The introduction in September of mobile platforms that guests can download for free on Android and Apple devices will enable Novotel clients to enjoy the virtual concierge’s services while on the move.
One month after the first phase of a global virtual concierge roll-out, Novotel has noted significant increases in guests’ satisfaction levels. Accor’s midscale brandalso reports high levels of adoption across all target demographics. Comments made by guests on social media sites have also been very complimentary.
The Virtual Concierge, which was launched by Novotel in June 2013, is available on a screen in the lobby. Guests can use it to browse through information about the brand and the hotel.
They can also obtain recommendations on places of interest near the hotel (restaurants, museums, etc.); practical information such as the weather forecast and flight information, and a host of other innovative services including sending virtual postcards.
The introduction in September of mobile platforms that guests can download for free on Android and Apple devices will enable Novotel clients to enjoy the virtual concierge’s services while on the move.
This service is being progressively rolled out in 100 Novotel establishments before it is phased in across the entire network. Each of these establishments has curated content to provide their guests with information about the very best that their hotel has to offer, and insider tips about the local surroundings.
Novotel and Monscierge presented the first feedback from hotel guests and staff regarding the Virtual Concierge at HITEC 2013 in Minneapolis, the benchmark event for hospitality technology innovations. The service is unanimously approved by everyone who has used it. For instance, since the Virtual Concierge was installed at the Novotel London West (UK) it has
notched up an average of 800 contacts a day with peaks of over 1,900 a day.
In March, over 1,800 postcards were sent using the device and feedback from hotel staff is positive.
“This solution is powerful and our customers love it. The system is very fluid and flexible in particular for content updates. With this new, simple and intuitive technology, Novotel reflects its commitment to provide guests with an ever more innovative hotel experience” says Sabine Kadyss, Product, Services & Communications Director.
This rapid implementation has been achieved using the Monscierge software framework which enables hotel groups to provide uniform, branded content alongside local hotel information in a single flexible and scalable platform.
“The Monscierge framework is the most advanced we’ve seen,” claims David Esseryk, Accor V.P. of Consumer Technology. “The system is much more than multilingual. It is a feature-rich, multi-region ecosystem that has localised content and functionality far superior to anything else on the market. The synchronisation across multiple types of hardware / guest touch points is seamless.”
With Monscierge’s product line having been built with a flexible framework, Accor is looking ahead to deploying further new technologies in 2014.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
