Criton research finds growing desire for mobile engagement among hotel guests

Mobile platform developer says COVID-19 has changed how travellers want to interact with hotels

Growing positive consumer sentiment to using hotel mobile apps has been tracked by technology developer in research of travellers.

The firm, a mobile guest engagement platform for hotels, has released its latest research following up on a survey conducted at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March.

It has found an increase of 10 percentage points in the number of people who would download a hotel app, to 80%. The independent surveys polled more than 7,000 people.

The latest research found only 8% of guests now would feel comfortable to check-in and check-out at a physical reception.

Criton said this shows how mobile phones are “clearly being recognised as an essential tool for delivering a safe and carefree experience”.

Among the research respondents, 43% stay in a three star hotels and 40% in four or five star properties

It found 73% would download and use an app that would enable them to open the door of their room.

The research also highlighted the need for hoteliers to adopt contactless solutions to boost revenue with almost half of respondents saying they would be more likely to order in-room service or to go to the hotel restaurant if they could use a mobile app to place their order.

In addition, 75% of respondents said the hotel should have clearly defined cleaning standards to fight against COVID-19.

In total, 67% of travellers said hotel staff should disinfect everything that people might touch in a hotel room.

Julie Grieve, founder and chief executive of Criton, said: “At Criton, we work hard to track and really understand changes in guest technology requirements to allow us to ensure our operators benefit from that knowledge to enhance their guest experience and drive their bottom line.

“Undoubtedly due to Covid-19 there has been a significant change in how guests are looking to interact with the hotel, however in reality the demand for digital was there before the global pandemic.

“At Criton, our mission is to make it easy for independent hotels and groups to embrace digital to give their guests that choice of interaction pre, during and post-stay”.

A report on the research is available to download for free from Criton’s website.

Abut The Research:

An online survey ran between February and March 2020 and received 5,405 responses.

Criton ran another online survey which between July and August 2020 received a further 2,549 responses.

KEY FINDINGS OF THE AUGUST SURVEY

Accommodation preferences

• 43% of respondents said they stay in a 3-star hotel
• 40% of respondents said they stay in a 4 or 5-star hotel

Technology preferences for check-in/out

• 62% of respondents said they would prefer to check-in and out through a hotel app
• 30% said they would prefer to check-in and out through a webpage
• 8% said they would prefer to check-in and out at a public kiosk

Contactless technology preferences

• 80% of respondents said they would download a hotel app that would allow them to check-in, check-out and get all information about the hotel
• 73% would download and use an app that would enable them to open the door of their room
• 47% would be more likely to order room service if the hotel would give them the option of ordering via an app
• 48% would be more likely to go to the hotel restaurant if the hotel would give them the option of ordering food via an app

Safety measures when staying in a hotel

• 75% of respondents said that the hotel should have clearly defined cleaning standards to combat COVID-19
• 67% said that in order to consider staying in a hotel, the hotel staff should disinfect everything that people might touch in a hotel room
• 42% of respondents said they would expect the hotel to replace complimentary toiletries, whether used or not, between guests
• 53% of respondents would still prefer to eat in the hotel restaurant, followed by 18% who would use room service