Accor, Paris, is launching its first fully digital hotel at the Ibis Styles London Gloucester Road as part of a roll-out plan which it said will impact at least 50% of hotels across all brand segments in North & Central America in the next five years.
The guest experience includes contactless solutions at each step of the stay. The digital eco-system will include features such as online and mobile check in, in hotel payment, the ‘Accor Key’ – a digital key solution, digital F&B services and guest relations via WhatsApp.
“This is not about robots or faceless technology, this is about the smart integration of innovative, customer-facing technology at pace and at scale,” said Carla Milovanov, SVP Customer Technology Services, Accor. “Technology is part of our daily lives and is now fully part of our hotel experience – and with this important step, we give our guests the opportunity to adapt their hotel stay according to their preferences.”
Any guest, including those with indirect bookings, can choose to self-check-in from their smartphone, tablet or laptop. Accor has also extended its existing Fast Check-Out (FCO) functionality to all guests, allowing them to check-out via their smartphone and a PDF invoice will be sent to their email.
Accor’s proprietary mobile technology, FOLS, removes the need for check-in desks and enables employees to interact with guests directly. The introduction of FOLS Mobile also gives hotel teams the freedom to use their mobile operating system to manage their day-to-day tasks. Since the launch of this technology in 2018, guest satisfaction and employee engagement at hotels has increased, reflecting the business’ long-held belief that business is best when it uses technology to empower staff, not to replace them.
ibis Styles London Gloucester Road will have digital keys where guests can open their room door via smartphone. Each guest will be provided with an ‘Accor Key’ that will allow room access, entry to meeting rooms and floor access from lifts.
Accor has announced the global roll-out of “Accor Key” and an objective to equip 20,000 doors in 2021 and all new hotel openings from this summer.
Hotel guests will be able to make online payments for their stay through a secure payment experience by Pay By Link. Guest only need to sign in once and they can then pay for expenses throughout their stay. Accor’s Click Pay Collect technology also enables guests to order food and drink from the hotel’s digital menu using just their phones. Fully integrated with Accor’s hotel systems, expenses can either be paid up front or charged to the room and paid on check-out.
Accor has also successfully integrated WhatsApp into the in-hotel customer journey, enabling guests to liaise directly with hotel teams before and during their stay, making pre-arrival requests and helping to facilitate their needs during the stay.
“Our everyday lived are augmented by technology and today that continues in our hotels,” said Luc Gesvret, SVP Loyalty, Partnership & Guest Relations at Accor Northern Europe. “We want to enable guests to get what they want in our hotels in the way that most conveniently fits with their everyday behavior. We know that in this changing world, our guests want more safety and opportunity to maintain social distancing, so having technology at their fingertips that they can own and manage, comes at a perfect time. It is a technology that has our guests at the heart of it.”