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The prevalence of social media has radically changed the relationship between guests and hoteliers. Through social media, guests and potential guests can share experiences with each other and exchange information on room rates, hotel amenities, and more. Social media also allows visitors to rate the services and post reviews of hotels and hotel services online.

These reviews have a huge impact on potential guests as they do research before making travel decisions, and travellers are doing pre-trip research like never before. According to PhoCusWright, 87 percent of TripAdvisor users feel more confident in their decision when they read travel reviews, and 98 percent say they find them “accurate of the actual experience.” Similarly, according to LateRooms, 90 percent of travellers avoid booking hotels labelled as “dirty” in online reviews.

At large hotels particularly, the check in and check out procedures can be time-consuming, create lines, and long wait times. Guests have made it very clear through feedback that they want fast check in/check out procedures to allow more time for enjoyment and quick departures. In response, many large hotels are now offering guests the opportunity to preregister for their hotel stay before they even arrive.

This can significantly reduce the wait at the registration desk. Even larger properties now offer smartphone apps that not only allow guests to pre register but also enables the smartphone to act as a room key. With this, guests could potentially go straight from the airport to the hotel room.

While speed is clearly the positive gain from bypassing the interaction with front desk staff, the negative aspects include not being able to ask the front desk agent about possible room upgrades and special room deals. It is important to consider the positive and negative implications when making the decision to bypass contact with front desk employees at registration.

For convention and business travellers, technology allows many impressive advances. Through text messaging, hotels can inform convention guests as to meeting rooms and schedule changes for their events. Text messaging also lets the hotel target particular convention groups to offer daily specials on anything from spa treatments to show tickets and restaurants. The real-time ability to reach current hotel guests has tremendous implications for reaching the target market at a low cost.