Let us begin by understanding what is Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence is the umbrella term for any machine which can simulate human intelligence. It basically refers to tasks performed by machines that are generally associated with cognitive functionalities.
One prominent feature of AI is that it can self-correct and fine-tune its algorithms to provide more accurate results. An AI system learns from all kinds of data fed into it and builds upon the existing learnings. The more data is fed into an AI system, the better it gets in dealing with complex issues.
The almost ubiquitous chatbots we see on websites, the smart assistants such as Siri and Alexa, which understand not only the speech patterns but also the connotations, the predictive analytics used in fintech firms, the google maps, google translation, self-driving cars, drones, video surveillance, everything uses AI. All these technologies are used actively by people either at work or for entertainment or to gain information. Thus, it will not be an exaggeration to say that people are used to the latest tech and expect it everywhere.
Various industries have already hopped onto the AI bandwagon, and it will be a blunder for any sector not to leverage the cutting-edge technology to augment its offerings. A survey conducted by Mckinsey showed that 58% of the respondents, which represented the full range of regions, industries, company sizes, functional specialties, and tenures, had utilized AI in at least one business function. Services and Service-operation functions were the top implementers of AI. Hospitality, being a service industry, has also been going through a digital transformation lately and now needs to focus on AI in the coming years.
One of the significant metrics against which a hotel is measured is its capacity to cater to guest demands quickly and efficiently. It is no hidden fact that customers’ preferences and habits have evolved over time, and they are accustomed to quick information service. Most tech-savvy and impatient among the guests are the millennials and GenZ. They use sophisticated gadgets and technologies and spend over $4000 /year on travel. Their tech arsenal is full of the latest gadgets such as the newest smartphones, laptops, voice-activated speakers and whatnot. Generally speaking, the wait time for someone well versed in technology is extremely low. Even the minutest latency in issue redressals leads to a significant drop in customer satisfaction.
AI chatbots can be helpful with instant query resolution and on multiple other fronts. It can be implemented to understand a variety of data points and perform predictive recommendation tasks. The more an AI chatbot is functional, the more it learns from the data and gets better at dealing with complex queries. Several high-end hotels have already implemented digital concierges. These AI concierges perform unparalleled services, as found out by an Oracle study which states- “an average of 70% of the guest queries is now handled by AI-enabled response technology in hotels that have already implemented the AI”. In financial terms, 89% of the hoteliers agree that AI significantly reduced the hotel’s operating costs.
Machine Learning can be used for analytics to understand digital patterns. Guests leave their digital footprints everywhere: while paying at an eatery, at the gym in a hotel, or booking other services through the hotel concierges, etc. AI enables the hotels to convert this information into insights. For example, if a guest uses the gym facilities regularly on his stay, it will make sense to expect similar behavior from him on the next stay as well. In terms of personalization, offering this guest gym-related complimentary services such as a spa/sauna will make sense rather than offering something completely unrelated to his interests. Thus, the algorithm gives the hotel an added advantage to map the personal taste and behavioral traits of a customer with cross-selling and up-selling opportunities.
AI/ML is used in many other ways to strengthen the offerings of the Hospitality Industry:
To conclude, although the hospitality industry was late to the AI party, it is now implementing and experimenting a lot with it. Now that people are vaccinated and traveling, it is imperative for hotels to implement the latest technologies. They must do so not only to beat their competitors but also to satisfy the evolving needs of their customers. Although, currently, most AI technologies gain attraction only for novelty purposes rather than their usability, any tech that doesn’t involve an AI element will be considered obsolete in the coming days. Similarly, any service sector not implementing AI will struggle to survive because customer experience and quality of service are of paramount importance in the current business landscape.
Hebu tuanze kwa kuelewa nini ni Akili bandia. Akili bandia ni neno la jumla kwa ajili ya mashine yoyote ambayo inaweza kuiga akili ya binadamu. Kimsingi inahusu kazi zinazofanywa na mashine ambazo kwa ujumla zinahusishwa na utendaji wa utambuzi. Moja ya sifa kuu ya AI ni kwamba inaweza kujirekebisha na kurekebisha algorithms zake kutoa matokeo sahihi zaidi. Mfumo wa AI hujifunza kutoka kwa aina zote za data zinazopelekwa ndani yake na hujenga juu ya kujifunza zilizopo. Kadiri data inavyopelekwa kwenye mfumo wa AI, ndivyo inavyokuwa bora katika kushughulikia masuala magumu. "Kama vile ""chatbots"" ambazo zinapatikana kila mahali, ""msaidizi"" kama Siri na Alexa, ambao wanaelewa sio tu mifumo ya mazungumzo lakini pia maana, ""analytics ya utabiri"" inayotumiwa katika kampuni za teknolojia ya fedha, ""ramani za Google,"" ""utafsiri wa Google,"" ""magari ya kujiongoza,"" ""drones,"" ""kufuatilia video,"" ""kila kitu.""" Teknolojia hizi zote hutumiwa kikamilifu na watu ama kazini au kwa burudani au kupata habari. Kwa hiyo, si jambo la kupita kiasi kusema kwamba watu wamezoea teknolojia ya kisasa na wanatarajia iwepo kila mahali. Viwanda mbalimbali tayari vimeingia kwenye bandwagon ya AI, na itakuwa kosa kwa sekta yoyote kutotumia teknolojia ya hali ya juu ili kuongeza matoleo yake. Uchunguzi uliofanywa na McKinsey ulionyesha kuwa 58% ya waliohojiwa, ambao waliwakilisha safu kamili ya mikoa, viwanda, ukubwa wa kampuni, taaluma za kazi, na nafasi, walikuwa wametumia AI katika kazi moja ya biashara. Huduma na kazi za uendeshaji wa huduma zilikuwa watendaji wa juu wa AI. Ukarimu, kuwa sekta ya huduma, pia imekuwa ikipitia mabadiliko ya dijiti hivi karibuni na sasa inahitaji kuzingatia AI katika miaka ijayo. Moja ya vipimo muhimu dhidi ya ambayo hoteli ni kipimo ni uwezo wake wa kukidhi mahitaji ya wageni haraka na kwa ufanisi. Ni ukweli uliofichwa kwamba upendeleo na tabia za wateja zimebadilika kwa muda, na wamezoea huduma ya habari ya haraka. Wengi tech-savvy na impatient miongoni mwa wageni ni millennials na GenZ. Wanafanya kazi kwa kutumia vifaa vya hali ya juu na kutumia zaidi ya dola 4,000 kwa mwaka kwa ajili ya kusafiri. Vifaa vyao vya teknolojia vimejaa vifaa vya kisasa kama vile simu za mkononi mpya, kompyuta ndogo, wasemaji wa sauti na mengineyo. Kwa ujumla, muda wa kungojea mtu anayejua vizuri teknolojia ni mfupi sana. Hata latency minutest katika masuala ya kurekebisha inaongoza kwa kushuka kwa kiasi kikubwa katika kuridhika kwa wateja. Chatbots za AI zinaweza kusaidia na ufumbuzi wa maswali ya papo hapo na katika pande zingine nyingi. Inaweza kutekelezwa kuelewa aina mbalimbali ya pointi data na kufanya kazi ya mapendekezo ya utabiri. Kwa sababu ya uwezo wake wa AI, chatbot ina uwezo wa kujifunza zaidi kutoka kwa data na kupata bora katika kushughulikia maswali magumu. Hoteli kadhaa za hali ya juu tayari zimetumia wasimamizi wa digital. "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika utafiti wa Oracle, ""Wakati wa 70% ya maswali ya wageni sasa yanashughulikiwa na teknolojia ya majibu ya AI katika hoteli ambazo tayari zimetekeleza AI.""" Kwa upande wa kifedha, asilimia 89 ya wamiliki wa hoteli wanakubali kwamba AI imepunguza gharama za uendeshaji wa hoteli. Mafunzo ya mashine yanaweza kutumika kwa uchambuzi kuelewa mifumo ya dijiti. Wageni huacha alama zao za dijiti kila mahali: wakati wa kulipa kwenye mkahawa, kwenye mazoezi ya mwili katika hoteli, au kuhifadhi huduma zingine kupitia wasimamizi wa hoteli, nk. AI inasaidia hoteli kubadilisha habari hii kuwa ufahamu. Kwa mfano, ikiwa mgeni hutumia vifaa vya mazoezi ya mwili mara kwa mara wakati wa kukaa kwake, itakuwa na maana kutarajia tabia kama hiyo kutoka kwake wakati wa kukaa kwake kwa mara ya pili. Kwa upande wa ubinafsishaji, kutoa huduma za ziada zinazohusiana na mazoezi ya mwili kama vile spa au sauna itakuwa na maana badala ya kutoa kitu kisichohusiana kabisa na maslahi yake. Kwa hivyo, algorithm inatoa hoteli faida ya ziada ya ramani ya ladha ya kibinafsi na tabia ya mteja na fursa za kuuza msalaba na kuuza juu. AIML inatumika kwa njia nyingine nyingi kuimarisha matoleo ya sekta ya ukarimu: Kwa kumalizia, ingawa sekta ya ukarimu ilikuwa marehemu kwa chama cha AI, sasa ni kutekeleza na majaribio mengi na hiyo. Sasa kwa kuwa watu wamepigwa chanjo na kusafiri, ni lazima kwa hoteli kutekeleza teknolojia za kisasa. Lazima wafanye hivyo si tu kushinda washindani wao bali pia kutosheleza mahitaji yanayobadilika ya wateja wao. Ingawa, kwa sasa, teknolojia nyingi za AI hupata kivutio tu kwa madhumuni ya uvumbuzi badala ya matumizi yao, teknolojia yoyote ambayo haijumuishi kipengele cha AI itachukuliwa kuwa ya kizamani katika siku zijazo. Kwa hivyo, sekta yoyote ya huduma ambayo haitekelezi AI itapambana kuishi kwa sababu uzoefu wa wateja na ubora wa huduma ni muhimu sana katika mazingira ya biashara ya sasa.