The softest, most comfortable mattresses and a power shower no longer break the top of the list of hotel guest requirements. They’re expected. The fact is, intelligent tech in hotel design is quickly altering customer’s perceptions of hospitality.

While the fundamentals of exceptional hospitality will always remain true, with more and more visitors searching for truly distinct and personalised hotel experiences, the hospitality industry has turned to technology to offer guests greater control over their stay in the hotel.

It comes as little surprise then that, in a bid to remain competitive, hotels groups across the world are embracing and experimenting with smart tech in hotels to deliver innovative and ground-breaking experiences.

To this end, Samsung South Africa in partnership with HTI Consulting recently hosted key hotel partners at its Samsung offices in Johannesburg including the Hilton Hotel Group, AHA Group, Legacy Group and the Hospitality Property Fund.

Samsung showcased innovative products designed to enhance customer touchpoints across the hospitality sector from business to leisure. These included the QLED TV range, Hospitality Display Range, Samsung Fl!p and QLED curved monitors – products suited to an industry that continues to raise the bar in terms of customer experiences.

Indeed, experiences are essential, particularly to the much maligned millennial generation, who expect the brands they interact with to be digital.With millennials accounting for 30% of all hotel guests and that figure set to rise to 75% by 2020, they are not a demographic that can be ignored.

A defining trait of millenials is that they have grown up in a mobile-first world, as a dominant tribe of digital natives and expect to be able to use their mobile devices and applications to do anything from shopping to meetings, to tracking their home security.

Also, they travel in a BYOD [Bring Your Own Device] culture with various devices and expect digital characteristics and applications that are essential to their stay, while likewise expecting to readily verify their information and communicate with their hotel immediately via an app rather than an email, mobile, or web browser.

But digital first is not all sunshine and roses. Some hoteliers have expressed worries about applications and tech depersonalising the hotel experience. However, the expectation is that hoteliers who adapt to a first tech approach are improving guest satisfaction faster than ever.

According to Samsung, technology offers guests a return to proper hospitality in this environment, giving them a higher level of control over their on-site, in-room experiences, enhancing their stay and delivering previously impossible, highly personalised experiences.

“Innovative business solutions require powerful business technology. We’re pleased that our products have received an overwhelmingly enthusiastic reaction from an industry intent on taking customer satisfaction levels to unprecedented heights”, commented Reggie Nxumalo, B2B Director at Samsung South Africa. “Utilising smart tech in hotel design is opening doors to increased revenue, unlocking new income streams, reducing waste and improving sustainability,” he concluded.