Chatbot is basically a technology which is recently born, all thanks to the innovation of artificial intelligence. Currently, chatbots are used by all companies, and the hotel industry is no different. If you are running a hotel, then you should surely learn everything about a chatbot and how you can use it in your hotel.
Basics you need to know about a hotel chatbot
A hotel chatbot works as a contemporary-time concierge equivalent and is one of the latest innovations that everyone must embrace in the hotel industry. The chatbot is basically deployed as a digital customer service agent which mimics the meaningful interactions between your employees and clients. These chatbots can perform different types of functions like responding to all queries handling the room services and housekeeping orders while digitalizing the check-in and checkout process.
The working of hotel chatbots
A hotel chatbot operates by analysing or understanding our client interactions and offering relevant replies to simple enquiries, as well as providing relevant information on request.
These are one of the most basic hotel chatbots that you can think about. They usually would be based on if or else statements. So, for example, if you set up your chatbot to ask if you would like to view the special offers if your user selects yes as an option, then they would be presented with some special offers; otherwise, some other message would be displayed. You can employ this form of chatbot with labelled on-screen action buttons that your guests can click to advance the dialogue. But there are also the latest chatbots available, which work by detecting specific words within what guest types before displaying the next message or anything else based on the rules.
The best part about going for a rule-based chatbot is that it is completely simple and budget-friendly at the same time, so if you are new to chatbots, then you should go for this one initially.
If you’re looking for some alternative to rule-based chatbots, then you can go for AI-based chatbots, and they are generally more sophisticated. It is powered by artificial intelligence, and it can understand written communication while interpreting and then responding well. It would result in more realistic chat interactions, and it would be similar to what your guest would get with the customer service representative.
There are several latest AI chatbots available, which would take a step further when it comes to using machine learning to actually pick up the information as they go and adapt to the communication well. As a result, your hotel chatbot will be able to collect the users’ choices and put them all together.
This is how they can make a smart recommendation to your guests. The AI-based chatbots will offer you amazing personalization and will result in more natural communication. The best part about using this AI-based chatbot is that your guests can easily use it, and the machine learning promises continuous improvement also.
Some Of The Most Important Features That You Need To Consider While Choosing A Hotel Chatbot
- Multi-channel functionality
One of the most important features that you need to consider while choosing a hotel chatbot is support for multi-channel functionality. The right hotel chatbot should integrate rightly with the different types of messaging platforms and your hotel’s website. All the clients would have their own individual preferences, but some of the most common apps that you should consider include WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram.
- Consider a communication dashboard for different platforms
Besides supporting multi-channel functionality, the channel bots should also offer a comprehensive dashboard that allows you to manage your communication from various platforms in one place. It must include everything from the platforms like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, and at the same time, it should also include messages from guests from different platforms like websites.
Your hotel is most likely to receive some questions on a regular basis, and it is generally possible for you to provide some standard answers to them and it is the only reason why you should look for the hotel chatbot, which offers frequently asked questions automation possibilities. This will make it very easy for your chatbot to respond to the most commonly asked questions extremely quickly, and there will be a seamless customer experience which will minimize the amount of work that you’re human preventatives have to do.
- Chatbots must integrate with booking engines and PMS systems.
You must choose some hotel chatbots which can integrate with booking engines easily. This will provide your guests with real-time booking potential, which makes it very easy for you to enhance the direct bookings and also save a lot of money on the commissions that you would be paying to the online agencies. As your chat would communicate with clients, it can also offer relevant and timely special offers, which would help in sealing the deal.
You should choose a hotel chatbot which will provide you with a scope for customization. This will then allow you to identify some key messages which are important for your marketing strategy and ensure that they deliver them rightly. It allows you to pinpoint some questions at the same time which are important for your clients and also ensures that your chatbot provides the best quality relevant answers. This can make your chatbot seem less generic while improving the user experience greatly.
Machine learning capability can be completely beneficial, allowing your hotel chatbot to improve constantly with time. For example, through artificial intelligence and regular interactions, the chatbot would be able to improve language recognition skills. At the same time, it would be able to offer amazing answers to queries even if it does not mean setting up the deal with them, and will then be able to gradually self-correct on errors that it would be making.
- Must have a check-in and check-out the functionality
Contemporary technology has opened the door for contactless payments and keyless hotel rooms. You should choose a perfect hotel chatbot which would be able to help your guests with checking in and checking out whenever they want to. All your guests need to do is use a smartphone. This will help in freeing up the need to queue up at the front desk, and it will speed up the entire process.
Reasons why you need to invest in a hotel chatbot
contemporary customers also have high expectations when it comes to customer service response times, and it can be completely challenging in the travel and hospitality industry, where your clients come from different parts of the world, and they would have questions about the different types. You need to have a hotel chatbot as it can help in providing customer service 24/7, and when your customers receive a timely response irrespective of the time of the day, even when you might not have the staff to respond, then this can improve the customer experience.
- Improve your direct bookings.
If you are in the hotel industry, when you increase the direct bookings, you can increase your profit as you will not have to Pay Commission on the bookings, which will be beneficial. The best part about having a hotel chatbot is that it can enhance the number of conversions on your hotel website, and you can answer questions quickly.
- Support throughout your booking journey
By providing individualised support throughout the whole booking process, a hotel chatbot can help you increase the percentage of bookings in your hotel that are completed and decrease the percentage of bookings that are abandoned midway through. You can also ask the chatbot some queries and ask for information while the chatbot encourages progress. They can be used in different ways at the very start of the booking journey, and you can also learn what a specific user is looking for and how much money they would like to spend before making any recommendations.
- Upsell and cross-sell opportunities
Besides helping to enhance direct bookings, the chat Bot can also provide you with more opportunities to upsell and even cross-sell. This can happen naturally by just fitting in with what has been said in your chat, which can enhance the likelihood that your client will actually take up all these opportunities. The chatbot would leverage the information obtained during the booking process to push certain relevant alternatives, such as breakfast or spa treatments, throughout the booking process. If a specific room is selected by a client, then your chatbot will make some recommendations for the room upgrade. During this stay, the chatbot can also provide live information about the availability of the restaurant.
