Touchless Guest Control

ultimate guest control

01 Research

Mobile device

85% of international travelers have a mobile device while exploring the world, so it is no surprise that 70% of guests want to use their smartphones to speed up the check-in process (from hotelspeak.com)
I read articles about companies that have developed smart products aimed at creating a Full hospitality experience in the digital world, in addition to reading the responses of hotel owners, which began to install similar systems in their hotels and offer them as part of their hospitality features.
I spoke with several people and read responses online in order to better understand the needs of travelers and how their experience can be upgraded during their stay at the hotel by using smart technologies and applications.

Hilton Honors App, zaplox, hospitalitynet, ANTfor, criton, hotelspeak,

02 User interviews

Noa

25 years old, live in Karmiel, loves technology and gadgets, tries trendy things.
Stayed at the low-cost WOM Hotel, which it designed for backpackers and young guys. A hotel that is the cheapest and coolest.
"I only used the necessary things like lights, opening the room door and an air conditioner. I liked that you can control via your mobile phone and not have to get up to control. I loved that I could open the door of the room remotely, even if I was in another city. I did not like that it was impossible to transfer the app user to someone else who would use the room locally.
I did not like that there was a malfunction in the hotel's front door and there was no way to open the door using the app and we did not update the app. I talked on the phone with the person in charge and opened the door manually, but it required a lot of hassle. I would be happy if there was an option to contact directly via chat to the hotel's Employee, that it was a receptionist.
That the app will send an alert when you come to clean."

Nira

33 years old, lives in Tel Aviv. Loves luxurious hotels, does not get along with technology. Stayed during the Corona at the prestigious Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Jerusalem, part of the Hilton Group. "There are so many lamps that you always get confused about which switch belongs to which lamp. You can get up in the middle of the night, and try to turn on the light in the bathroom, and in the end, it turns on the main light and wakes up the person sleeping in the room. Only in the last day of my stay, when I cleaned the mirror from the steams in the shower to put on makeup, I discover that there is a TV inside the mirror! And that you can put on music and watch TV in the shower. Really Cool, and it's a shame they did not let me know about this feature at the beginning of their stay. "At every hotel when I arrive, I immediately call the reception and order more soaps and towels. I would be happy to stop this ceremony at any hotel and honestly, they would know my preferences without this fuss."

Anna

42 years old, lives in the USA. Travels a lot regularly all over the world and therefore tries to maintain some regularity. "For every hotel and trip I bring with me a regular bag that has the things that make me feel at home - like my favorite imperfection, facial soap, blindfold, etc. so that I feel at home even when I travel. I would be happy if I had the option to customize some things in the room according to my needs: for example because I drink tea and not coffee, I would be happy to have a tea room and a kettle waiting for me instead of a luxury coffee machine that I will not use. On my last vacation in China, when I got to the room, it was frozen, and until now, I could not understand what was written on the signs there. If international icons were used it would have been easier for me to know how to use the signs. When I get to a hotel room, I know what I need in advance - quiet, darkness, a pleasant temperature to sleep. I would be happy if I could adjust these preferences before I get to the hotel. "

03 Defining the problem
and its solution

1. Covid-19- Safe environment for employees

Since the Covid-19 outbreak, hoteliers have suffered severe capital losses and as the market slowly recovers, they are facing the difficult challenge of how to provide a safe environment for guests and employees while maintaining high-quality services and keeping operational expenses low.

2. Guest interaction

Guests don't want to interact with other people. During the Corona pandemic, guests wish to continue receiving high-quality service from the hotel on the one hand, and on the other hand, are interested in minimizing their contact and physical proximity with hotel staff.

3. Touchless experience

Guests are looking into minimizing contact with objects that were used by other people. (For example - pressing the dialing buttons of the room’s phone when calling reception or room services, pressing light switches, remote controls, etc.)

4. Hotel automation

Users know how to operate the remote controls and lighting settings in their own homes to their satisfaction, oftentimes matters get complicated in hotels (they don’t understand the air conditioning system, which switch is connected to which feature, how to change channels on the TV, etc.). Therefore, by using a user-friendly, simple app, guests can control all settings and room features with ease.

5. Interactive service

Uncertainty regarding when service will be provided- guests call the reception in order to receive a certain services; sometimes they are put on hold and are then uncertain about when the service will be provided.
The feature I suggested in the Hotel app allows guests to send requests (for example- more towels), receive an indication that the request has been accepted, and can then track the time it will take for the service to be provided to them. This will reduce the guest’s stress levels, save any additional calls and/or duplicity for the receptionists, and improve the guest’s user-experience and overall stay at the hotel.

04 Guest Journey

1. Pre-Stay

Guests book their stay through the app.

2. Arrival Day

Contactless mobile check-in, guest registration, preauthorization and mobile key. no physical handling of key cards.

3. During The Stay

Communicate directly with hotel staff via the app. Order room supplies, room service and make dinner reservations, schedule spa and gym appointments, and access information about hotel amenities, Use the mobile key to access gym, pool, conference rooms, etc. via the app.

4. Departure Day

Contact-free mobile checkout, review of room charges, mobile payment, request concierge service and transportation and view digital receipt.

5. Post Stay

Guest satisfaction survey and book the next stay.

05 Brainstorming

I made two brainstormings:
Click on the image to see it in full size.

1. "how can we help you?"

Ideas for services that the hotel can offer the guest via the app during their stay.

2. Smart home ideas

Room control ideas such as air-conditioning and lighting control.

06 Ideas

The optimal hospitality app should offer a seamless guest experience by giving your guests an app that they can use before, during and post-stay.
The Hotel app gives guests the power to choose how they want to engage.
I wanted to create a home-away-from-home seamless experience, and provide everything a guest needs in one digital interface.
Users can check-in with the app, use a mobile key to access their room, request items and chat with the hotel staff. All the necessary information and actions are available to the user at the click of a button in the palm of their hands. The user does not need to invest any effort to study the hotel’s operational systems- how to contact reception, how to request this thing or the other…
Users have more choice, they set the rules; whether when choosing their preferred room or the amount of interaction they are interested in with the hotel and its staff.
I wanted to give the user a touchless experience (if the user doesn’t own a smartphone then the hotel will provide them with a tablet device when checking in).

Do not disturb

The user can choose if and when they are interested in having their room cleaned, or change their status to “Do Not Disturb”, through the app and while maintaining their privacy as needed.

Ordering services

For example: a spa appointment- the user will not need to search for the correct number to call, wait for someone to answer, etc. they can simply choose the time and treatment they are interested in by using the relevant features of the app.

Check-in/check-out

Instead of waiting in line at the reception, the user can check-in even before their physical arrival to the hotel, choose their room, out of the hotel’s available rooms, and floor where they are interested in staying, and open the room with a touchless, digital key.
The app keeps the guests safe and provides easy contact-free and touch-free check-in/out with high-class service supporting social distancing.

Ordering food

Instead of waiting in line at the pool to order food, the user can order food directly using the app and share their location, allowing the waiting staff to bring the order directly to them, thus sparing him the need to walk to the food stall, stand in line, wait for the order to be ready, and then take it to where they are sitting by the pool.

07 Wireframes

Before I started working on the design I tested a number of options using wireframes.

08 App Animation

Mobile app

I chose to design the product as a mobile app since most users today own a smartphone, which has become an integral part of their identity and physicality. People today take their smartphones everywhere and enjoy the control, which it provides them with.

Push notifications

The app enables push notifications to be sent to the user in order to inform them of important matters, such as- that the door to their room has opened or that room service has arrived. The user can customize the notifications’ system and choose which notifications they are interested in receiving and which not or not at all.

09 Design

Minimalisitc and flat

I designed the app with a clean and minimalistic look, using flat black outlined icons and illustrations, while maintaining a white background.

Typographic hierarchy

I used a clear typographic hierarchy (main title, a subtitle with a short explanation, and the text's body) with large CTA buttons.

Familiar conventions

I chose to use familiar patterns that are easily recognizable by the user from other apps, so the user will be able to easily and intuitively (don’t make me think!) use the app, removing any education layers, which may end with frustration and app abandonment on the user’s side.

Home screen