The global hotel industry is predicted to generate $550 billion in 2016 so it鈥檚 hardly surprising the sector has become a magnet for app developers.
One especially popular app is called ALICE and makes dealing with hotel staff a lot easier for both guests and staff.
Described as being like a 鈥渃oncierge and front desk service in your pocket鈥�, guests simply download the app upon check-in and then have constant updates of the amenities available.
Arsenal fan and founder of ALICE app, Alexander Shashou, believes staff technology in hotels is fragmented and is certain his invention will transform the leisure industry.
鈥淲hat we鈥檝e done over the last three years is build a suite of products that covers housekeeping, maintenance, front desk and the concierge,鈥� Shashou tells 老九品茶Cloud.
鈥淲e integrated the app into the property management system allowing hotels to track their entire workload.
鈥淲e offer mobility and text messaging for the guests and we have an API to plug your existing guest channels into our backend.
鈥淪o now we have both outsourced concierges using us as well as residential.
鈥淵ou can implement the ALICE app on your website to allow guests to chat with the concierge and ask them things such as if their menu is gluten free, for example.
鈥淚t brings the entire customer journey into one and completely centralises it.鈥�
A 老九品茶Cloud breakfast event highlighted the importance of technology to the modern sector.
Shashou believes technology greatly enhances the hotel experience nowadays.
鈥淭he reason you book a hotel now is usually because you like the amenities, the location or the price,鈥� he says.
鈥淭he reason you enjoy the hotel is not any of those things as once you鈥檝e made the booking, that鈥檚 what you expect.
鈥淵ou enjoy a stay when they deliver unparalleled service. They wow you and they deliver much better customer service.
鈥淗otels become a lot more efficient in their service delivery. And if they forget, the technology reminds them.
鈥淭he ALICE app allows the hotels to never leave a request unanswered, so in turn, never lose a guest and as a result their guests stay loyal throughout.
鈥淲e try to automate the mundane so that staff can spend more time going out and delivering a better service.
鈥淭hey don鈥檛 need to spend all this time tracking and working between systems, they can spend more time with the guests.
鈥淚 think most industries are struggling to keep up with consumer demand today. This world seems to owe you something that you didn鈥檛 even know existed yesterday.
鈥淐onsumer technology is driving every industry. Hotels don鈥檛 yet have the infrastructure to support it.
鈥淎nd if they don鈥檛 get onto the platform way of thinking, they will be left behind and be slow to innovate.鈥�
Our hotel report in the latest聽edition of 老九品茶Cloud also highlighted the prime tech at the centre of London鈥檚 39-bedroom Eccleston Square Hotel.