When Hilton Worldwide launched mobile room check-in in 2014, Vice President of Digital Innovation Joshua Sloser was quickly pleased by its widespread adoption. Sloser, who is responsible for conception and construction of Hilton’s digital products, reported that after being available for less than one year, more than 4,100 Hilton properties implemented mobile check-in. Reception also was impressive with 90% of guests reporting positive experiences.
In addition to digital check-inwith room selection, Hilton will continue to develop its mobile products with a digital key initiative this year. By summer, Hilton aims to offer digital keys at the U.S. Hilton, Waldorf, Canopy and Conrad properties.
Sloser recently spoke to HOTELS about Hilton Worldwide’s mobile check-in and digital key initiatives in addition to his goals for continued development in 2015.
HOTELS: What trend stands out to you when thinking back to 2014?
Joshua Sloser: It was especially interesting to experience the rapid growth and adoption of mobile. This is something that was really well-forecasted. To see how quickly mobile rose in one year and then to see how much there is in the marketplace is very impressive.
HOTELS: Can you talk a bit about 2014’s roll out of the mobile check-in?
Sloser: Mobile check-in was tremendous for us. People clearly want to have choice and control when they travel. We had previously heard from guests that they wanted the ability to select their rooms, similar to how they select a seat when they fly on an airline. This was no small feat and our guests seem to really love it.
HOTELS: In what locations was mobile check-in most successful?
Sloser: We have seen mobile check-in success everywhere and we don’t really see it heavily clustered in one hotel over another. We see it at a Hilton in a big city and at a Hampton Inn in a secondary city. We are seeing it working everywhere.
However, as we look to our savvier and Hilton Honors travelers, they are especially knowledgeable about it and show high levels of adoption.
HOTELS: The mobile-enabled room key seems to be a top item on your priority list. Why do you think it will appeal to guests?
Sloser: This is a tremendous project when you couple it with mobile check-in. Once the digital key is available, guests will be empowered to personalize multiple aspects of their trips – from choosing their room to checking in and out – and even bypassing the front desk to start their stays with us even sooner.
HOTELS: What challenges do you face in your role as vice president of digital innovation?
Sloser: It’s really less of a challenge and rather trying to figure out what is really important in the industry. It’s important to do purposeful innovation and provide products that are meaningful to your guests. When I think about what’s going to be really meaningful for our guests in 2015, it feels like there is a much bigger trend towards personalization and hyper-local content. In addition to rolling out the digital key, we will be asking ourselves how we can provide content to satisfy the guests and make them love their experience even more.
HOTELS: What separates Hilton from other hotel companies thinking about mobile trends?
Sloser: We are thinking about the full customer journey. We are looking for ways to make the experience more than just a key and more than just check-in. Rather, we think about the full journey – from the time the guest thinks about booking a trip through check-in, arrival, the actual stay and check-out. A personal mobile device is with the guest all of the time so it really enables us to enhance the experience at many steps of that journey.
An example of this is how we present a guest trip on the mobile app – at front and center, opposed to having to go hunt for it somewhere. As guests are packing, they can pull up a stay card that includes directions to the hotel, a destination’s weather forecast and the ability to preorder items such as room service.
HOTELS: Everyone in the industry seems to be talking about the Millennial generation. Are the trends different for this group?
Sloser: I don’t think the trends are necessarily different for Millennials. Instead, I think that they are accelerated for this group. When you look at mobile usage for Millennials versus an older demographic, the shift is just so much further along. This is similar for social media when they are looking for insight and advice for travel. All of these trends are even more relevant to Millennials given their widespread adoption compared to some of the older demographics.
HOTELS: What are your predictions for 2015?
Sloser: Mobile growth will continue to accelerate.
Personalization of the guest experience will continue to be an enhanced space. I imagine many players are thinking about that. Localized content will also be critically important for personalization. Guests want to be served up things that are important and relevant to them and where they are going.
Social media will be increasingly important. This is how potential and current guests engage and how they get advice about travel. A lot of social media will be executed through mobile.