a basic principle - sending a signal to the brain by running cold or hot sensation over the inner wrist. This act tells the brain how the body needs to react, therefore cooling or heating the body in return. The tech here sends a warm or cold sensation over the sensitive spot on the wrist and so tricking the brain into heating or cooling the body in response.

Seriously if hotels don’t pick up these new ideas, they are really going to miss out. Technology keeps offering more to the industry, it’s just a matter of choosing which tech to integrate that would best enhance Guest Experience while keeping in mind the advancement of guest facing technology in the long run.

Technology really just got cooler with mobility and connectivity. Data Science only gives us the opportunity to keep pushing the limits. Maybe someday hotels will provide VR or AR facilities in every room or let guests travel virtually between different branches around the world.

Or maybe not, but the only thing we know for sure is that you can’t rule out any ideas because that’s the one thing technology guarantees us. Nothing is absolute and there is no end when it comes to the latest tech.