Juan Pablo Gómez, Corporate Consultant, Avaya Latin America, explains what some Latin American hotel organizations are implementing to improve the guest experience.
Currently, international tourism is showing significant recovery after surviving the severe impact of the pandemic, despite the challenges of the global economy.
Some studies done by international organizations demonstrate this, such as the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), which states, in its annual Travel & Tourism Economic Impact report, that between 2022 and 2032, the travel and tourism sector’s contribution to the global economy expects to increase at an average annual rate of 5.8%, – more than double the annual average growth rate of 2.7% estimated for the world economy. Over the same period, the sector also expects to generate an additional 126 million jobs.
On the other hand, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, more than 900 million tourists took international trips in 2022, double the number in 2021, a number still 63% below pre-pandemic levels. It also states that all regions recorded significant increases in international tourist numbers.
However, this recovery, in addition to showing positive results for countries’ economies, also means an accelerated increase in demand for services and operational challenges.
Therefore, hospitality sector entrepreneurs have had to implement strengthened strategies to achieve excellence in service and infrastructure to provide the best experiences to their guests, partners and employees.
Hotel Hacienda del Mar Los Cabos and Grupo Xcaret are examples of hotels that experienced accelerated recovery after the crisis caused by COVID-19 due to their investment in technology.
Both of these resorts are in northern and southern Mexico, and I had the opportunity to talk with their representatives during a panel sponsored by the Mexican Customer Experience Association. They pointed out that the following strategies must be a priority if there is to be an accelerated recovery in the hospitality sector:
- More agile, efficient and empathetic attention concerning guests and clients (especially in first-contact resolution)
- Reliable end-to-end metrics throughout the customer journey
- Constant evolution, review and automation of processes concerning customers, users and agent experience
- Offering options for guests and clients to contact through different channels, taking into account their profiles
- Flexibility in reservation and cancellation policies
- Sustainable strategies and the appropriate certifications
- Promoting work-life balance for employees, which translates into a better version of themselves to share all the benefits that hotels have
- Implementing hybrid work arrangements for contact center employees and establishing physical and mental health programs, specialization and training programs that include leadership and development opportunities to position them in the best position to enhance their skills
- High standards in handling, protecting and backing up information and personal data with encrypted information
- Integrating the IT department for developing Customer Experience projects from the beginning
Transforming guest experiences
At Avaya, we have also been working on this evolution. As a company specializing in creating the best experiences for customers, our focus is delivering the best technological platform, Avaya Experience Platform, which allows us to deliver memorable experiences, connect customer service at every touchpoint and provide a timely return on investment.
It is not just about digitizing or investing in technology for a trend but evaluating how it will help address this growing demand for services efficiently while generating the best experiences. Ultimately, the execution of these strategies reflects in higher Revenue Per Available Room or RevPAR, meaning income per available room.
