Streamline your Hospitality sales with airSlate SignNow's Sales Development Automation for Hospitality

How to create outlook signature

good afternoon welcome to the hotel business stage it's my pleasure to welcome you and also to introduce to you our speaker for this afternoon it's diamond from dial he's CEO of room raccoon who's going to Stage a presentation on how to improve Hotel business performance in 2023 with automation timing has a true passion for technology and room where is on a mission to empower independent hoteliers with the world's fastest growing and complete hotel management system please give it up for tyman thank you thank you for two kinds I'm not alone today I brought my friends he doesn't have a name yet but one of you can give him give him a name later on uh uh where are we there we are we're gonna talk a little bit it's a master class I'm not gonna you know teach you or Define how you should run your hotels but like to share a little bit of our experiences um with uh well running your hotel on autopilot and uh before we actually go to more in depth I'd like to free up my hands little Icebreaker question uh how many hotels are there in the Netherlands and I consider basically just for the sake of Simplicity of this question uh any property any accommodation in the Netherlands uh that advertises on booking.com with at least five uh rooms as a hotel who wants to give it a shot the winner closest match gets a raccoon and also uh at our uh at our booth just behind here uh you can then collect a really nice presence in addition to the raccoon and it's really soft and fluffy guys you want to win this how many hotels in the Netherlands three thousand seven thousand five thousands ten thousand twelve thousands 19 000 who bits more who bits less 800s I need I need I need a closer one it's it's it's less than ten thousand much less 5700 no four thousands it is four thousandths and a really bad thrower so please help me catch it there we go congrats uh as like almost around four thousand well at least you learned one thing now already uh moving on to the concept of autopilots the autopilots we know it from airplanes these days also from Cars uh should you run your hotel on autopilots is that a good thing is that a bad thing what are your your thoughts who likes to comment on that if if you consider running a hotel on autopilot's threats or an opportunity to either you as a hotelier towards the guests towards the guest experience what do you think opportunity yeah so the threat or opportunity may be dependent on where in the hotel it is applied or where in the operation let's maybe help you a little bit I'm gonna I took this this wikipedias um definition of what is an autopilot it is a system used to control something uh without requiring constant manual control by a human operator and then I made this in bold autopilots do not replace human operators right it is about the Synergy it's about automating what is value adding to automate but keep the human always in the picture right and that is very much uh the case especially in Hospitality because hospitality is a is a human business and that's why I really like this topic of Man versus machine in hospitality so yeah asking the question maybe again to elaborate Hotel technology like how is that how does that affect guest experience does it improve the guest experience does it hurt the guest experience what do you think improved all agree that it's that it well at least it can improve the guest experience just wanted to set the bass line here but let me first introduce myself so then you know who is actually speaking to you uh well was already kindly introduced by Sunder but maybe just by free facts about me you can get to know me a little bit better uh before uh well we go in the rest of the master class I wrote down here uh three facts about me well actually two is effects and one is a lie uh just to be a straight up and I want you to I want to see your hands for the one that you think is a lie I am uh I was an independent hotelier no hands so that's correct I landed an airplane also no oh one hands more hands okay and I ran a marathon most sense thanks guys uh okay so the first one is actually lie guys I just want to be honest with you I was not a hotelier myself I'm speaking here from the angle of a techie I have a tech background been a tech entrepreneur for 20 years uh founded room raccoon together with a hotelier so that's where kind of our our worlds emerged um we can yeah we'll come to the stand later on and I tell you the story about Landing an airplane these are all facts these are not lies uh we are in business since six years now we processed six million bookings meanwhile we upsold 600 000 Euro additional Revenue towards hotel for our hotels with our Tool uh and meanwhile uh we were awarded uh well some recognition here and there room raccoon is an all-in-one hotel management system so it is a property management system on steroids basically it does much more it is it includes all of this not gonna go too much in detail if you want to know more about well if you want to know everything or more about rumor gun our stand is there this is a master class not a room recruiting demo um but because I find it important to know who we are at least uh we're with hundred raccoons uh This Is Us uh just two months ago uh somewhere in the world who can tell me where this was or is I think the mountain on the back gives it away Cape Town South Africa this is where we took all of our team because we have employees all over the world and also like uh ourselves we really believe in well bringing people together right uh so this was our anniversary trip and we uh serve 1 800 hotels across the world predominantly in Europe and all of that on our way to become asunder announced the number one hotel management system in the world we are uh hoteliers ourselves well most of us many of us in the room raccoon um serving hoteliers and promising more Revenue more guest experience uh for Less costs this is what what we all want right challenge accepted I'm going to share a little bit of our data with you um with all of these bookings and all of these hotels on Board we have quite a unique angle on what's happening right in in hotels so it might be relevant for you to actually understand a little bit what's going on around your own hotels uh first of all booking channels this was all of the bookings that we processed last year Minds that we um we work for hotels hotels with on average about between 10 and 100 rooms that is our client base that is the hotels that choose room raccoon so that is our data um and as you can see last year if you look at the OTAs I don't hope there's anybody from Expedia sitting here um again this is our angle our hotels but it's not very popular it is basically There is almost only booking.com they are absolute Legends uh in the in the Benelux towards our properties there's a lot of direct bookings going on that is a combination of offline online booking engine bookings everything that is direct then Expedia has a market share of 1.7 percent Google hotels are more or less the same who view uses Google hotels Google Hotel ads direct bookings for Google great if you haven't if you're not using it yet definitely use it it's uh it's fastly growing um and um well it's generally much lower cost than than your booking.com bookings some other trends that we have identified last year huge appetite for travel right I mean we obviously came from a time where well there may be well was not so much appetite and not so much possibilities to travel during the pandemic huge rebound last year which actually mainly I found interesting to observe because at the same time there was like huge inflation which we would assume and many I think analysts assumed that that would greatly restrict budgets that well Travelers would be able well would be willing to spend on uh well on traveling during last year however it seems first things first Travelers seem to be uh well cutting their grocery bills and maybe turning their heating a little bit lower but they have not stopped traveling at all they have even seemed to be traveling more priorities which is good for our industry staff shortages as well everybody running in a hotel or a Hospitality business has a has gone through that ourselves as well staff shortages struggle is real but the combination of those what we observed is that that really accelerates adoption of technology in hotels right because there's more Travelers um to uh to serve uh to pamper um to to meet their expectations with less hands in your own hotel so we saw that that's it it didn't became a night like what used to uh uh it what used to was well B was nice to have now became a must-have for hotels that closes the the loop because that uh again um well stipulates I think the importance of and the relevance of the ability to run your hotel on autopilots as much as possible obviously you can't run everything on autopilot you don't want to run everything on autopilot because as the gentleman already said before or suggested uh some things are just better to to automate uh and to rely on on machines doing a certain tasks than others dealing with humans we're in hospitality don't use the the human touch so let me just maybe uh go through that guest journey and highlight a couple of um steps a couple of touch points in that customer Journey that we really deem super relevant that I believe that all of you should be automating and should be running on autopilots first of all and this is a no-brainer right everybody uses the channel manager or so to sync their rates availability or reservations continuously with all of the booking channels however who of you also um like uh uh has some kind of dynamic pricing implemented in their rate structure a couple of hands not not a lot of hands who of you um who a few updates your room rates like less than once per week it's okay you can raise your hands if you do it's like nothing wrong within many hotels just have very static pricing uh can uh like who of you then once per day something like that who of you like much more often every hour of the day continuously no hands okay interesting because um hey everybody always wants to sell the room for the best price right and uh for the best price on that moment for that room on the best channel for that moment and well you need to do that on autopilots because um because sorry um because um what defines the best price like how what is the best price for your room what do you take into account yeah so um how much availability you have left how much room do you have left to sell if there's events what the competition is doing if they're sold out if they're increasing or decreasing your prices because pricing is always relative uh to then of course your competition um but also um yeah so it's basically supply and demand that defines the probability that you sell your room let's call it room cell probability but that room cell probability is fluid right that changes continuously because at any reservation that comes in with either your hotel or your competitor that might change any time of the day that might change because you continuously have less time to sell that room um so there's so much continuously happening so this like room pricing in my opinion is the number one thing that everybody every Hotel should run on autopilots because that is not that is not a human task like computers can do this way better because your system already knows your occupancy uh how much time there's left to sell the room um can load in the competitor rates or availability really easily so it can continuously analyze all of that data and every second of the day if if need be if your room cell probability uh can suggest that a better price is available to sell your room for either lower to increase occupancy or higher um well because you can and to make up for the discounts that you're giving on the other side it's a no-brainer guest communication should be all running on autopilot right at least everything that you can predict every guest that's coming into your hotel wants to have a confirmation of their reservation don't send them manually please that's something like very predictable you can once off write an amazing reservation confirmation and then have it sent out automatically with any reservation that comes in comes in same thing for the pre-stay email like maybe a day in in advance send your guests an email uh hey this is uh this is how the check-in works this is how the parking Works uh all of that same thing we're for checking out um uh after after stay for instance hey thanks for staying with us did you enjoy your stay please click here to leave your review on TripAdvisor did you not enjoy your stay please don't leave the review but contact us because we like to make it right I would like to understand how we can improve and by the way if you're coming back ever again to this town then please use this discount codes to book directly which makes both you and me happy have that running continuously on autopilot don't don't ever send those meals manually it is uh hoteliers everybody in your hotel should have your hands free to pamper the guests what a computer cannot do um also specifically highlighted uh like different shades maybe per booking Channel if the guest already was with you before uh Hey Thomas welcome back you know it's that's also Hospitality that is where autopilot automation can really enhance that guest experience because your system already knows that they have been saying before they know better than any of your stuff by hats at that moment and part of that pre-stay email that's that email that was that is being sent out before um your your guests arrive why don't you offer them an online check-in also also just automating that process right and it's not for every guest so it depends maybe maybe well to in in an extent of that answer maybe automation works best in some areas of your hotel but it also just works best for some guests better than other younger guests maybe are more comfortable with using technology in their guest experience than typically the older generation just more attack more tech savvy people right but but Alfred let your guests make the choice to what extent they like to involve technology in their guest Journey whatever makes them happy whatever works for them personally I really like to be able to do an online check-in also at the airport I really like to just I don't know fill in my details before when I'm at home when it's inconvenient time for me or when I'm waiting somewhere uh anyway and then just I don't know like scan my QR code and and walk in same thing in a hotel I would always do an online check-in um I'll typically do it at the airport if I'm flying somewhere if the hotel offers an online check-in I would when I have my passport in my hand anyway uh while I'm traveling then I'll just scan it in the online check-in application from the hotel if they have one so it just makes my guest Journey more in my control more on my terms and for me much more smoother and time efficient additionally where the magic happens for a hotelier so those that are that experience an online check-in as Gus as guest Journey enhancing um you know it's a win for them um but it can be at the same time also in for you as a hotelier because you free up your front desk stuff because they don't have to do that potentially lengthy check-in with scanning the ID and all of that but it also automates the upsell um possibility the potential at that point if I'm sitting there at that at that gate and I'm doing that online check-in for my destination then maybe that is a great a great moment for me to really take some time and see like oh actually do I maybe want to book a like an extra breakfast maybe even for a lower fee because I book it in advance do I wanna book already that late checkouts or that massage or anything that they offer me we see that at this moment there's a much bigger likelihood that the guests actually chooses for that upsell for that extra service that you might add then being asked on the spot at the front desk for instance so this just it's it's uh it's guest experience enhancing and it's Revenue increasing for the hotelier uh same thing for room upgrades for instance offer them a rune upgrade if a day before the guest actually arrives you ask them hey do you maybe four a very attractive discounts want to upgrade your standard double that you have boots to your premium Deluxe Suites more premium room um there's a good possibility then that that's guest and at that moment besides like hey let's do it again guests and they will have an increased guest experience you know there's more Revenue coming from that same guest because they're staying in a more expensive room with the same cost price for you probably more or less but the real magic happens is that at that moment frees up your standard double to be sold and you still have a day to sell it whereas if you only do offer that upsell on the spot at actually check-in then you then you have well if it's a later check-in then you don't have any window anymore to sell that that standard double that cheaper room which is much more likely for you to sell than that more expensive room autopilot no-brainer at the same uh time you can do that ID capturing so it's just a button for instance that just scans the idea and takes a pain out of data entry or waiting in the in in the line payments maybe there needs to be a prepayment done uh still which is would normally be part of your online ticket or of of your front desk check-in offer that payment online everybody these days has kind of their I don't know Apple pay or their their payment method on their device and especially the younger generation that is more comfortable with this technology would love to make that payment rather from their device uh than queuing up for it at the front desk potentially uh Hey and you got your money earlier as well nice Plus and then finally uh especially if there's a prepayment involved and you have a door lock system in uh installed that can issue a digital room case which is more and more the case as well then go ahead and issue that room key whether it's a code or a QR code or maybe uh like one of these uh links that this web app opens and they can press and open Button there's many of these fancy room lock systems if you want to know more on this exhibition today then let's move the guest journey to what happens during the stay restaurant integration restaurants bars and this this lady here doesn't look like she has a wallet on her right I mean what about that magic uh super Hospitality minded question you'd like to charge it to the room rather than paid on the spots this lady will probably consume more when it's charged to the room automatically um it's uh it's it's guest experience enhancing you you remove that that potential friction um so good Revenue increasing guest Journey enhancing and just make sure that always your POS that actually at this moment um well processes this transaction automatically sends its Revenue to your PMS almost every POS or PMS in the world is able to do this so make sure that you use it you don't want to have anybody walking around with slips from the POs to the front desk they will get lost this will be uh this will be messy there will be questions about it during the checkout uh like hey what's like might be entered differently in the system at the checkout that is confusing next who of you uses vccs who of you doesn't know what a VCC is maybe better question first to ask VCC is the booking.com Expedia or Agoda virtual credit cards that they issue to the to you as a hotelier if the if they already collected the payment on the moment of booking every VCC is loaded with a balance with Expedia it's already excluded the commission with booking.com it's still including the commission you'll pay it later um and with a date that's that VCC is being activated from that date on there's like one second to the other it just opens up and it becomes chargeable do you want yourself or your front desk stuff to always every day get a moment for yourself and go through all of these vccs and charge them manually autopilot top material this is the stuff that that that everybody should be running on autopilot in my opinion it's just a computer candy stuff way like can do this stuff way better than you again your front desk stuff should be there should be available to the guests when they ever need you don't go do this tedious administrative tasks another um yeah plus of this your money will be coming in uh sooner as well right the sooner you charge them the sooner they'll be paid out on your bank accounts and then finally and this is actually a scoop that I'm very excited about uh just on this show today we we as a system launched this one the online checkout um very exciting for us if you want to see how it works in room Recon stand this available for the rest of the day but here um why would you not as part of of that guest unit during a stay a little bit before the guests are normally would check out preferably the night before um already invite them on their device so through email or so and ask them hey tomorrow morning you should check out this is how it works just maybe as a reminder it's a nice guest communication anyway and then ask them uh was there anything uh extra that you consumed from the minibar but in case that you already know because the FMB consumption was already well posted by the POS towards your PMS so there is already a known open balance maybe the city Tech still needs to be covered maybe there is just a remaining amount that needs to be paid anyway uh because it wasn't paid on check-in that due amounts why don't you just allow that your guests to pay it on their own device before they actually um yeah would go to the normal checkout procedure again for that guests that really likes to pay with their own device I am one of them I can assure you there's gonna there every day there's more and more of of them of us um while again also accelerating your cash flow because the money will be coming in sooner uh enhancing your guest experience for for the guests that that are excited about it um and make your whole checkout process smoother less queuing walkouts drop the key see you next time who of you uses an online checkout like this already can you maybe uh if there's a mic here somewhere right and we're going to put you on the spot sorry how about your experience can you maybe share just for the rest to to understand this yes you're the only one yeah well we work with The Muse and with music and automatically put that function on and so all our guests are receiving an email the night before and we're a historical hotel with quite a elderly uh Target group so there's lots of people who don't even read the email or do anything with it and sometimes in the morning I have people just handing in the key and saying all right goodbye and see you next time where they've already done the online checkout and I find it convenient because they have the invoice right away rather than do we still need to email it and type the email address or print it or anything like that so they've got the administration on order yeah and they they just find it convenient so they just have the choice and they like it yeah exactly wow great to hear that your experience is exactly how how it is intended I think so good for the rest I think to have to hear if you don't use it yet use it most of the systems like like ours do offer uh online online checkouts like this who has maybe some questions on challenge me on on running your hotel on autopilots are there things that you struggle with are there considerations are there things that maybe are holding you back uh to to automate let's let's get the mic elderly guests yeah they don't want to do online checking absolutely uh uh and that is that is why I truly believe that you should offer always both it is not a replacement for an online check-in or online checkout is is an addition for the guests that really are up for it uh and are comfortable with it and exit and consider it an added value rather than a pain uh and hey don't don't force your elderly guests to do an online check-in and then have them download an app that they can they can use to enter your room and and do all of the payments on their device uh no they will uh that won't be good so yeah I think the it's we want the Best of Both Worlds ultimately yeah how can you personalize it it's all like there's lots of General options like the general uh pre-registration or the general checkout but what we do want to have the automation also personalized but I I find it difficult as on how much effort do we need to put in manually in order to get the automated personalization this is a very good question I think ultimately uh personalization is a big part of hospitality in general right I think a personalized experience as a guest is a better experience generally um we do know quite a little bit of our guests right I mean we know a lot of their details we know I mean very most basic personalization is referring to somebody as a like sir or ma'am um and and their name we often know if they are they are a returning guest so I think you can adapt your the way that you communicate to a returning guest very differently uh than uh than an absolutely new guest OTA bookings are a little bit more difficult in that regard because they often Supply very limited information and and it's very difficult to recognize if they're a returning guest if a booking comes in Via an OTA like booking.com um what are there specific areas where you would see opportunity or value in personalization what you want to do is both from Hospitality point of view but also from service point of views adjust to whatever whoever is coming so if I want to explain to my coming guests that we rent out bikes it will be easier to do that for leisure guests and for my business guests yeah but then I would need to know whether they're coming for leisure or for business or whether they're elderly or young to do what's the the elderly I would maybe offer my electric bikes as well to the younger ones maybe the other by you know so there's yeah the services and Hospitality uh also with tourist information would I want to give tourist information who don't I want to give tourist information and uh yeah I simply don't know yet on how we can provide it I mean the returning gas is quite an obvious one as long as we got the the automation right but lots of the other things are nearly lots of hand work in order to get it done yeah 900 the more we know about the guests the more we can personalize and I think uh corporate Booker business Booker Leisure Booker these are things that we often know and we can we should probably definitely um like adjust our our communication our automation as much as possible on it dates we almost never know uh that's not information that is being requested typically at bookings so yeah let's let's use what we have to personalize that guest experience we're out of time um thanks thanks a lot for all of your attention happy automating happy autopiloting uh and enjoy the show [Applause]