How technology is transforming hotel concierge services once and for all

It is a fact that concierge services are a reference point for all hotels and tourist accommodations. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the whole essence of hospitality relies on them.

Many travelers find it quite difficult to choose from the available -often countless- options when it comes to visiting a foreign destination. In search of new experiences, upon their arrival, the guests of a hotel will most likely turn to the receptionist or maybe another hotel employee in order to provide them with answers to basic relevant questions they have or to suggest activities and reliable options for food or drink.

However, in this way, valuable hours are wasted by the hotelier and the staff, which could be used to carry out other important work within the hotel unit, instead. By leveraging relevant technological solutions which are currently available, a hotel – regardless of size – can easily and efficiently offer 24/7 concierge services to its guests, without spending too much money, thus upgrading the hospitality experience all guests deserve.

In an attempt to find out more about the available innovative solutions regarding the modern concierge services and the multiple benefits they have, we turned to HotelStand and Tourmie, 2 of the startups that have already completed CapsuleT’s Acceleration Program. Both teams have developed online concierge applications.

⇒ Which are the competitive advantages of your solutions, compared to traditional concierges?

HotelStand: It is a fact that the hotel industry remains quite traditional/outdated; just consider how many times you have seen a receptionist giving instructions to a guest, by circling points on a printed map… This situation has been the same for the last 50 years. In addition, even though today’s technology offers efficient solutions (such as TripAdvisor) and the receptionist’s suggestions are often good, the guest’s overall experience still remains old-fashioned. At the same time, we should not omit to mention that a hotel does not receive income by providing such services, since the monetization of this field is impossible without the valuable contribution of technology. Applications, just like ours, not only allow the modernization of the hotel, but also offer access to new revenue streams.

Tourmie: Using our platform, hotels can automate the process of receiving and managing requests for services, expand their network of external partners, as well as increase their profitability from service bookings. Tourmie is changing the traditional concierge services by offering a better experience with instant online bookings that can be carried out just by using a smartphone. Nowadays, hotels can have better overall control, receive updated guest reviews, monitor the sales reports, and ensure payment transparency. This market has started to rapidly grow since 2014, while large tourism-industry companies have already turned their attention in this direction. Moreover, according to a recent research of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, the use of online communication tools in tourism is steadily increasing per year, while forecasts for the upcoming years are showing a 9% increase in the total share of online tools and a 32% increase in direct, online booking tools/systems, as well.

⇒ How did Covid-19 affect concierge and travel services? Did you proceed with optimizations regarding your services, in order to meet the emerging needs?

HotelStand: The replacement of brochures and printed maps by digital/online tools is now imperative and this is not only a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. At HotelStand, we are sure that brochures will completely disappear from hotel lobbies, just like delivery brochures disappeared from our living rooms. Hotels must quickly respond to the specific needs of the modern travelers who are constantly connected with the city, through their smartphone. Thanks to HotelStand’s services, this connection is now possible and reliable, always in collaboration with each hotel’s recommendations.

Tourmie: The pandemic largely affected local experiences, due to social distancing rules. Nonetheless, at the same time hotels inevitably entered the process of redefining the concierge services they offer, by creating unique and personalized experiences. Therefore, after considering the emerging needs of hotels, we proceeded with some adjustments which were based on two main pillars: the customization of our application to meet the corporate identity of each hotel and the creation of a unique tool for finding the best external partners/collaborators for each hotel. In addition, due to the current health protocols, it is obvious that the use of online concierge applications has now become necessary even for the in-house hotel services. In this context, we decided to develop a premium version of our application which meets the new requirements that arise.

A few words about the 2 startups

HotelStand has developed a web platform that helps hoteliers modernize their concierge services, by enabling hotel guests to digitally discover and book tours, activities, and restaurants, recommended by the hotel.

Tourmie is an online concierge application which helps accommodation providers offer personalized services to their guests.