smart hotel solutions and trends overview

Key Takeaways

  • Smart hotel technology enhances guest experience by automating check-ins, check-outs, and in-room controls, and offering contactless options for a smoother stay.
  • 65% of hotel guests will prefer hotels with smart room features.
  • The travel industry is moving toward sustainability, with 53% of travelers seeking smart hotel solutions that blend comfort and eco-friendly features.
  • The smart hospitality market, valued at $24.2B in 2024, is projected to grow at a 20.74% CAGR, reaching $75.3B by 2030.

The impact of smart hotel solutions transcends the pure need for innovation in the hospitality sector. Now, technology-backed services, from automated room controls to contactless payments and communication, have become the new normal, with modern tourists expecting new, advanced experiences.

Hilton’s Surveys revealed that 80% of travelers prioritize booking their trips entirely online, and 93% believe that hotel stays can make or break their travel experience. In other words, technologies are what form memorable experiences, where the latter becomes a direct monetization source for modern hoteliers.

Recognized as a top hospitality app and web development company by Clutch, Acropolium has been monitoring the latest traveler desires and hotel tech trends. With years of delivering unique hospitality software solutions, we have identified the most impactful technical approaches that reimagine hotel operations.

Today, we’re giving the ultimate overview of the latest smart hotel technology, sharing tangible real-world implementation examples and our own success stories.

What is Smart Hotel Technology?

smart hotel technology market predictions

The term “smart” in the hospitality context refers to a set of technologies that mimic human intelligence. Smart hotels leverage advanced tech approaches to streamline operations, like using hotel room automation and chatbots to improve efficiency and accelerate service. This way, hospitality businesses strengthen their reputation with enhanced guest experience by providing more convenience and personalized services.

Thus, valued at $24.2B in 2024, the smart hospitality market is poised to grow at a CAGR of 20.74% to $75.3B by 2030.

Smart hotels invest in the Internet of Things (IoT), AI/ML technologies, mobile app development, and smart room features to provide seamless, comfortable, and efficient stays. Now, let’s see which essential components turn a hotel into a smart leisure provider.

Key Components of Smart Hotel Technology

hotel room technology components and features

Designed to improve guest experience, smart hotel solutions encompass significant functionalities that make stays as smooth as possible. This includes automating routine activities like check-ins and check-outs, remote in-room controls, and contactless solutions.

Smart Room Technology

Today, it’s anticipated that 65% of hotel guests will prefer staying in hotels equipped with smart room features. Smart hotel rooms enhance guest comfort by allowing personalized settings for lighting, temperature, and even mattress firmness.

They offer seamless entertainment through integration with personal streaming accounts and easy control via voice commands or apps, making the entire stay more convenient and tailored to individual preferences.

Check-in and Check-out Automation

Contactless or hotel digital check-in solutions help hoteliers comply with security protocols and prepare for future outbreaks while optimizing the check-in process. But what is digital check-in at hotels from the guest’s perspective? These systems capture more customer data, even from guests booking through OTA’s, enhancing marketing efforts.

Contactless hotel mobile check-ins and checkouts, in turn, enhance the guest experience by allowing easy late checkout requests, improving comfort and housekeeping efficiency. An advanced hotel check-out system also prompts guests to leave reviews during checkouts, helping hotel staff address any issues before the guest leaves and maintain positive ratings.

Sustainability-focused Smart Solutions

The travel industry is shifting toward sustainability, with 53% of travelers seeking smart hotel solutions that combine comfort with eco-friendly features. Many prefer nature-inspired interiors, as 65% desire green spaces and plants in their stays. Sustainability has become a lifestyle, with 60% of travelers eager for app rewards that encourage eco-friendly choices.

Voice-activated Assistants and Room Control Apps

Hotel voice assistants like Alexa in rooms allow guests to adjust lighting, music, and temperature from the comfort of their beds, offering a more personalized and convenient in-room experience.

Using such hotel room technology, guests can also remotely activate settings, such as turning on the air conditioning before arrival, enhancing comfort and creating a seamless, elevated guest experience.

Contactless Payment Solutions

Contactless payments offer benefits for both guests and hotel businesses by providing speed and enhanced safety through mobile wallets or contactless cards.

For guests, these payments reduce physical cash handling and minimize contact, leading to a smoother experience across services like room service and dining. In fact, keyless entry typically boosts guest satisfaction scores by an average of 7%.

For hotels, contactless payments streamline transactions, cut down on staff time and checkout queues, and improve cash flow with faster, safer data processing.

Benefits of Implementing Smart Hotel Technology

smart hotel software implementation benefits

By developing custom hospitality solutions, hoteliers can not just cover a wider spectrum of guest needs and wants, but get tools for business scalability and data-driven growth.

Personalized Guest Experiencess

Implementing smart technology in the hotel industry enables businesses to offer highly personalized guest experiences. Through data collection and analysis, hotels can tailor services, room settings, and recommendations like local tours or food delivery to individual preferences. As a result, such a personalized approach adds to guest satisfaction and loyalty.

Housekeeping Optimization

Smart hotel solutions streamline housekeeping operations by using real-time data to track room occupancy and cleanliness status. This allows for more efficient scheduling, reduces idle time, and ensures that rooms are cleaned timely, improving overall operational efficiency.

Predictive Maintenance

With smart sensors and IoT devices, hotels can monitor equipment performance and predict possible maintenance checks before issues occur. This proactive approach reduces downtime, extends the life of assets, and prevents costly emergency repairs.

Upselling Opportunities and Dynamic Pricing

A digitized hotel operation strategy contributes to dynamic pricing and personalized upselling opportunities. By analyzing guest behavior and market trends through e-commerce hotel software, hoteliers can adjust prices in real time and offer tailored upgrades or services, thus maximizing revenue.

Data-Driven Insights

Smart hotel software, be it a booking system, CRM or PMS, collects and analyzes big volumes of data to give insights into guest preferences, operational efficiency, and market trends. Achieved with big-data algorithms, these insights empower hotels to make informed decisions, optimize services, and sharpen their competitive edge.

Stronger Security

Smart hotel solutions enhance cybersecurity through advanced systems like keyless entry, facial recognition, and real-time monitoring. These technologies not only improve safety for guests and staff but also streamline access control and reduce the risk of unauthorized entry.

Top Technologies in Smart Hotels

trending smart hotel technology solutions compilation

Now that you know how smart technology is changing hotel industry operations, let’s explore the most disruptive advancements that hospitality and tourism companies implement nowadays.

Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT technology in smart hotels connects various devices and systems throughout the property, enabling seamless communication and automation. It allows for real-time monitoring of hotel operations, from HVAC systems and lighting to occupancy sensors and smart locks. This connectivity enhances guest convenience, optimizes energy usage, and improves overall operational efficiency by allowing staff to manage and control devices remotely and respond to issues proactively.

Also, this smart hotel technology meets the increasing demand for sustainability in the hospitality industry. IoT systems can monitor and optimize energy use, reducing environmental impact.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence and machine learning in hotels enhance decision-making and automate routine tasks. AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants provide instant guest support, while ML algorithms analyze vast amounts of data to predict guest preferences, optimize pricing, and personalize services.

These technologies also enable predictive maintenance by identifying patterns that indicate potential equipment failures. Consequently, hotels can address issues before they impact the guest experience.

Digital Guest Experience Platforms

Using travel APIs, digital guest experience platforms integrate various aspects of a hotel stay into a single, user-friendly interface accessible via mobile apps or in-room tablets. These platforms let guests check in and out, order room service, control room settings, communicate with staff, and access personalized recommendations.

Smart Room Controls

Smart hotel rooms empower guests to personalize their room environment using intuitive interfaces, such as mobile apps or voice commands. These controls allow for adjustments to light, temperature, entertainment systems, and window shades.

Furthermore, smart room controls can automatically adjust settings based on occupancy or time of day, contributing to energy efficiency and a more sustainable hotel operation.

Real-World Examples of Smart Hotel Solutions

Many hotels and tourist companies globally invest in smart hotel technology, and most of them share fantastic results in terms of guest satisfaction and operational efficiency:

  • For example, Hilton’s “Connected Room” allows guests to control room settings such as temperature, lighting, and entertainment using the Hilton Honors Hotel mobile check-in app. This initiative started in 2019 and has expanded to more rooms each year, offering a more personalized guest experience.

  • CitizenM hotels also have embraced a fully contactless experience through their hotel check-in application, where guests access their rooms and control in-room features like lights and entertainment.

  • At the same time, there’s Marriott’s IoT Guestroom Lab that is focused on creating the guestroom of the future using IoT. Here, guests can similarly control room settings and request services via voice commands, providing a seamless, tech-driven experience.

  • In 2016, Wynn Resorts announced the integration of Amazon Alexa devices into all of their Las Vegas hotel rooms. This technology allows guests to control various aspects of their environment, including lighting, climate control, in-room entertainment, and window coverings, simply by using voice commands through Alexa, improving convenience and overall guest satisfaction.

Why Choose Acropolium?

Applying over 20 years of client-centric bespoke software development services for industries worldwide, our company has been repeatedly mentioned by globally renowned reviewing platforms. Having delivered 45+ solutions to hotel businesses, Acropolium is recognized by Clutch as a top IT service company for the hospitality and leisure industries.

In every IT outsourcing project, we prioritize the client’s unique objectives, striving to address their challenges and turn them into tangible results. Below, we’re sharing some of our impressive success cases that amplified hotel business operations.

Hotel Revenue Management Software

Our client, a leading high-end hotel management company, oversees numerous prestigious properties, focusing on delivering an unparalleled guest experience. To stay competitive and maintain high guest satisfaction, they sought a scalable solution for hotel revenue optimization to handle growing stay volumes and ensure continuous data clarity.

Solution

Our team adopted an agile approach and smart hotel technology, starting with client interviews to define requirements and creating a detailed functional specification. Acropolium’s managers then proposed a development roadmap with work divided into sprints:

  • We focused on building data integration for diverse sources, advanced algorithms for precise demand forecasting, and optimized real-time pricing.
  • Infrastructure was scaled using AWS, PostgreSQL, and Apache Kafka, with intuitive UI/UX designs for hotel managers.
  • After thorough testing, we launched a robust hotel revenue management solution with ongoing user training and support.

Results

  • Implementing the data integration system has boosted our client’s room occupancy by 15% and increased revenue by 18% through dynamic pricing.
  • The system also enhanced overall efficiency by 20%, streamlining workflows and supporting better strategic decision-making.

Hotel Management System

Our client needed to integrate smart hotel software systems, including PMS and booking tools, into their platform, with a focus on enhancing hotel reservation software features. Additionally, we had to incorporate a B2B module into their hotel management to connect hotel networks with enterprise protocols for online booking systems.

Solution

After analyzing the client’s inquiry, industry trends, and available technology, we developed a robust e-commerce platform:

  • This platform enabled smooth integration with existing hotel software and additional communication channels.
  • We established automatic reservation data entry from booking platforms and facilitated two-way real-time data exchange for users without internal hotel software.
  • Overall, our dedicated team ensured accessibility in various countries.

- Results

  • The development solution enabled seamless integration for 12 large and medium hotel networks, leading to an 82% increase in booking platform connections.
  • The client expanded the customer base by 9.7%.
  • This contributed to a 14.5% growth in annual recurring revenue.

Final Thoughts

Smart hotel solutions are designed to not only satisfy the growing demands of modern travelers but also to help businesses maintain their competitiveness and thrive. By embracing contactless technology, automating routine services with AI/ML, and leveraging interconnected modules of IoT, hoteliers take a future-proof step in the ever-changing market.

Acropolium is here to be your trusted partner on your way to hotel digitization. From big data and advanced algorithms to IoT and voice assistance, we have the expertise to elevate your operations. Prioritizing compliance, data security, and agility, we help to adopt smart room technology in hotels to help you reach the market faster with your budget in mind.

We offer a flexible subscription-based cooperation model, where you subscribe to innovations at a monthly fee. Contact us, and let’s see how we can boost your operations!

Sources of Information