Convenient location, competitive price, and good amenities are no longer the decisive factors for hospitality guests. “An experience worth paying more for” is far more influential on travelers' choice of property and their loyalty to the brand.

Hotels are already been spending heaps on guest experience management, but what truly makes a difference today is technology usage. With cloud computing, machine learning, and AI, hoteliers can finally transform their massive customer data results into hyper-personalized travel experiences. While technologies extended reality and IoT in the hospitality industry help bring the ‘personal touch’ to more amenities at a more affordable cost.

Learn how top hotel chains use technology to elevate guest stays while maximizing operating efficiency and occupancy rates simultaneously.

How to Improve Guest Experience in Hotels With Emerging Technologies

Travelers are not just growing more comfortable with technology, they’ve come to expect it from hotels.

Over half of Millennial guests (which now make the most of travel demographic in many regions) are influenced by hotel technology. They expect features like self-service check-in, digital room keys, and personalized engagement across all channels – be it an in-room voice assistant or the front-desk manager.

In line with the ‘customer is always right’ mantra, leading hotels are amping up their investments in emerging technologies like IoT, big data analytics, AI, extended reality, and even robotics.

IoT for Smart Room Amenities 

The Internet of Things in the hospitality industry – connected room devices and sensors – enable a new degree of sophisticated guest experience personalization. Smart room systems with features like occupancy-based lighting, automated climate control, connected room amenities, and real-time inventory tracking are being installed at more properties.

InterContinental recently opened a voice-controlled smart room at the Kimpton Rowan hotel in Palm Springs, CA. Guests can pass requests through an in-room digital concierge or ask it to set the perfect lighting color to match their mood.

IoT solutions for hotels also enable better sustainability practices. Smart energy management systems can start pre-heating or cooling the room just in time for the guest check-in to optimize the costs. By implementing smart AC controls, hotels can decrease HVAC energy consumption by 20-30%.

Occupancy sensors can also help optimize lighting levels throughout the property and help improve water use. The Wyndham Hotels & Resorts chain recently started using a smart irrigation system for its landscaped areas. The system optimizes watering schedules and volumes using weather data, minimizing waste and enhancing plant growth.

Yet, there are also risks of using IoT in the hotel industry. Last year, A software vulnerability in the popular Ariane Systems' self-check-in terminals allowed hackers to access guests’ personal data. If you’re considering deployment, think cybersecurity first.

Create isolated networks for IoT systems like smart locks, lighting, and HVAC to reduce the odds of unauthorized access to sensitive data. Implement strong data encryption and secure communication between all IoT devices, and ensure timely firmware updates.

Nobu Hotels is a great example of how to secure IoT deployments in hotels. The luxury chain offers smart rooms with door automation, security cameras, digital voice assistants, automatic window blinds, in-room dining orders, and HVAC sensor controls. In addition, its IoT network includes point-of-sale (POS) devices for staff, panic buttons for physical safety, and IoT-enabled housekeeping solutions. The entire SD-Wan network is architected using Zero Trust principles to ensure maximum data security while also maintaining simplified guest connectivity.

Contactless Technologies for Seamless Check-In

Every other hospitality experience guide says that all guests want a personal, warm welcome from the staff. Not anymore: 73% would love more hotels to use technology that minimizes contact with the staff and other guests.

Given the rising operating costs and labor shortages, that’s good news for hoteliers since contactless technology can automate a range of traditionally human-led tasks like check-in, room access card programming, and more. Leaders also shouldn’t worry about guest experiences. A 2024 study found that self-service kiosks improve hotel customer satisfaction because they offer greater convenience and efficiency than front-desk check-in.

Modern travelers also prefer doing most of their travel planning on mobile, so most won’t face issues with using an app to check in, open their room, or request extra services. 43% of luxury travelers don’t want to wait in lines, and half of guests prefer mobile check-out to save time, a 2025 Hotel Tech Report Found, making contactless technologies a must-have.

Using digital wallets instead of classic plastic access keys can also be advantageous for security. The recent breach of Saflok's hotel lock system has left approximately 3 million locks vulnerable to unauthorized access in seconds, affecting multiple hospitality chains that use this technology.

Google Wallet and Apple Wallet allow hotels to easily generate and distribute digital guest keys and open their rooms by simply tapping the back of their phones against an NFC reader near the door handle. Hilton Hotel was one of the first to allow mobile check-in and digital key generation via its Honors app. Guests using the digital keys also report more positive ratings on property safety than those who don’t.

Big Data Analytics for Personalized Guest Experience Management

Travelers are no longer enticed by ‘packaged’ deals. Over three-quarters seek accommodations that provide personalized experiences, as nearly half of the respondents are open to sharing their personal data for customization. Big data analytics massively improves the scale and feasibility of adding a ‘personal touch’ to a variety of bookings.

InterContinental Hotels Group collects customer data via its IHG Rewards Club program and runs advanced segmentation to create more relevant marketing campaigns and promo offers. Marriott International uses data from its mobile app to delight guests with personalized restaurants, attractions, and service recommendations.

In fact, about 86% of hotel operators believe that guest feedback and hotel customer satisfaction rates are ‘vitally important’ for business success, a Metrigy survey found. However, over a quarter of hospitality businesses don’t have full visibility of their customer personas, primarily because of the data silos.

 Many companies are storing customer data in multiple standalone – property management software, customer relationship management (CRM) system, are revenue management tools among others. Lack of integrations between these tools results in data fragmentation and makes it substantially harder to personalize guest service experiences.

Adding extra integrations to your hotel PMS unlocks a 360-degree customer view and enables brand coherency at every customer touchpoint. The aggregated data can then be analyzed with machine learning algorithms to gain insights into occupancy rates and demand fluctuations to optimize revenue per night (RevPAR).

Take it from CoolRooms Hotels, which recently adopted an integrated RMS to improve access to market data, demand forecasting, and real-time data analytics. With consolidated data, CoolRooms achieved more precise demand forecasting and improved tracking of competitor supply changes. The agents also spend less time on routine admin tasks and can process group bookings faster. Following the update, the boutique hotel chain increased its occupancy rate by 10% to 20% and grew its average revenue by 15% to 20%.

AI for Better Revenue Management

Thanks to advances in machine learning and AI, hotel revenue management has evolved into a hard science. To optimize RevPAR with remarkable accuracy, many hotels use AI-enabled revenue management systems.

These systems analyze large data sets in real time, considering factors like competitor rates, local events, historical booking patterns, and weather forecasts to nail the pricing and suggest personalized rates to different customer cohorts.

Infor RMS, for example, offers granular pricing optimization capabilities at the room type level (e.g., derived rates, flexible rate setup, discount management, and length-of-stay restrictions) thanks to advanced AI algorithms. An integrated generative AI assistant provides extra opportunity-focused insights for managers.

IDeaS offers a similar RMS but with more advanced forecasting features. The platform automatically consolidates and organizes data for all revenue streams and builds predictive forecasts. With IDeaS, Pullman Phuket Arcadia Naithon Beach hotel can immediately identify which market segment has unmet demand, resulting in more precise campaigns and tailored pricing offers. Streamlined analytics have been particularly helpful for business group bookings. Managers get instant pricing recommendations, translating to faster response times for guests. Within six months of implementation, Pullman Phuket saw a 10.3% increase in its Revenue Generation Index and a 10.5% rise in RevPAR.

Generative AI for All-around Guest and Staff Assistance

Travelers are keen to use AI as their journey-planning companion. An impressive 78% are eager to use AI tools during planning, booking, and their hotel stays in 2025.

Major hotel chains follow the customers’ aspirations. Marriott Bonvoy recently launched an on-site generative AI assistant to help guests find their dream vacation property for rent. Travelers can describe their ideal stay in as few or as many words as possible (e.g., a beachfront home in the French Riviera for a bachelorette party) and receive a list of curated recommendations.

Attractions.io, in turn, launched an AI assistant to engage guests at every stage of their journey – from booking and check-in to the full duration of their stay. Available via an app, the AI assistant aggregates data from multiple systems to capture guests’ preferences and past interactions. It ‘remembers’ what guests have shared with it throughout their visit – e.g., their food allergies or preferences, feedback about amenities, or other special requests – thus providing even more hyper-personalized assistance with each new interaction.

Apart from giving activity or dining recommendations, the assistant can provide instant data about the property amenities. For example, notify the guest when a conference room opens or the tennis court becomes available. Such natural conversations elevate hospitality guest experience and create room for natural upsell opportunities. If a guest asks about the hotel spa, the app can suggest booking a massage session or tell about the current promo offers.

AI voice assistants are also emerging as a new control interface for all the IoTs in hotels. Millennium Hotels and Resorts launched an AI-powered digital concierge service, which allows guests to set up preferred room ambiance, order in-room dining, or pass on the request to housekeeping. The tool immediately adds these requests to the staff task queue, promoting greater efficiency. Since introducing the system, Millennium Social Hotel Phuket has seen a significant reduction in front-desk call volumes and higher guest satisfaction rates.

Overall, 52% of hospitality customers anticipate generative AI to shape their interactions with brands, while 44% believe it will enhance guest engagement, according to a PYMNTS survey.

Extended Reality for Virtual Tours and On-Site Guest Engagement

Extended reality, a moniker for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), is still a relatively new concept in hospitality, but one with major future potential. 33% of hoteliers expect Extended reality to have the biggest long-term impact on their businesses, coming second to machine learning and AI.

‘Breaking the fourth wall’ can enable mesmerizing guest experiences – fully virtual property bookings, gamified stays, and mixed reality room customization. The Singapore Tourism Board curates a library of AR ideas local hotels could use to entertain guests – indoor treasure hunts, nearby attractions discovery, AR fitness trainers, and more.

Innovative properties are also bringing some of these ideas to reality. Hyatt Hotels and Best Western offer VR tours of select properties, allowing guests to explore rooms, decor, and amenities before booking a stay. Hilton, in turn, uses VR to create immersive, role-playing scenarios for staff training, coaching its people in guest management excellence.

TreeHouse Hotels & Resorts offers a better glimpse into the future of extended reality in the hospitality sector with its new wellness product last year. Guests, seeking tranquillity and maximum relaxation, can book a personalized, self-managed VR session, blending meditation, relaxation, and soothing environments.

With the prices of VR headsets gradually going down and the quality of technology improving, we’d likely see more hotels launching extended reality offerings to attract and engage more guests.

Coobots for Hospitality Operations 

Two-thirds of hoteliers struggle to hire for guest-facing and housekeeping roles. Cobots – collaborative robots – are emerging as a viable solution to these staffing challenges. Fully or semi-autonomous, co-bots can improve the efficiency or even fully eliminate some cleaning, storage, and delivery tasks.

Cleaning bots are most widely deployed across hotels as they come with a great cost-to-value ratio. Rosie by Tailos, for example, can clean guest rooms 20% faster and public areas 80% faster than human housekeepers. Thanks to an embedded AI algorithm, the robot also becomes more efficient over time as it learns about the property layout.

Boston-based robotics company Piaggio Fast Forward launched a specialized robot for carrying luggage. Kilo is a 4-wheeled robotic flatbed with built-in, hands-free following capabilities. It can transport any type of heavy loads around the hotel premises, saving workers from physical strain.

Millennium Hotels & Resorts, in turn, is experimenting with front-desk robotics. It has recently ‘hired’ AURA to deliver guest amenities at one of its Singapore properties. The compact, display-equipped room service cobot can deliver extra water or towels to guest rooms. It can open the elevator door and announce its presence upon arrival thanks to advanced sensing and computer vision capabilities. Having received positive reviews from guests and staff (now free of the mundane duties), AURA will soon be deployed in several more Millennium properties.

Conclusion

Technology is becoming a prime medium for building and nurturing relationships with guests. By integrating innovative solutions like smart room controls or digital concierge services, hotels can create more personalized and lasting connections, which are key to sustainable growth.

Customers in the tourism sector who feel both delighted and satisfied during their stay are 70% more likely to refer other guests and 63% more likely to return to a destination, which means lower acquisition costs and greater revenue for hoteliers.

Explore and implement digital hotel guest experience with our engineering teams. As part of our hospitality software development services, we help hotels implement new revenue management systems, self-service kiosks, branded mobile apps, and powerful analytics solutions. Contact us for more information.