Resort staff are in short supply. Vacancies are remaining open. Employees are facing burnout.
In the UK, changes in legislation due to Brexit caused almost 300,000 hospitality staff to quit their jobs and return to their home countries. In the US, there are nearly a quarter of a million fewer workers in the hospitality sector since the pandemic.
It’s time to look for new ways to maintain exceptional service at your resort while short on staff.
Strategically integrating technology to facilitate a VIP experience frees up your staff to focus on the touchpoints where in-person contact is really important. For many resorts, the best way to deliver this tech is through a mobile app platform.
Mobile apps address employment challenges in your resort by providing your guests with a centralised platform that connects every aspect of the guest experience. From check-in to dining, activity booking to wayfinding, the app has everything they need to make the most of their stay. This shifts the burden of service away from your staff and onto the app, as guests have the tools to self-serve before asking for assistance.
Let’s have a look at it in practice.
Mobile app solutions provide a suite of tools that cover the entire guest experience, right from the moment they book their stay with you. The features you should look out for alleviating employment challenges include:
This is a part of your guest experience that has historically required a staff member to be present at the front desk at all times. Guests can check in at any time in the day or night, and expect someone to be available to get them the key to their room and explain information such as breakfast times.
With a digital check-in and check-out process, your guests can check-in before their stay and then use their mobile device as their key to their room. There's no need to interact with anyone at the front desk, as everything’s already been covered for them inside the app.
Traditionally, you’ll have a concierge on-site to help guests book excursions and activities during their stay. But, if you’re short on staff, this might be one area you choose to cut.
Moving your activities to your mobile app ensures all the information is in one place, and allows the guests to discover the full range of activities you have on offer and make bookings all in one place. Their details go straight to the right people, and there’s minimal employee input needed.
Room service is often seen as a luxury, and if you don’t have the staff available to provide good service, you might decide not to offer it at all.
But, 45% of hotels said that room service is increasing in popularity as many guests prefer casual cuisine ordered from their mobile devices. And not only that, but it can be a big revenue driver too - using mobile food ordering leads to a 40% increase in average transaction value. A mobile app platform can integrate directly with your kitchen services, providing first-class service for your guests while cutting out the need for a middle-man to take orders and relay information.
Keeping guests informed and answering questions is difficult if there are less staff around. And quite often, staff are repeating themselves to keep guests in the loop, which isn’t a good use of their time.
A mobile app platform can send push notifications at specific touchpoints along the guest journey, providing the right information at the right time. You can also use it to ensure everyone’s up-to-date if anything changes. For example, if a bad weather causes a certain excursion to be cancelled, those that are signed up will get an instant update sent straight to their phone. Guests are informed, and staff are free of repeat requests.
While guest-facing tools inside a mobile app enable self-service, it’s not the only way that this tech can help with staffing shortages. As guests use the mobile app, the backend collects valuable data about their preferences and behaviour that can help you predict where your staff are needed.
For example, by looking at your dashboards in the mobile app’s backend console, you’ll be able to see things like:
This aids you with your resource allocation by pinpointing the areas of your business where staff are needed for a smooth guest experience. Some platforms, such as Attractions.io’s backend console Connect, can even show you interactive heatmaps which help you visualise guest flow and demand across your resort.
Simply put, mobile app platforms allow you to do more with less. If you’re struggling with slow hiring and ongoing staffing shortages, mobile app platforms can help you elevate your guest experience without creating a strain on your resources.
Iconic UK family resort Butlin’s were eager to reimagine their digital guest experience with an all-in-one guest companion app that provided consolidated activity booking, alongside the benefits of Attractions.io’s core app solution.
Thanks to their mobile app platform, even more guests can start their holiday from the moment they arrive on-site, and the days of waiting in line are quickly disappearing. Over 360,000 people have downloaded a Butlin’s app, and up to 98% of bookable activities are now pre-booked using Attractions.io.
What could your resort achieve with a mobile app platform? Book a zero-obligation discovery call today to find out.
