How Hospitality Sector is relying on artificial intelligence and machine learning for profit maximization

Technology is undoubtedly ruling over us lately. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, technology is our best bet today. At present, no industries are left untouched from adopting cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Some industries that adopted AI and ML include automotive industries, health, logistics, etc. The hospitality sector in India has also not been exempted from adopting such world-class technology to ensure profit maximization in the competitive market.

The hospitality industry encompasses a broad category of fields like tourism, lodging, transport, event planning, theme parks, and others. It is undoubtedly a wide sector, but notably, the leaders in the field seem to be the hotels and accommodation along with restaurants and bars. The hospitality sector in India strongly requires the much-needed application of AI and ML. It is not only for surviving in the pandemic scenario but also for maximizing their profit margins. This industry mostly caters to the wants of the customers more than their needs. Therefore, companies in the hospitality sector must adopt AI and ML for ensuring continuous delivery of their best services at a competitive price to their customers. Here’s how AI and ML help the hospitality sector in ensuring survival and profits.

Artificial intelligence enhances hotel operations

Answering customer calls, attending front desk guests while responding to online guest queries simultaneously is no more a troublesome issue that existed for so long. With Artificial Intelligence (AI), staff does not need to work under high-quality performance pressure and perform like robots which leads to poor service quality. Chatbots emerged as a saviour and a boon to assist a multitude of guests effortlessly. Chatbots take care of all the online queries from potential customers while the front desk staff can serve the guests in a hassle-free manner, thereby enhancing hotel operations without compromising on any customer.

AI boosts personalized services

AI personalization synthesizes diverse customer data sets to extract relevant insights. By leveraging the priceless insights, the hotels can target great marketing efforts and deliver outstanding services. This helps in offering a seamless customer experience. With AI, hotels can properly understand the preferences of each customer. AI chatbots also offer a personalized conversation that effectively addresses the individual needs of every customer more conveniently and helpfully. Customers prefer a fast response to all their queries, especially online. AI chatbots complement it by facilitating immediate response and managing multiple customer needs seamlessly.

Competitive pricing via ML

What’s important for every business to survive in the marketplace is to use a competitive pricing strategy. The hospitality sector leverages competitive pricing strategies that are considered to be one of the most significant strategies to attract customers and enhance sales without compromising on profits. What helps in achieving this is Machine Learning. It helps to achieve the best possible pricing for services based on hotel history, seasonability, local competition, external real-time events, local events, third-party promotions, etc. Basis such factors, the data is run via predictive models and can be analyzed to offer competitive pricing for companies that help them achieve an edge in the broad marketplace.

ML improves customer service and satisfaction

Customers belong from varied backgrounds so their expectations, needs, and demands differ from each other. A process known as Market Segmentation is employed in every sector, including the hospitality sector, to ensure that each customer’s wish is fulfilled according to their tastes and preferences. The entire customer spectrum is segregated into various segments with more or less similar expectations and demands. With Machine Learning (ML), the customer spectrum becomes more diverse into extremely smaller groups and sub-groups that were not witnessed ever before. This process improves the quality of customer service and satisfaction by ensuring a more profitable business.

Summing up

Both Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are leading the way to innovation in every sector. They continue to be explored and applied to new sectors every day. The hospitality sector should also leverage these technologies to tackle the unseen problems and challenges to satisfy the customers. Therefore, from enhancing a hotel’s operation, offering personalized services & competitive pricing to improving customer satisfaction via phenomenal service, the role of AI and ML to maximize profits in the hospitality sector is unparalleled. It shows us the untapped potential of the technologies that own the ability to change the face of the hospitality sector.

By Siddharth Goenka, Founder, Aiosell Technologies