Chatbots forhotels:Howcanyoubestusethemtoday?

Achatbot isessentiallyacomputer-programmedservice,builtonasetofbusinesslogic andsometimesevenartificialintelligence,that

youcaninteractwithviachatinterfacesusingnaturallanguage.

LargerhospitalitygroupslikeMarriott,StarwoodandHyattrecognisethegrowingpreferenceforconsumerstousemessagingappstointeractwithbrands,andhavebeenexperimentingwiththatasacommunicationplatformsinceearly2015.

WhenFacebooklauncheditsMessengerPlatformforbotsandsend/receiveAPIinAprilthisyear,theindustrystartedtoreallypayattentiontothepossibilitieswithchatbots.

Whatthisopensupistheabilitytouseimagesandinteractivebubbleswithmultiplecalls-to-actionwithinthechatwindow.Thisisparticularlyusefulfordisplayinghotelimages,bookbuttonsetc.

Thewayhotelguestscommunicatewithbrandswillcontinuetoshiftmore

andmoretowardsmessagingplatforms

withexpectationsforimmediateresponses.

Whenthoughtthroughandimplementedcorrectly,achatbot canautomateasignificant

partofthiscommunication.Ofcourse,anoptiontochatwithanactualpersonshouldbeavailableiftheconversationgoesbeyond

thecapabilityofthechatbot toprovideameaningfulresponse.

Herearesomewaysyoucanusechatbots:

iInformation

Recommendations

Booking

Allowuserstofindoutinformationaboutyourhotels.Forexample,

1. Asktheuserwheretheywouldliketostay2. Displaymenu(facilities,location,etc.)3. Displayinformation

Recommend whichofyourhotelstovisitbasedonusers’criteria.Forexample,

1. Asktheuserforthetypeofstaythey’relookingfor

2. Recommendhotelsthatmatchcriteria

3. Displayinformationaboutselectedhotel

Allowuserstosearchandbook astayatanyofyourhotels.Forexample,

1. Asktheuserwheretheywouldliketogo2. Displayhoteloptions3. Asktheuserforstaydates4. Displayroomoptions5. Beginbookingjourney

Ifyoufeellikejumpingonthebandwagonandexploringtheuseofchatbots inyourguestengagementstrategy,

dropusanemailatinfo@mediaconcepts.com.

We’llalsobemorethanhappytoshowyouaprototypethatwe’vebuiltasademoofhowaguestmightmakea

hotelbookingthroughFacebookMessenger.

www.mediaconcepts.com