From Check-In Counters to Seamless Journeys
Airlines were among the first to recognize that the customer journey doesn’t begin at the boarding gate. With 90 percent of airline organizations already aiming to embrace digitalized services, many of the industry’s businesses have recognized the benefits of turning fragmented processes into unified experiences, from online booking and dynamic pricing to automated check-in and predictive service recovery. The result has been an air travel industry that is now defined by self-service, mobility, and real-time responsiveness.
For hospitality-based organizations, the parallels are striking and equally full of potential opportunities. Hotels can reimagine the traditional check-in desk as a point of convenience rather than constraint, allowing guests to access rooms, amenities, and services through mobile keys and apps. This shift turns a guest’s arrival into a moment of empowerment where they can decide when and how they engage and what represents a satisfying and convenient experience, mirroring the fluid digital interactions they have become accustomed to with air travel.
Data as the Engine of Experience
In air travel, every decision is increasingly data-driven. Real-time analytics optimize not only pricing but also operational readiness and service delivery. Airlines use unified customer identity graphs to understand individual travelers, allowing employees to anticipate needs, predict preferences, and curate experiences before a passenger even reaches the airport.
Hotels have begun adopting this same strategy although it is still an ongoing journey. By consolidating property management, loyalty, and point-of-sale data into a unified “guest identity,” more hoteliers are discovering that they can transform service offerings from being reactive to predictive. Increasingly, systems are being deployed with the ability to automatically determine if a returning guest prefers a corner suite or a specific room temperature, and can sync loyalty points with a partnered airline, all before check-in. Such personalized service builds loyalty not through discounts, but through recognition and relevance to a guest’s own unique needs or expectations.
Empowering Hotel Staff Through Mobile Technology
Delivering a great guest experience can only be achieved when hotel employees are empowered with the right tools and ready access to information. Airline staff have had a head start in being able to rely on mobile apps that deliver live updates, training modules, and service insights. Whether for assisting a passenger with a connecting flight or upselling a service offering that best aligns a traveler’s unique preferences, this flexibility enables consistent performance and high-quality service even during disruptive conditions.
Hospitality businesses can adopt a similar approach with centralized operation centers and mobile apps that give staff real-time visibility into room readiness, maintenance issues, and guest needs. Equipping frontline employees with mobile tools and AI-driven insights ensures faster and smarter decision-making while enhancing both efficiency and satisfaction. For properties already equipping their staff with mobile accessible tools and data, it is estimated that operational efficiency can increase by 15 percent.
Tapping into the Advantages of IoT and Automation
Where airlines use sensors and automation for safety and predictive maintenance, hotels can use IoT to anticipate guest needs and reduce response times. Smart thermostats, occupancy sensors, and predictive maintenance systems are increasingly being used to transform physical rooms into highly adaptive environments that can instantly conform to each guest’s expectations. Combined with the potential to reduce energy use without impacting guest comfort and the opportunity to receive additional insights on guest preferences and it’s hardly surprising that 76 percent of hotels have deployed at least one form of automated IoT technology.
Expanding the Concept of Loyalty
One exciting frontier that can extend benefits across multiple industries is the converging of loyalty programs. More organizations are partnering to offer a “super-loyalty” ecosystem where hotel guests earn points for flights, car rentals, and retail. Airlines are already experimenting with blockchain-based platforms to unify rewards across partners, and hospitality can follow suit. By eliminating silos and creating shared recognition systems, the industry could redefine what it means to travel seamlessly across every touchpoint.
The Experience Economy is Here
Both the air travel and hospitality industries are increasingly seeing the value of moving beyond selling spaces, whether seats or rooms, and are instead pivoting to selling enhanced comfort, convenience and personalization. For hotels, the next evolution is not about adding more technology for technology’s sake, but about harmonizing it into an ecosystem where every digital and physical interaction works together to guarantee guest happiness and the loyalty of their repeat business.
