Today’s hotel guests expect convenience at their fingertips. Whether it’s a smooth check-in, tailored recommendations, or the ability to control their room settings from their smartphone, guest expectations are growing.
For those managing hotel and venue portfolios, it’s no longer just about keeping up—it’s about staying ahead by investing in digital transformation. From omnichannel communication strategies to tech-driven engagement and seamless integrations, digital transformation is reshaping the guest experience at every touchpoint.
So, how can you use digital transformation to enhance guest experiences and stay competitive at scale? Here are seven powerful ways to do just that.
What makes a great guest experience?
A great guest experience is all about creating a seamless, memorable journey from start to finish. Today’s travelers want effortless booking, personalized interactions, and frictionless stays, no matter which property they visit.
When you’re managing multiple properties, however, this is no easy feat. And that’s why technology both improves the workload of your staff and improves the guest experience.
Creating memorable guest journeys with omnichannel strategies
Hotel stays are more than just a comfortable bed and room service. Guests want a personalized experience from the moment they start planning their stay until long after they’ve checked out.
Use omnichannel strategies to create cohesive, effortless guest journeys. Here’s how:
Personalize your communication across touchpoints
Imagine receiving a welcome email tailored to your travel preferences, followed by a text message offering an early check-in option, and then a push notification with personalized dining suggestions once you arrive. This isn’t just good customer service; it’s strategic omnichannel communication that makes guests feel valued.
Craft these personalized messages that resonate using guest data from previous stays and interactions. Whether it’s a birthday greeting with a special discount or post-stay follow-up with tailored recommendations for a future visit, this level of personalization enhances the guest journey and builds brand loyalty.
Event planners also appreciate seamless communication throughout the planning process. Do this by simplifying the process using room diagramming and room blocking technology.
Offer seamless mobile experiences
Today’s travelers are glued to their smartphones, so it’s no surprise that mobile-first experiences are crucial for modern hospitality.
From booking a room to checking in, ordering room service, or even unlocking their room door—all with a few taps on their mobile device—guests expect convenience at every step.
Use mobile apps to provide personalized experiences with features like in-app messaging, location-based offers, and real-time updates on room readiness or event schedules.
This level of connectivity not only enhances convenience but also empowers guests to control their stay on their terms.
The Marriott Bonvoy app is an example of great mobile communication. Guests can use it to check in and access their rooms using their smartphone as a digital key. They can also chat with hotel staff, order room service, and receive personalized recommendations.
Capture loyalty and build connections with tech-driven guest engagement
Gone are the days when a loyalty card and the occasional email were enough to keep guests coming back.
It’s all about unique, interactive experiences that make them feel understood and appreciated. Digital transformation helps you engage guests in exciting new ways, building connections that go beyond a single stay.
Create an interactive loyalty program
Modern travelers seek personalized rewards that resonate with their preferences and lifestyles. Offer tailored incentives, like room upgrades, spa credits, or exclusive experiences that feel uniquely curated for each guest.
Digital loyalty platforms also open the door to gamification, making engagement fun and interactive. For instance, create challenges, like exploring local attractions or dining at on-property restaurants, to earn extra rewards.
These experiential loyalty programs not only enhance guest engagement but also encourage repeat visits.
Hilton Honors, for example, uses personalized offers and gamified challenges to engage guests. Members earn points by completing in-app activities, like booking through the app or exploring local experiences, making loyalty feel more like a personalized adventure than a transaction.
In addition, what if you applied this same digital transformation to your event planner clients? Reward them for repeat business or high-volume bookings. Offer exclusive perks or priority services to strengthen the relationships with planners.
Get creative with immersive digital experiences
Instead of showing a few pictures, what if guests could get a feel for your rooms straight from their phones or laptops? Digital transformation makes this possible through immersive technologies like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Build anticipation and get an edge over your competitors virtual room tours or photo-realistic 3D venue walkthroughs for event planners.
Starhotels, for example, uses Photo-Realistic 3D and Interactive Floor Plans to work better with event planner clients and earn more group business. According to Laura Baroncelli, deputy group director of sales:
“We want to be shortlisted before the others, so showing planners what our meeting rooms look like in various setups and embedding 3D diagrams into our website has attracted more visits and interest. Planners fall in love with it.”
Hyper-personalize your recommendations with AI
What if a guest could receive a personalized spa offer on a rainy day or a dining recommendation that perfectly matches their dietary or taste preferences? Artificial intelligence makes this a reality.
AI-driven personalization uses advanced data analytics to understand guest behavior and preferences, delivering tailored experiences throughout the guest journey. This creates “wow” moments that feel almost magical and builds emotional connections that drive loyalty.
Four Seasons Hotels, for example, uses AI to analyze guest preferences and deliver hyper-personalized recommendations. From customized itineraries to in-room amenities that match guest tastes, the hotel creates a truly bespoke experience.
Create consistency across every stay
Delivering a seamless guest experience across multiple properties is a common challenge for hotel brands, groups, and hospitality management companies. And managing room blocks for groups and events just adds to the difficulty. Room blocking technology simplifies bookings, keeps data flowing smoothly between properties.
For guests, this means a seamless booking process, whether they’re heading to a corporate event in New York or a wedding in Miami. For planners, it means real-time inventory tracking, automated rooming lists, and no more overbookings or manual headaches.
Plus, with strict data privacy rules in play, a solid room block system helps hotels stay compliant and keep guest information secure. Katy Baronitis, Events Manager at the Marriott Marquis Houston spoke to us about using Cvent Passkey:
“The privacy factor for credit cards and sharing that information – and the ability to know that it's in a trusted database – is huge. Using Cvent allows us to focus on hospitality and customer service onsite instead of managing tricky logistics and non-connected systems, and we’ve seen attendee engagement grow exponentially as a result.”
Boost guest satisfaction metrics with integrations
Guests want digital transformation, that’s clear. But there’s a caveat. If you’re going to invest in technology, it needs to be fast, intuitive, and seamless. Whether an event planner is diagramming their event setup with you or a guest is checking into their room, a quick and easy process goes a long way.
Integrating your technologies is the next piece in the puzzle.
Use unified systems for effortless guest interactions
Nothing frustrates guests more than having to repeat themselves—whether it’s their room preference, dietary needs, or loyalty status. Unified systems solve this by connecting every touchpoint, from reservation to checkout, ensuring that guest data flows seamlessly across departments.
Put simply, integrations make it easier for your staff to anticipate guest and event planner needs and deliver proactive, personalized service.
For example, if a guest requests hypoallergenic pillows at check-in, this information should automatically be shared with housekeeping and logged for future stays.
But what about group business? The Cvent Supplier Network, for example, easily integrates into your existing technology stack so RFPs flow from our network into your systems.
Cvent Passkey integrates easily with the CSN and leading central reservation and property management systems, helping you create a unified room blocking experience across multiple properties.
It’s all about making life easier for your staff and clients by providing them simple tools which help them do their jobs efficiently.
The growing demand for smart room technology and contactless solutions
Today’s guests want convenience—and nothing says convenience like smart room technology and contactless solutions.
From voice-activated controls to mobile keys, digital transformation has redefined the in-room experience, offering guests more control and personalization than ever before.
Let guests control the temperature, lighting, or general ambiance or enable voice-commands using smart room technology. Contactless solutions, like mobile check-in/out and digital payments, enhance convenience.
For example, The Wynn Las Vegas uses voice-activated smart rooms powered by Amazon Alexa. Guests can control room lighting, temperature, and entertainment just by speaking.
For event planners, photorealistic 3D diagramming technology gives you the ability to offer virtual site visits of your event space. This is especially useful for clients who live far away or have busy schedules.
The future of hotel digital transformation
Digital transformation in hospitality isn’t slowing down—it’s speeding up. As technology continues to evolve, so do guest expectations.
From anticipating needs before they arise to creating frictionless in-room experiences, the future of hospitality is all about intelligent, personalized, and sustainable solutions. Here’s a look at where digital transformation is heading and how to stay ahead of the curve.
Predictive analytics for anticipating guest needs
Imagine anticipating a guest’s request before they even think to ask. That’s the power of predictive analytics. Anticipate guest needs and upsell proactively by analyzing historical data and real-time behavior. The result? An increase in incremental revenue.
Predictive analytics also enables dynamic personalization, where offers and recommendations change in real-time based on guest interactions. For example, suggesting a relaxing spa treatment after a guest checks into a business suite or offering a late check-out when a guest’s flight is delayed.
For your group segment, predictive analytics enable you to uncover patterns, predict trends, and make smarter, faster decisions. So when you’re wondering how to set rates that convert or what event planners really want, you have the data to tell you.
Voice and gesture technology for enhanced in-room experiences
The future of in-room experiences is hands-free. Voice and gesture technologies are transforming how guests interact with their hotel rooms, making experiences more convenient, intuitive, and personalized.
From adjusting the thermostat to controlling the TV, lights, or even ordering room service, voice and gesture controls create a seamless, touch-free environment that enhances comfort and convenience.
These technologies not only cater to guests’ desire for convenience but also enhance accessibility, providing a more inclusive experience for all travelers.
And as voice assistants become more sophisticated, the potential for hyper-personalization grows. That means even more customized experiences based on guest preferences and past interactions.
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas features a voice-activated concierge named “Rose,” who offers witty, personalized recommendations via text. Meanwhile, hotel chains like YOTEL use smart voice controls for in-room adjustments, creating futuristic guest experiences.
Sustainability through digital solutions
As sustainability becomes a priority for travelers, event planners, and event attendees alike, digital solutions offer a powerful way to reduce your environmental footprint while enhancing the guest experience.
From mobile check-ins and mobile keys to smart energy management systems that optimize lighting and HVAC usage, digital transformation supports eco-friendly practices that resonate with today’s eco-conscious travelers.
Smart room technology, for example, personalizes the guest experience and conserves energy by automatically adjusting lighting and temperature based on occupancy. Digital compendiums replace printed brochures, reducing paper waste, while in-app messaging minimizes the need for printed room service menus and communication materials.
Additionally, smart energy management in event venues minimizes environmental impact, aligning with the growing demand for sustainable events.
Hotel Verde in Cape Town is known as Africa’s greenest hotel, utilizing smart energy management, paperless check-ins, and digital communication to minimize its environmental impact while delivering a personalized guest experience.
Time to embrace digital transformation for better guest experiences
Attendee and event planner expectations are evolving fast. So too must your portfolio’s digital transformation. From using omnichannel strategies to create memorable guest stays to boosting guest satisfaction metrics with integrations, you create personalized, memorable experiences that inspire loyalty and drive revenue at scale.
But it’s not just about technology; it’s about creating human connections through digital touchpoints. When done right, digital transformation helps you anticipate guest needs, exceed expectations, and build emotional connections that last long after check-out.
Next up, discover key ways to increase group business with these strategies and tips.
Olivia Cal
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