Accenture leads the way in Mobilizing the Hospitality, Travel & Lodging Industry!

1. Keeping Up
with Mobility
Mastering the digital revolution
in the lodging industry
The new
concierge

2. Hoteliers find themselves preparing strategies for a new era—one of
optimistic global growth but also one of unprecedented change in the
global economy and the technology landscape. Now is the time for
hoteliers to evolve their technology strategies and take advantage of the
impact technological advances can make on the business. As part of our
series, Mastering The Digital Revolution in the Lodging Industry, Accenture
examines how keeping up with mobility can truly engage and convert the
“now consumer”—a highly mobile, always-connected individualist.
More than one billion of the world’s more than four billion mobile address mobility holistically to determine ways to effectively
phones are now smartphones, and three billion are SMS enabled.1 integrate both guest and employee demands into their enterprise
There are now 1.2 billion mobile Web users worldwide.2 And it architecture and across the guest life cycle.
is projected that by 2014, mobile Internet usage will overtake Lodging companies are already making inroads with incorporating
desktop Internet usage. Already, more than 50 percent of all mobility at varying points across the guest life cycle. A lodging
“local” searches are done from a mobile device.3 study conducted by Hotel Technology magazine showed that the
Mobility is pervasive in everything we do, and the way people majority of hoteliers surveyed currently provide, or have plans to
use mobile technology is changing dramatically, with customers provide, guest-facing mobile apps for check-in and on-property
leading the change faster than hoteliers. Today mobile plays an experience management.4 Many hotel companies have released
integral role in how people interact and buy. To find and buy mobile apps enabling users to search and explore hotels using
what they want, today’s digital consumers are better informed, location-based technology, and to book/modify their reservations.
super connected and fully engaged across all channels—from Mobile apps also offer loyalty account integration, property
smartphone, PC, stores, tablet, social networking and more. concierge and pre-arrival check-in services. A mobile user in
These trends will continue as technology becomes more New York City, for example, can receive a message to make a
sophisticated. Customers expect to use mobile devices to interact reservation at a hotel with location-specific offers. Separately,
with products or services in new ways; employees look for mobile mobile phones are using smart technology to become multipurpose
solutions to improve their productivity. Hoteliers will need to devices that can be used as digital keys to guest rooms.
The new room key
1
http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/2011-mobile-
statistics-stats-facts-marketing-infographic/.
2
ibid.
3
ibid.
4
“Lodging Technology Study: Hotel Technology in
2012,” Supplement to Hospitality Technology magazine,
www.HTMAGAZINE.com.
2 ❘ Keeping Up with Mobility: Mastering the Digital Revolution in the Lodging Industry

3. Many companies, particularly in the retail and consumer goods
industries, are already reaping the benefit of an enhanced
relationship with the consumer through mobile technology.
Accenture believes that hotel companies can use mobility solutions
to deliver benefits to guests in three key areas:
Better guest experience that aims to increase revenue per available room (RevPAR)
• Deliver mobile solutions that can manage/connect the guest throughout the entire
stay life cycle
• Provide point interaction-relevant services and information
• Drive innovation through guest empowerment (e.g., self check-in, mobile room key, virtual
concierge, point-of-experience surveying, etc.)
• Enable “Georelevance” and location-based intelligence
• Improve guest experience relevant to preferences and location
• Enable mobile guest analytics
“Smart” ancillary offers intended to enhance guest satisfaction index (GSI) and loyalty
• Deliver personalized, location-based promotions on property for the guest or non-guest
• Track what was redeemed, by whom, when and where
• Incentivize intelligently based on loyalty preferences and prior usage history, to drive
non-room revenue
• Create real-time digital marketplace
• Discover new avenues for promotions and offers
Point-as-a-currency and mobile payments to help expand payment options while
lowering operational costs
• Enable digital payment and other offer redemption seamlessly as near-field communication
$ (NFC)/mobile payment goes mainstream
• Strengthen loyalty points by enabling spend for non-room items with points
• Remove paper couponing
• Strengthen payments and conversion of offers
Keeping Up with Mobility: Mastering the Digital Revolution in the Lodging Industry ❘ 3

4. Mobile challenges and Guest mobile applications of platforms and toolsets, they can target their guests
technology gaps Hoteliers have all taken
consistency and reuse of better throughout the life
enterprise services, and security. cycle of their stay. With digital
Hoteliers have an opportunity different paths to serve their
It is important to determine couponing on the verge of
to create additional value guest to achieve bookings,
what key components make being huge to all industries,
and lower operating costs by ancillary spend, loyalty, and
up an enterprise mobility as lodging companies consider
adopting mobile technology in some cases, on-property
architecture solution. A plug- how it will play into loyalty
solutions. Given the relatively integration. They now need
and-play approach needs to programs they will also need
early days and rapid evolution to determine the best feature
drive a standards-based mobile to contemplate how they
of the mobility domain, set to offer guests via mobile
architecture that enables will track digital coupon
however, it is not surprising applications, whether there is a
hoteliers to innovate and redemption—who is redeeming,
that most hoteliers’ plans single or multiple app solution,
onboard third parties quickly. when are they redeeming and
to implement solutions are and examine what competitors
does it drive additional spend?
disjointed. are doing and what results are
Digital couponing will also add
To enable the guest benefits they achieving. Mobile couponing a new channel to harvest data
that mobility can offer, and loyalty for the analytics engine.
Accenture believes hoteliers Mobility architecture Business-to-guest mobility
need to address four key strategy and governance has become the new norm for
challenges: Guest mobile reaching a guest at all points of Mobile testing
applications, mobility Mobile architecture will need
their stay. Hoteliers will want The testing of mobile solutions
architecture and governance, to serve both enterprise and
to look at how to differentiate and Web presented on
mobile couponing and loyalty, consumer-based solutions
their loyalty program from mobile solutions is growing
and mobile testing. and foster standardization
their competitors and how in complexity with multiple
What is top of mind among hotel executives regarding mobility?
Accenture polled key industry functions via mobile devices? If so, what are mobility road map?
the top three?
executives on four questions 1. Developing something that is platform
The following are the top on-property functions: independent with changing technology
around mobility. Here is a 1. Advance check-in functionality and bypass the • Choosing platforms to develop (e.g., Android,
summary of how they responded: front desk and use mobile device as digital key Apple, BlackBerry, etc.), choosing between
smartphone, tablets; gaining biggest market share
1. Do you have a strategy for implementing 2. Check-out functionality
• User interaction variations per device
mobile websites for existing Web-based 3. Location-based services – Send guest messages
(desktop) applications? 2. Security around PCI compliance and capturing
based on where they are in the hotel
credit card payments
• Main work has been done around providing • Recognize guest arrived at the hotel
accessibility to Web content via mobile • Interactive offers based on guest location (e.g., 3.Integration – Enabling legacy systems to
websites. spa service while at gym, offers for drinks while work with the mobile devices in a secure and
• For those lodging companies that have or are at pool/bar, etc.) structured way
considering mobile applications the main focus 4. Self-service concierge services: 4. Investing in features that are going to be the
is around: • Order room service most valuable to the guest
• Planning functionality – hotel/room search • Order food/drinks at the pool
5. Speed to market to ensure by the time a
• Reservation/booking functionality • Set up wake-up calls
function is deployed it is not obsolete
• Loyalty functions • Request parking valet service
• Information about the hotel, local attractions, 6. Bandwidth impacts to be able to support
2. Where do you see the biggest application
local restaurants, etc. demand
of mobility in your organization?
Additional on-property functions raised: • Guests now bring multiple mobile devices and
• Most important is guest-facing – the complete want to interact with on-property devices (e.g.,
• Using guest mobile devices for entertainment/
life cycle TV, stereo system, etc.)
Download own movies and music to in-room devices
• Prior – Search for hotels and book room • When outsource service to phone company
• Electronic/digital currency – Purchase of
• In-house – On-property services now, have security issues and data sharing on
services and products using mobile devices
• Post-stay – Marketing feeds carrier side on top of bandwidth issues
4. What are the key issues that you focus on
3. Do you see a demand from your guest
as you seek to develop and implement your
population to enable additional on-property
4 ❘ Keeping Up with Mobility: Mastering the Digital Revolution in the Lodging Industry

5. platforms, networks and success, hoteliers should take to those as the Web or other to leverage it to enable new
devices. The key questions to an end-to-end view of the key enterprise solutions. With business models. Accenture
ask here are: What do I test? guest life cycle and evaluate the proliferation of platforms finds the best approach is to
How do I test? Can I do it at how a single application and integration needed with evaluate the highest-value areas
scale? or mobile experience can network operators, device of focus from both business
As hoteliers respond to serve as a tool for the guest, manufacturers, business and technology perspectives,
these challenges, they face a from booking to checkout partners, and application determine how to solve the
fragmented industry landscape and everything in between. developers, the world of technical challenges, and “sell”
in terms of incorporating Otherwise, lodging companies mobility can be overwhelming. the programs internally. Based
mobility apps. For some areas are losing the guest at the most To move forward with a clear on each hotelier’s enterprise
in the guest life cycle well- critical point of the lifecycle— direction, hoteliers must begin and current mobile capabilities,
established solutions exist; on property (the stay). with an overarching mobility the areas of focus and priority
for other areas, solutions are strategy. Strategy development will vary as will the plans to
limited or nonexistent. In our should evaluate the entire implement them.
Shaping strategies
experience, however, we do not enterprise’s landscape of Too often the decisions around
see any solutions that enable As hoteliers look to serve guests functions and subsequently mobility focus on technology.
a hotelier to manage the guest with mobile capabilities, they prioritize a hotelier’s areas In our experience, a hotelier’s
experience through the entire need to develop strategies of focus particularly along strategy and plan need to start
stay life cycle. In our opinion, that look at engaging guests three lines: 1) where to adopt with a clear understanding
we see the industry falling short across the guest visit life cycle mobility to stay relevant in the of the value drivers desired
in leveraging the full power in new and compelling ways. industry, 2) how to apply it to and the strategic goals the
of current marketplace mobile The mobility domain, however, gain a strategic advantage over organization wants to achieve
capabilities. To maximize presents challenges similar the competition, and 3) how with its guests and employees.
Hotel check-in
from the airport
Keeping Up with Mobility: Mastering the Digital Revolution in the Lodging Industry ❘ 5

6. The new room
service menu
The breadth of what is possible understanding and use of A clear mobile strategy can help of integrating mobility with
with mobile is immense and analytics. And key to analytics, hoteliers achieve the potential property management systems
thus a company’s mobility scope in our view, is the need to business and productivity (PMS) and various points of sale
needs to be carefully planned look at what is feeding a benefits while minimizing need to be addressed early on
to grow as the organization hotelier’s “analytic data store,” the challenges inherent to to avoid creating roadblocks
matures in its mobile enterprise that is, the warehouse, and any mobility endeavor—from later on.
structure and capabilities. By to build an analytics toolset security and deployment to The world of the mobile guest
defining the business objectives on top that can interoperate manageability and cost control. continues to progress. As more
for mobile, the organization the stored data. What mobile From there, the organization and more industries respond
can understand what can be brings to analytics is to enable can implement and continually and adapt to the mobile
addressed based on the current new sets of guest data that a adjust its strategy as needs consumer, lodging companies
enterprise structure and what hotelier may have never had change and mobile technology will find themselves urgently
needs to be revamped or (e.g., location-based info from evolves. The good news is that keeping up with consumer
created from new. mobile, where is the guest the industry is in a position to expectations. Hoteliers who are
Ideally, mobility is one of three interacting with your services, take advantage of third-party able to innovate and deliver a
key elements of an overall what have they redeemed from ideas, use plug-and-play and differentiated experience via
digital strategy along with their phone [digital couponing], industry-specific applications, mobility will build better brand
a hotelier’s Web and social etc.). These mobile avenues build platforms that enable vs. loyalty and trust, surpassing
media activities. Underpinning enable a “new intelligence” for inhibit, and reduce complexity competitors.
the digital strategy is the analytics. and innovate quickly with fast
speed to market. The challenges
6 ❘ Keeping Up with Mobility: Mastering the Digital Revolution in the Lodging Industry

7. Breakfast
in one click
Keeping Up with Mobility: Mastering the Digital Revolution in the Lodging Industry ❘ 7

8. For more information on getting personal
with guests:
Visit:
Please use QR scanner on your mobile device
www.accenture.com/gettingpersonal
Contact:
Michael Boushka
Lodging Lead North America
michael.e.boushka@accenture.com
Bob Hersch
Chief Technology Officer Accenture’s Products Operating Group
dale.r.hersch@accenture.com
David Rutkowski
david.e.rutkowski@accenture.com
Lead – North America Sales, Products Operating Group
Accenture Mobility
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management
consulting, technology services and
outsourcing company, with more than
249,000 people serving clients in
more than 120 countries. Combining
unparalleled experience, comprehensive
capabilities across all industries and
business functions, and extensive
research on the world’s most successful
Copyright © 2012 Accenture companies, Accenture collaborates
All rights reserved.
with clients to help them become
Accenture, its Signature, and high-performance businesses and
High Performance Delivered
are trademarks of Accenture. governments. The company generated net
revenues of US$25.5 billion for the fiscal
year ended Aug. 31, 2011. Its home page
is www.accenture.com.
8 ❘ Keeping Up with Mobility: Mastering the Digital Revolution in the Lodging Industry