Holiday Inn, A Pioneering Augmented Reality Example In Hospitality Industry
In 2012, as the sponsor of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, Holiday Inn launched the world’s first augmented reality hotel at their Holiday Inn London Kensington Forum. Guests can use their mobile devices to see some of Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes in action at different places of the hotel through augmented reality. For example, you can see BMX World Champion Shanaze Reade performing tricks on her bike in the lobby, and guests can also take pictures with those digitized athletes.
The time of the Olympics Games is when athletes get the most attention. As a result, it is a wise time for Holiday Inn to combine the use of augmented reality and British athletes together. It increases the living experience of guests and suits the current most popular topic- The Olympics. It helps Holiday Inn to achieve its marketing objectives. In addition, it is interesting to notice that the time is 2012. Even though we are familiar with augmented reality and various companies already utilized this technology, it was a relatively new thing back in that time!
While I am impressed by Holiday Inn’s vision, I cannot stop thinking about why ten years later, in the year 2022, augmented reality isn’t widely used in the hospitality industry? In my opinion, they suit well with each other.
Let us first see some statistical facts about augmented reality.
According to the data obtained from Statista, the number of augmented reality users is increasing every year from 2017 to 2020, and the forecasted user in 2023 will be 110.1 million. Meaning: more and more people will be using augmented reality in the future.
Some people might ask if I need to invest in technology, so why not virtual reality? Here are the answers. The most important one is that creating excellent and helpful augmented reality features is much cheaper than investing in virtual reality. So, if you have a limited budget, investing in augmented reality will be a better choice. For other factors, see the below chart.
While it will have more and more augmented reality users and higher acceptance levels of advanced technology in the future, hotels with augmented reality can bring more innovative experiences for their guests and accordingly stimulate consumption.
SO! How exactly can hotels leverage the use of augmented reality?
Entertaining
Using augmented reality to entertain your guests can increase the overall staying experience. For example, Disney and Universal Studios theme hotels can use augmented reality to put digital cartoons such as Mickey Mouse or Harry Potter into different hotel places. People can use their smartphones to discover more cartoon characters. The cartoon characters could also become a digital guide that leads you to experience various hotel features. It will become an attraction for people who want to book a hotel specifically for a Disney/ Universal studio trip.
Provide Additional Information
Hotels can use augmented reality to provide extra information about surrounding objects. For example, if you are in the dining room and wondering what dishes you should order, you could use your smartphone and focus on the menu. Then, the finished plates will pop up on your phone with information about where the ingredient comes from and its cuisine to help you make dinner decisions. Furthermore, hotels can use the augmented reality map to provide tourism information about the surrounding areas. For example, guests can use this technology to automatically view information about the surrounding landmark or restaurant without physically entering the building.
Translation
Many hotels have guests that come from all over the world. With different language backgrounds, guests might miss or misunderstand a lot of information. Augmented reality can help in translation. For example, when guests encounter unknown instructions such as guidance or dining menu, they can point their smartphone at the text and get the desired language translation on the screen. A hotel with this feature shows its thoughtfulness and attracts more international guests.
In conclusion, augmented reality can elevate user experience innovatively and increase convenience. Moreover, while not many hotel brands use augmented reality yet, you should invest in it and seize this opportunity. It is an excellent way to distinguish your brand from others.
