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The future is here for the hospitality industry! Technology is advancing by leaps and bounds and today’s guests are so accustomed to the convenience and customizability of high tech solutions that digital integration is becoming an expectation wherever they travel.

For many hoteliers, this demand is being heard loud and clear going into the new year. The average percent of revenue budgeted for tech investments grew from 3.5% to 4% between 2016 and 2017 and it’s projected that this year will see 61% of hotels increasing their IT budget even further. That said, with so many tech advancements on the market finding the right ones to invest in continues to be a struggle for some.

While there’s no correct answer for all hotels when it comes to digital integration, there are definite trends in the technology that hoteliers are finding the most value from. With that in mind, we dove into Hospitality Technology’s 2018 Lodging Technology study to learn what tech innovations are going to be checking in to hotels everywhere this year.

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Mobile Convenience & Expectations

A major 2018 goal for hoteliers remains increased and improved guest engagement that carries them from acquisition through check-out and beyond. It comes as no surprise then that technology that promises a more seamless guest experience is a clear front-runner for investment.

To achieve such an experience, the majority of hotels are planning a heavy 2018 investment into mobile innovations. In-app check-in/out, itinerary management, and personal concierge services all topped this year’s hospitality tech wishlist according to Hospitality Technology. The number one focus for all respondents working to improve the digital guest experience, however, was an increased investment in mobile and personalized marketing.

These investments are directly in line with previous research published by HT that found more than half of hotel guests are now expecting mobile integration to be as much a part of their stay as mini bottles of shampoo are.

Image via: Hospitality Net

Guest Experience Analytics

Know your guest and you’ll always know how to earn their business. This year, hotels are taking that message to heart with 36% of hoteliers reporting an investment in predictive analytics software. This technology assesses literally millions of data points from guest experiences and interactions to predict future guest behavior and drive more guest acquisition (through targeted marketing efforts) and retention (through impactful loyalty programs).

At the same time, many in the hospitality industry are expanding how they collect guest data with investments in Internet of Things platforms. In fact, the number of hotels reporting a focus on IoT has doubled from last year’s HT study, suggesting a significant growth in device connectivity this year and in the years to come.

Image via: Hospitality Technology

Security through Sophistication

According to Verizon’s 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report, last year the hospitality industry saw over 200 data breaches. Of these, 87% originate as point of sale intrusions. These data breaches are especially enticing for hackers as they represent a fairly quick means of entry with a comparatively long time-to-discovery and containment.

In response, hoteliers are slowly-but-surely increasing and enhancing their security systems and processes. Hospitality Technology’s research finds eight distinct security practices gaining heavy investment in 2018. In fact, three particular points of growth: self-assesses for PCI compliance, regular system and processes tests, and credit card tokenization are being introduced or reinforced at over half of all responding hotels!

With technology rapidly growing in sophistication and connectivity, guests are going to expect security measures like these to keep pace.

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