The hidden star is now the new gold standard for hotels

By Priyanka Gargav, Head of Commercial, SEA & HK, Adyen

The skies are reopening again, and slowly but surely, many around the world are adjusting to travelling in this new normal. This means hotels in Singapore must adopt a new level of operational agility to keep up with shifting guest expectations of locals and inbound travellers, and evolving technology.

For many hospitality brands, this means being intentional with technology decisions and integrating them without sacrificing the high-touch experience that is often equated with high levels of service excellence. Forget the coveted five-star rating – possessing the hidden star is now the new gold standard in delivering service excellence.

Here are the five factors that will help give hotels in Singapore the edge to deliver the ultimate memorable guest experience and secure that extra star of excellence in 2022 and beyond:

1. Seamless and personalised guest journeys

As safety and hygiene have become a priority for many, seamless and personalised guest journeys are required to adapt to guests’ mobile habits in an increasingly contactless world. To help unify experiences around the customer journeys, across mobile, online, and in-person interactions, hotels will benefit from a single payments platform that can help tie them together.

For example, AccorInvest has redesigned the check-in experience to be contactless and seamless using tokenisation. Guests can check in via their mobile devices prior to their arrival and securely authorise card payments using their virtual check-in. 24 hours prior to their stay, guests will receive a link to check in and have the option to scan a QR code to confirm or directly to the room when they are at the hotel.

1. Facilitating secure transactions using tokenisation

As online transactions become a preferred format of payment, new security and fraud risks continue to emerge. To help mitigate this, hotels in Singapore can look at card tokenisation as it inherently reduces the exposure of sensitive card information. At the point of booking, a guest’s payment data is captured, encrypted and replaced with a secure token for all subsequent purchases.

From that point, guests can be liberated from their cards completely. They can activate any device that has an NFC tag (be it a wearable, an access card, or a room key) to make payments and book services without having to present a card, enter a code, or sign a bill.

For hotel operators, this also means that they can keep your PCI scope to a minimum since the unencrypted card data never touches their systems. secure payment links can also be sent to guests replacing the need to collect card data on the phone or in an email.

1. Delighting beyond expectations

Being able to fulfill guests’ needs without having to ask for their payment details with tokenisation will also take the experience up a notch.

From the point of booking, tokenised guest payment data securely stored in a hotel’s property management system can be easily retrieved for future transactions. Past transaction data can also allow hotel operators to anticipate and provide recommendations tailored to guests’ specific needs and preferences.

Not to mention, tokenisation also allows guests to have a brisk checkout process and allows returning guests to have smoother experiences during their next stay.

Beyond tokenisation, reducing other potential points of friction such as recognising where guests are from or letting them pay with their preferred method and currency are also standard services hotels in Singapore should aim to provide, especially for in-bound travellers.

1. Focus on guests, not processes

Enabling high-tech experiences and digitising the guest journey doesn’t have to detract from delivering high-touch engagement. Instead, frictionless payments will reduce the amount of time spent on manual tasks, freeing up resources and staff to focus on the guests.

For example, tedious processes like night audit, closing terminals, or tallying bank settlements with sales revenue can now be eliminated by moving from standalone payment terminals to a fully integrated payment solution. Some of our hotel partners have indicated saving 8 to 10 hours of manual reconciliation across their channels and properties.

Managing pre-authorisation or using card-on-file to charge tokenised payment cards for common requests such as late check-outs, day use of the room and extended services will become more flexible on an integrated payment platform.

Furthermore, an integrated solution not only connects the front desk, kiosks, rooms, and other departments within the hotel, but is also compatible with property management systems such as Agilysis, Infor, Oracle Hospitality and Shiji. Another plus point is building in the same great experience and streamlining processes across international properties without the hassle of multiple contracts.

1. Delivering personalised experiences using real-time data

Understanding guests’ needs and delivering more personalised experiences is top of any hotel’s agenda.

An integrated solution can help with this as it can provide a unified real-time overview of the performance of all transactions, allowing hotels to optimise conversion as they improve customer experience. Real-time data can tell how well a new dinner menu is performing, or the take-up rate of new services, as well as help hotels identify the opportunities to convert dine-in guests to room guests. These invaluable insights can also help determine future business decisions, such as building highly targeted, customised loyalty programs and promotions.

The payment system when set up right helps to remove complexity by connecting the dots across various touchpoints. It becomes a crucial element to influence a guest’s experience and a key point of differentiation between hotels and their competition, as well as unlocks new revenue streams.

Without a doubt, hotels need to be where the consumers are in order to profit from the trend towards digital and alternative payment options. A combined high-tech and high-touch experience will be the new norm in the trade – and that is where hoteliers will earn their hidden star to be a cut above the rest.