Analyze the evolving role of front desk staff and the push towards renaming these positions as ‘Experience Officers’ to better reflect their role.
As AI continues to advance, our world is slowly forgetting the importance of personal connections. Many believe that for the hotel industry, it’s a cost-effective solution to replace receptionists, but as the quote goes, “I want AI to do my laundry and dishes so that I can do art and writing, not for AI to do my art and writing so that I can do my laundry and dishes.” The same goes for hospitality. AI is not here to replace our front desk, but to assist them with administrative tasks so that they can focus on what truly matters: making each guest’s stay unforgettable.
The envolving role of the receptionist
Traditionally, a hotel receptionist handles bookings, check-ins and outs, rooms keys, phone calls, and so on. Today, many of those tasks have been streamlined thanks to self-check-in kiosks and digital solutions. This leads to the evolving role of the receptionist, where many hotels redefine the role of a ‘front desk agent’ into ‘experience officer’. Let’s delve into why…
The front desk plays a huge role in the overall experience of your guests. It’s the first point of contact, and the saying explains it all – “you only get one chance to make a first impression.” This personality can’t be taught nor replaced by technology. As research has found, the front desk impacts overall guest satisfaction by up to 40%.
2 ways to be successful and competitive as a hotel
To be successful and competitive, hotels need to prioritize excellent services that go beyond the guest’s hopes. Satisfied guests contribute to your hotel’s positive reputation and revenue through referrals and repeat businesses, but what can you do?
- We cannot stress the importance of personalization enough. Most of the time, you’re collecting all the data you need about your guests without even realizing it.
- To reach its full potential, you need to customize your guest experiences with it. Offer a little something extra upon arrival based on what you know about their trip, even if it’s a simple local delight. Your guests will remember the time you took to go above and beyond.
Experience officer: The new name for receptionists
This is why receptionists are now called experienced officers. Each guest is a unique being with different needs, and experience offers strive to offer them the hospitality they desire. Top-notch guest experiences today are all about emotional intelligence, understanding the emotional journey of guests to make each touchpoint more personal and easy for them.
Technology has made things easier and quicker, but it has also increased hospitality standards. It’s time to retrain your staff – to master the art of personalization, read our article: Unlocking personalized hospitality: The future of hotel and visit our website to find out about our training services.
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