About Radisson Blu Liverpool

With premium accommodation, conference, gym, and spa in the city centre, Radisson Blu Liverpool caters well to both business and leisure travellers. Their broad focus doesn’t move attention away from being innovative as being early adopters in the UK of new tech solutions optimises the hotel operations.

The hotel implemented Faundit after the pandemic as they saw a significant increase in the number of guests and needed to make sure they still had resources to continue offering the guests the expected Radisson service level.

Catering to guests with ease

Every month, 100 guests need special attention from the Radisson Blu Liverpool team as they forget something personal at the hotel. Already busy, the team dedicate themselves to assisting the guests - now working with Faundit, it frees up time to care for in-house guests while upgrading the guest service.

The Faundit engine stands completely in the background in this white-labelled solution so that the curated service the hotel offers is an extraordinary experience, entirely owned by Radisson. Should any issues arise, the Radisson team is quick to include the Faundit support to solve any issues regarding refunds, customs, and special requests.

“Faundit works well across our teams, simplifying Lost and Found for everyone. The automation makes it easy for us - even easier and quicker for our guests to get their item safely back.”​​

— Chris Graham, Interim General Manager @ Radisson Blu Liverpool

A 5 star Radisson service

Knowing that some guests are likely to forget their items, Radisson makes a routine Lost and Found task a commercial benefit. Since it’s very easy to help, the staff is eager to do so, returning up to 10 items to guests every month - as a uniquely branded experience, even with bespoke Radisson Rewards packaging, the guests are grateful.

Sometimes grateful enough to share the experience with other travellers!

Hotel Oderberger is truly an iconic hotel in Berlin that welcomes both guests for both accommodation and events, while locals are welcome for a swim in the heated pool.

Named in 2022 by Conde Nest Traveller as the best hotel in Berlin, it is really worth a visit. For the story, the architecture and the experience, Hotel Oderberger sets itself apart from the other hotels, and therefore they excel in giving their guests a throughout unique experience.

Innovative at heart, linking Faundit to the PMS

The staff at Hotel Oderberger are innovative, always looking for solutions that link up well with their setup and already working with MEWS, an integration with Faundit was a natural fit.

Although a large share of lost items is found in the pool area, being able to look up the guest details from only the room number and checkout date. For the unfortunate guests who are quick to inquire about their items, they can turn to the hotel’s website and submit a request that the staff can easily match and resolve in Faundit.

“Faundit is a great service and really helpful for us and our guests. Having a Faundit integration with MEWS makes arranging pickups and shipments for our guests a lot easier”

— Tini Diekmann, Deputy Hotel Manager @ Hotel Oderberger

Fast and easy guest assistance

Seamlessly, the team has the Faundit App downloaded to their phone so they can register items on the go and include a picture of the item. This makes the guest service much easier as they can help guests immediately from the pictures in Faundit overview instead of having to search for the items that they describe.

Should the guest like to have their item sent, Faundit makes it as easy as possible for the team, while the guest experience the top service as a Hotel Oderberger service. This is why the hotel directs guests who have experienced the white-labelled Faundit service to their review sites.

About Ellery

Ellery Beach House is the perfect getaway resort, combining water, sports, restaurants and a wonderful 60s & 70s vibe. Guest instantly feel at home and ready to indulge in the many exciting treats Ellery has to offer.

Unsurprisingly, it is being called "The hottest spot North of Stockholm".

Being part of the ESS group, Ellery is a venue where guests can let go of their worries, and truly live the "carpe diem" lifestyle. Therefore, everyone at Ellery ensures their guests are given the best, worry free experience - even after they have checked out.

Time-saving delivery of 5-star experiences

Implementing the Faundit-powered guest inquiry form on the Ellery website has moved traffic away from countless phone calls and emails, and into a structured process that’s easier for the staff and the guests.

Luxury Experience - all around

With Faundit, Ellery has been able to achieve a 100% response rate on lost item inquiries, leaving 0 chance for bad experiences.

Of the 78 guests who reported a lost item in April 2022, Ellery could inform 17 guests their items were found, directly through the Faundit platform.  For the rest of the inquiries, the guest can rest assured, as they are informed that the staff have searched all corners of the hotel for their items. Ultimately leading to a 70% decrease in time spent on Lost and Found.

As people go to Ellery for the luxury chic experience, they will experience the same in every point of contact; guests are naturally greeted “Hey darling” as they would be in the hotel. This helps reinforce the brand and guests are very aware of the extra service level coming from Ellery Beach House.

We spend less than half the time on Lost and Found compared to before Faundit.

It’s extremely easy for our guests to inquire about their items and Faundit makes our processes very simple!
Sebastian Martinez, Hotel Manager

APRIL 2022 STATS

Guest-responses in one click without cross-team coordination: 78
Times avoiding collection of payment and trips to the postal office: 10

Hotels are becoming more and more focused on integrating new technologies to improve their service and provide an extraordinary customer experience.

Hotel technology will have an increasingly important role in the future of the hospitality industry. So, if hotels want to stay competitive in a market that is constantly changing, they'll have to stay up to date with the newest technology trends in the industry.

In this article, we're going to talk about 6 future hotel technology trends to watch in 2022.  

You can also check out our article on digital transformation in the hotel industry, and learn about 5 easy ways to kickstart your digital transformation today.

What is hotel technology?

Hotel technology is a broad term for anything IT in a hotel, including everything from a landline phone to an advanced communications software.

In today's hotel, some of the biggest hotel technology providers are the Property Management Systems (PMS) and while some are innovative enough to drive the technological revolution the pandemic has brought, a lot of them are lagging so far behind that it creates space for other companies to deliver new technology to the market.

Traditionally, the service purchased when staying at a hotel has been everything but digital. Guests sought for personal care, fresh towels, a bed, food, cleaning - way different from what we see today.

However, now the technological services that hotels offer have a significant impact on guests when they evaluate their stay, requiring hoteliers to prioritize digitalization in the budget for quite some years now.

With digitalization moving faster than ever, here are the hotel technology trends to watch in the hospitality industry in 2022.

6 future hotel technology trends

1. Digital hotel service providers are compiling their services

The hotel industry continues to welcome companies that offer new digital services.

This means that the big industry players such as Opera will have to move quickly and agile to stay up to date with the innovative solutions being introduced to the market.

So, unless they establish partnerships across the industry with the new companies; that often do one thing and focus intensively on making that the best solution available - they will not be able to stay up to date.

Conclusively, the best hotel services are the ones that are able to collaborate.

But what does this mean for you?

As a hotelier, you get the individually best services, often compiled into one product. Modern PMS like Mews or apaleo are able to offer you the services of other companies within their product, making it super convenient for the staff to implement and use.

This trend will spread so that, for example, messaging platforms will collaborate with non-competing services, and so will housekeeping services, booking services, and so on.

By signing up to one software, hotels get more value because that software offers more than just their core product. Companies that opt to not collaborate, are stuck with an inferior or expensive product since they have to do all the work themselves.

Check out HotelTechReport if you are looking for such softwares.

2. Online Travel Agencies are becoming fragmented

Hoteliers are not happy with the large OTAs as they have become too powerful in regards to securing new bookings.

Many hotels are very reliant on the bookings coming from the likes of Hotels.com, Expedia, and Priceline, so even though they are not happy with the OTAs, they can’t live without them.

Or can they?

New players are entering the booking market like Google and Tripadvisor - providing more competition to the market. Meanwhile, innovative hotels are launching their own booking platforms.

For example, a booking platform for sustainable hotels, GULDSMEDEN Hotels, or a booking platform for hotels in Copenhagen, CoolCopenhagen.

This could move the OTA booking trend towards a more niche market, where there’s an engine specializing in specific markets or preferences.

When guests are searching Trivago, they are already filling in the city and they might already know that they only want 5-star hotels. Hence, they might want to use a more specialized platform that can also provide recommendations fitting their personal needs - and not the standard (and a bit silly) question; “Do you want to rent a car when you arrive in London, Heathrow”.

Hoteliers are certainly open to hotel technology solutions to innovate their bookings.

3. Preview and freedom to choose

Another future hotel technology to watch in 2022 is Augmented Reality (AR).

The AR innovation is coming to hotels like it previously has done to other consumer segments - like personal shopping or kitchens. Consumers are getting used to previewing their selections and with some hotel room pictures in really low resolution or just generally missing, seeing the room in 3D is an exceptional experience.

Keep in mind that consumers are often spending a few hundred euros for a stay which is a significant purchase for many. This means that many consumers would like to select their room themselves.

And why shouldn’t they?

Some like the top floors, some like the lower floors, and some just like their usual room - so why not let them choose their room during purchase instead of having them request it afterward?

Travelers are so used to that in aviation - and are often willing to pay extra to select the seat.

Mapping your building is not new, with companies like MapsPeople mapping enormous shopping malls and hotels already.

Digital check-in companies like AeroGuest have taken advantage of that technology to let guests select which available room they would like when checking in using their App.

4. Focus on the environment

Focus on the environment is not really a new trend in the industry with go-green strategies adopted continuously for several years. Nonetheless, hotels are still laser-focused on the environment with pledges that are more than just the “new towels every second day”.

The future hotel technology of 2022 will have both a direct and indirect impact on the sustainability of the industry.

Although a technical solution might only access the climate sustainability by server farms, it’s becoming increasingly popular to take additional measures to reduce the carbon footprint - for example by planting trees.

A major influence on this trend is that the hospitality industry is very conscious about its footprint and a large group of hoteliers is actively trying to make a difference in the world.

Organizations like Sustainable Hospitality Alliance are working with 30,000 hotels worldwide to come up with initiates, SOP's and ideas to impact the environmental footprint. Therefore, it’s attractive for companies and startups working with hotels to work this into their value offer.

The future holds a lot of new companies rising to solve the challenge of climate for hospitality in a new and innovative way. They are very likely using technology to some extent to do that.

5. Apps for all experiences

The biggest hotel groups in the world have centered the vision and value proposition around experiences;

Yet, how remarkable is the clean bed and breakfast eggs that guests already knew they were getting when they purchased their stay?

In the next couple of years, the powerful groups will continue to add experiences to their value offer to the guests.

Accor for one has, in their ALL loyalty programme, included local analogue offers into their proposition, like flower services or event access. At a first glance, a flower service is not at all digital. But when you include it into the app that loyal guests use, it increases the value of the app. And a digitally delivered physical product is still considered a digital progress and innovation.

Hoteliers will think increasingly about how to deliver experiences to their guests. Not just experiences, but something memorable or extraordinary.

One way hoteliers are doing that, is by increasing the post-stay experience. After a customer checks out, they don’t expect more services - however, when they get that, it’s memorable and sometimes extraordinary.

In 2022, hotels will digitalize their Lost and Found processes to increase the post-stay experiences for guests.

6. Loyalty programmes change post-stay

Hotels will start thinking about the entire customer journey in 2022 as they realize the guest is never really checked out.

From the moment they find an available room at the hotel for the first time, the customer journey starts - and it should never end.

Since a returning guest is 7 times cheaper in acquisition cost, hotels will increasingly adopt digital services to stay in touch with their guests after checkout which is what the loyalty programmes originally were designed for.

Without any value offering in the app after the guests are checked out, the loyalty programmes are irrelevant for the guest. So, when they need a new stay, they just go to the OTAs to book the best option for that date.

Accor’s ALL is already moving towards this trend with exclusive offers for their ALL members. Although they primarily focus on their Paris members, it is an interesting trend and might prove a good return of investment due to increased loyalty.

There are multiple ways to advance efforts in building loyalty but keeping a lookout for a digital solution results in quick wins. Looking at some of the softwares available there are free services on the market that can be implemented in under 30 minutes.

Closing thoughts

Having read to this point, you now know more about what hotel technology trends to watch out for in 2022.

Now it’s up to you to decide what trends you want to implement and how you want to keep up with the future hotel technology.

You can also read more about:

• 6 benefits of IoT solutions in hotels
• Benefits of improving the hotel guest experience
  

Do you want to optimize your Lost and Found, save time, and streamline an otherwise messy process? - Then implementing a software is the right solution for you.

But what even is Lost and Found software? What are the benefits of implementing a software solution? And why do you need one for your business?

We’re here to answer all your questions!

In this article, we talk about what Lost and Found software actually is, and how it can help you optimize and automate your current processes.

If you want to learn more about the different software solutions on the market, then check out our article covering the top 7 best Lost and Found software in 2022.

What is Lost and Found software?

Lost and Found software helps you manage your entire Lost and Found process - allowing you to register, track, store, and return lost items on a digital platform.

With a software, you can register lost items and handle requests from your customers. Furthermore, you get a clear overview of all your data, so you know exactly what items are being stored and need to be returned to their rightful owners.

The right software solution helps you handle the communication with your customers while ensuring a quick and safe payment and return process.

It helps streamline the process from start to finish, leaving your team with more time and energy to prioritize other important tasks.

This means that your team avoids unnecessary manual work by implementing a more streamlined and efficient approach.

Who can use Lost and Found software?

A Lost and Found management software is for any business in the hospitality, travel, tourism, and entertainment industry that deals with lost belongings such as hotels, restaurants, amusement parks, public transportation, car rentals, airports, events, festivals – you name it!

Why do you need Lost and Found software?

A lot of businesses in the hospitality and travel industry don’t have an efficient way of managing Lost and Found. In most cases, it is simply not a prioritized task.

Instead, they try to manage the process by using post-it notes and messy Excel sheets, which end up being a time-consuming and messy task for the staff, without even mentioning the lack of GDPR security.

So, how does this affect the customers?

An unorganized Lost and Found process can have a negative effect on the customers’ satisfaction, and it can even damage the overall experience of their stay.

Let’s look at a scenario:

Imagine that you check out from a hotel after an A+ visit; seamless check-in, great breakfast, helpful staff, simple check-out - only to realize that you got home without your favorite scarf. You start sending emails and making international calls to retrieve it, and if the service is not A+, it affects your perception of the hotel - leaving you less likely to recommend or revisit.

Last impressions really shape the memory of your customers and it would be a waste to have an excellent experience ruined by a messy process.

So, if you want to avoid complaints, frustrations, and negative reviews - an automated Lost and Found software is the way to go!

How can it benefit your customers?

With a streamlined process, your customers avoid using unnecessary time and effort on retrieving missing items.

If they notice they’ve lost something, they can quickly report an item as missing and notify the location.

You can also be proactive and let your customers know that they’ve lost an item, even before they notice it’s gone - providing excellent customer service.

A management software removes the frustrations and work that come with getting a lost item back. Instead, your customers experience a streamlined process, that results in 5-star reviews.

How can it benefit your business?

There are many benefits to implementing Lost and Found software into your business.

Having an efficient process and taking good care of your consumers - even after they leave your location - is key! It will instantly build trust and loyalty. Furthermore, giving your customers a great service and a memorable experience will increase the chance of them returning.

A digitalized procedure replaces the manual workload, reduces errors, and saves resources. Plus, it can help make sure that you handle personal data in a legally compliant manner.

With an automated solution, your staff will save a great amount of time while reducing operational costs.

This means that you get to return belongings to their rightful owners while providing an outstanding customer experience all at the same time. It’s a win-win!

To sum up, using a software instead of going the manual way will help you:

1. Automate processes
2. Enhance customer loyalty
3. Optimize workflows
4. Save a great amount of resources
5. Increase the chance of customers returning

What’s not to like?

Closing thoughts

Now you know more about what a Lost and Found software solution actually is, and how implementing one can help you optimize your current processes.

Want to know more about Lost and Found software?

Simply book a free consultation with our experts to learn more and get started today!

You can also read more about:

• 5 easy ways to kickstart your digital transformation
• 8 step guide to boost your Lost and Found

Dealing with Lost and Found can be a hassle that turns into a bad experience for both your staff and customers. However, with the help of the right software, you can easily optimize the process and reunite more customers with their lost properties.

The only question is: which software should you choose?

When it comes to selecting the best Lost and Found software for your business, there are many things to consider. We understand that it’s important to know your options when it comes to selecting the right one.

To make things easier for you, we've compiled a list of the top 7 best Lost and Found softwares to use in 2022.

Top 7 best Lost and Found software

1. Faundit

Faundit offers a software solution that helps businesses in the hospitality, tourism, and travel industry manage and streamline their entire Lost and Found process.

With Faundit, you can easily register lost items and automate everything from contact to delivery - turning Lost and Found into great experiences.

Presence:

Global

Key features:

• Digital lost item registration and customer request forms
• API integrations (PSM, CRM)
• International shipping with prepaid labels
• Automated Smart Matching
• Multiple shipping options for your customers
• Package pick-up from your location
• GDPR compliant
• Email communication and SMS notifications
• Customizable communication
• Multiple languages available

Pros:

With Faundit, you can integrate the solution with your current systems, such as your booking system, reservation management system, Property Management System (PSM), or Customer Relationship Manager (CRM).

Furthermore, the Automated Smart Matching feature reduces the manual workload and suggests the most likely matches for found items and customer requests.

With Faundit it is also possible to customize your communication. You can customize your logo, colors, font, and text and interact with your customers through white-labeled pages, forms, and emails.

Lastly, faundit supports multiple languages. The platform is translated into 8 languages with guest-facing pages available in all languages, so you can communicate with your customers in their preferred language.

Cons:

Missing from the features list is image recognition and the possibility for your team to quickly report lost items on a mobile app. However, the app is under development and will be available at the beginning of 2022.

Pricing:

Faundit is free to use, forever. This means you can make an account and use the free version of Faundit for as long as you want, for as many items as you want.

You can also choose a premium subscription that includes more features, allowing you to strengthen and customize the communication with your customers.  

Learn more here: Faundit

2. Chargerback

Chargerback offers a cloud-based software solution that allows organizations in the hospitality, travel, and entertainment industry to register, match and return lost items to customers.

Presence:

United States

Key features:

• Online registration and reporting from all mobile devices
• Suggested item matching
• International shipping
• Image upload
• Image recognition
• Multiple shipping partners and pre-paid labels
• GDPR compliant
• Customizable communication

Pros:

Chargerback offers customizable communication that allows you to change logos, fonts, and messaging when communicating with customers.

Their software is free of charge, so your business can sign up and start using the software without having to spend extra money.

Cons:

With Chargerback it isn’t possible to integrate the solution with your current management systems, such as PMS or CRM. Furthermore, they don’t offer users a mobile app for registering lost items.

Chargerback offers a free version only, which means that your customers are charged an extra fee. To cover their expenses, Chargerback adds a service fee to the customers’ shipping charges.

This means you save money, but your customers end up paying more to be reunited with their lost items.

Pricing:

Chargeback offers a free solution only for your business.

Learn more here: Chargerback

3. iLost for Business

iLost focuses on giving the end-customers the opportunity to claim and search for their lost belongings on an online platform.

With their software solution, you can register found items and match them with requested items from customers to ensure a safe return.

Presence:

Global

Key features:

• Online lost item registration and claims reporting from all devices
• Image upload
• International shipping
• Multiple delivery options for your customers
• GDPR compliant
• Multiple languages available

Pros:

iLost for business offers a selection of languages.

This means you can personalize your communication with more of your customers and communicate in their preferred language.

Cons:

With their software, it isn’t possible to integrate the solution with your current management systems, such as PMS or CRM.

Also, the solution doesn’t allow branded communication. This means that you can’t communicate with your customers through white-labeled pages and customizable emails that reflect your brand identity.

Finally, iLost for Business doesn’t offer image recognition.

Pricing:

iLost offers a free software version or a monthly subscription option.

Learn more here: iLost for Business

4. ReclaimHub

Another solution on the market is ReclaimHub. With their platform, you can help your customers reclaim their lost belongings... did the name give it away?

Furthermore, their software allows you to register, manage, match, and return Lost and Found items to customers.

Presence:

Global

Kay features:

• Online registration and reporting of items from all devices
• Automatic matching system
• Image Upload
• GDPR compliant
• Customized categories

Pros:

Their software solution offers different features where you can upload images and choose and create your own categories when registering items on the platform.

With ReclaimHub you can use the automatic matching tool to make sure your customers are quickly reunited with their lost items.

Cons:

Missing from the features list is the possibility to integrate the solution with your current management systems, such as PMS or CRM.

Furthermore, the solution doesn’t include a mobile app or image recognition and doesn’t allow businesses to customize their communication or interact with customers in multiple languages.

Pricing:

ReclaimHub offers a free 30-day trial period to try out their software.

Afterward, they offer a monthly subscription option.

Learn more here: ReclaimHub

5. NotLost

The NotLost software helps you manage your Lost and Found processes. With their software, you can register lost items and respond to customer requests  - making lost items... not lost.

Presence:

United Kingdom

Key features:

• Online registration and reporting of items
• Image upload
• Suggested item matching
• Image recognition
• GDPR compliant
• Automated emails
• Multiple shipping options for your customers

Pros:

With the NotLost solution, you can add images when registering found items on the platform and you can use the matching engine feature to quickly receive suggested Lost and Found matches.

Cons:

Missing from the features list is the possibility for businesses to interact with customers through customized communication. Also, it's not possible to interact with customers in different languages, as the platform only supports English.

The solution doesn’t provide system integrations with your current management systems, such as PSM or CRM, and doesn’t provide a mobile app feature.

Pricing:

NotLost has several pricing plans that suit different-sized businesses.

They offer both monthly and annual subscriptions.

Learn more here: NotLost

6. vFound

vFound is a 100% web-based software solution that helps you manage your Lost and Found processes.

They focus on using pictures on the platform to create transparency in the process of returning lost items to their rightful owners.

Presence:

Global

Key features:

• Online registrations and reporting of items on a centralized dashboard
• Multiple shipping options
• Image upload
• Customer chat function

Pros:

The use of images is one of their main focus areas. vFound uses the power of images to ensure a safe and trustworthy process when it comes to returning lost items with customers.

Cons:

vFound is one of the newer solutions on the market and is missing features such as automatic matching, image recognition, system integrations, mobile app, and the opportunity to interact with customers in multiple languages.

Pricing:

Free 30-day trial period.

Afterward, vFound offers two pricing plans for different-sized businesses.

Learn more here: vFound

7. Lost and found software

Lost and found software offers businesses a simplified solution with different features for managing Lost and Found procedures.

Presence:

Global

Key features:

• Online registration and reporting of items on tablets, smartphones, and computers
• Smart matching
• Mobile app
• Global shipping
• GDPR compliant
• Image recognition
• Customizable communication: white-labeled emails and forms
• Multiple languages available

Pros:

With Lost and Found Software, you can customize and personalize your communication with your customers and speak with them in several languages.

Furthermore, you can use features such as automated smart matching and image recognition to help you quickly register and match lost items with customer requests.

Cons:

Their solution doesn’t include system integrations with management systems, such as PSM or CRM.

Pricing options:

Free trial available.

They offer a free subscription version - free to use up to 1,500 entries per year

Learn more here: Lost and found software

Summing up

Having read to this point, you now know more about the different software solutions on the market and how they can help you optimize your Lost and Found.

Now it’s up to you to choose the best Lost and Found software for your business and get started with optimizing the process today.

Want to know more? Book a free consultation with our experts to review your current processes and determine your needs.

You can also read more about:

• The ultimate 8-step guide to boosting your Lost and Found experience
• Benefits of improving the hotel guest experience
• Digital transformation in the hotel industry
  

Digital transformation has made a significant impact on the hotel and hospitality industry in the last few years. Amongst other things, it has changed the way hotels operate while driving them to become more and more innovative and adopt new technologies.

Let’s look at the benefits of integrating technology into your current hotel processes and how you can get started with your digital transformation today.

What is digital transformation?

Integrating technology into your current processes to an extent that it fundamentally changes the way your hotel operates and delivers value to guests is a digital transformation of your hotel. It’s a broad definition and there are multiple ways of executing a digital transformation. With multiple hotel software available to help digitalize both your property and your property management systems (PMS), the common way to implement technology is to leverage the services already available.

Shifting from the analogue approach as hoteliers are used to into a digital mindset is not just trendy, it can often have a bottom-line impact. The digital part of transforming the hotel often means operational efficiencies as tech can optimize workflows, automate processes, or reduce staffing requirements. Going digital is here to stay and you might as well buckle up if you’re not ready to get left behind by the increasing digitalization of the hospitality industry.

Why is digital transformation revolutionizing the hotel industry?

There is a digital revolution happening in the hospitality industry in the last few years. At least, that’s what it looks like because innovative solutions are evolving at a rapid pace. However, digitalization looks to be happening fast, as the industry was not as adaptive towards tech only a few years ago. It’s a human-to-human business, so technology has never been top of mind previously.

IT solutions have traditionally had low priority in budgeting. Today, however, IT has risen to top the list, and the reason is simple - the return on investment is high.

Hospitality companies are experts in operations and real estate, so it’s common to outsource IT. The number of companies doing PMS, guest messaging, check-in, and auxiliary services has increased tenfold in just a few years.

The pandemic affecting the digital transformation

When the pandemic stunned everyone in the hospitality industry, it also kickstarted a digital revolution. The contactless overhaul forced hotel management to go digital with online check-in and digital room information. Since the first steps are always the most difficult to take, future innovations in your hotel are only going to be easier. The industry is already moving towards consolidating hotel software into a single platform.

How does digital transformation affect hotels?

So, the pandemic forced the travel and hospitality industry to innovate and adopt technology, which is now pushing a digital transformation throughout the industry. To see the effect, consider the hotels not joining the digital revolution. Non-digital hotels will:

• Lack automated processes that help to drive costs down
• Require more staffing to fill tedious tasks
• Have less value-added service available to their guests which in turn lowers the guest experience provided per $ spent.

Ultimately, differences in digital adoption create a gap between the hotels’ profitability. Hotels that can integrate technology into their current procedure are able to drive costs down which enables them to a competitive edge when pricing rooms. When - at the same time - offering guests unique experiences, they can harvest better reviews and increase the chances of guests returning.

What it looks like for the guest, in the end, is fair-priced rooms at highly-rated hotels.

Digital trends in hotel industry

Although the industry is still very focused on cost and economies of scale, some of the leading hotels have shown that adopting technology into their operations can be just as efficient as a source of profit.

Startups are rising, focusing solely on implementing technology in hotels. A noteworthy mention is apaleo, an untraditional PMS. They are all about providing the basic PMS services and easily enabling hotels to add new hotel software to their PMS, so when working with apeleo, you can browse digital services and add them to your hotel management interface. See service samples below or click here.

The emergence of Airbnb prompted the largest European hotel group to disrupt the business model and the entire way they think customer journey. They have added a range of digital products to their bed-or-one-night default product, meaning that they are no longer just a chain of hotels anymore. They are even thinking of how to service and monetize the non-travelers with a social network company.

Rating is king. So, when the online travel agencies (OTAs) have a large influence on how many guests will visit your hotel next month, you have to think about what drives the guests to select hotels from the OTAs. Yes, that’s ratings. Radisson Hotel Group’s goal to offer extraordinary experiences to their guests does just that - and it might even build loyalty. So, the experiences that you offer your guests are ever important, and there a digital transformation might be your key.

Getting started with your digital transformation: tips and considerations

What is your digitalization goal? Do you want to achieve operational excellence in your hotel? Do you want to improve the experience that your guests receive?

When you have decided on the goal, you need to figure out where a digital upgrade has the most effect. Think about where you have the most analogue approach, and it doesn’t have to be the most business-critical area. The most important area has received a lot of attention throughout, so the percentual improvement might not be high.

In effect, you get the same operational result from innovating a minor business area as there often is a bigger relative change. The biggest benefit is that minor business-critical areas often are simpler and faster to change. So, you can act today and get instant benefits.

5 easiest ways to kickstart your digital transformation today:

1. Digitalize your Lost and Found:

Dealing with lost property requires collaboration across departments, from housekeeping to accounting. A digital approach to lost items lets you automate communication with the guest and can take care of all payment and shipping.
Suggestion to digital Lost and Found software: Faundit

2. Digitalize your minibar:

Let your guests order minibar items online; no need to check and restock the fridge daily and a great reason to upsell. That small 10L minibar can have a world of selection in stock.
Suggestion to digital minibar solution: Bartech

3. Digitalize your room service:

Free up staffing by asking your guests to book room service online. Your guests do not want to pick up the old-school phone and wait for someone to pick up the call - and you definitely do not want to ask a staff member to man the phone.
Suggestion to digital room service software: Clock PMS+

4. Digitalize your check-in information:

Give your guests all relevant information via text or email so that it is always available from their phones.
Suggestion to digital check-in software: DigitalGuest

5. Digitalize your concierge services:

Your guests are used to Google and chatbots, so let them interact with your hotel in the same way. Integrate directly with the concierge or front deck to rapidly answer the guests’ questions.
Suggestion to digital guest communication software: Bookboost

How much does digital transformation cost?

Financially speaking, there’s an upfront payment, often a monthly subscription, to software that digitalizes your hotel, but the payment is worth the investment in almost every case. If not, the provider will eventually lose all its customers and the cost benefits from digital software are that the services are very affordable because they operate on a large scale. 1.000 other hotels can use the same software or service as you do, so you end up paying a fraction of the operating cost.

The software costs are mainly recovered in the following 3 ways:

• Upselling of services or food/beverages during the stay.
• Operations efficiencies that help save cost or free up staff time for other tasks.
• Improved guest experience that translates into loyal, returning customers.

What makes GDPR essential for the hotels and the whole hospitality industry when dealing with lost and found?

GDPR and Lost and found, yes, these two are supposed to go hand in hand. You might not be aware of it, but dealing with lost properties in hotels can be a sensitive matter, that's why you need to be aware of the GDPR compliance, many people don't know that a name on a post-it is against the GDPR rules.

On our many visits to hotels, golf courses, amusement parks, and other organizations within the hospitality industry we have seen it all. The general way to handle lost properties is excel sheets, notebooks, and a lot of post-its. This is a natural way for the staff to process the lost and found items, and it has been done like that for years. At Faundit we don't want you to worry, that's one of the reasons why we started www.faundit.com.

With Faundit, it's easier to uphold the requirements as we communicate with the guest and inform you when you need to get rid of the lost property and our system is fully compliant with GDPR.

Is GDPR for all hotels and the hospitality industry?

Yes! Any company that stores or processes personal information about EU citizens within EU states must comply with the GDPR, even if they do not have a business presence within the EU.

An example of not following GDPR and what the consequences can be: A Danish hotel chain got in 2020, a DKK 1,100,000 (approx. €147,800) fine and got reported to the police for failure to delete personal data and not being compliant with GDPR.

What types of privacy data does the GDPR protect?

• Basic identity information such as name, address, telephone number, e.g. to prevent papers with personal data from ending up in the wrong places, such as post-its with personal information lying around on the front desk.
• Payment card information
• Web data such as location, IP address, cookie data. Health and genetic data. In the hospitality industry, we might know our guests better than they know themselves - to give them a better guest experience.
• Biometric data, since many new features in the hospitality industry, are getting more and more futuristic with biometric data for identification and access control.
• Racial or ethnic data, political opinions, and sexual orientation.

What exactly is GDPR ?

The European Parliament adopted the GDPR in April 2016, replacing an outdated data protection directive from 1995. It carries provisions that require all businesses including the whole hospitality industry to protect the personal data and privacy of EU citizens for transactions that occur within EU member states.

Let's say you work in hospitality, own a hotel, or are just looking to improve your guest experience and you came here to find out how technology affects the hotel industry and which technological benefits there are.

To get an answer to that, let's start from the point of getting the guest through the door.

1. Online check-in

Taking a picture of a sunset on the Amalfi coast in Italy, listening to our favourite artist, or simply calling your loved ones - a smartphone lets us do that. In 2015, 42% of the world travelers were connected travelers, having used a smartphone to plan or book a trip and that 34% of them want the hotel to offer mobile check-in. Nowadays, 62% of the guests prefer that hotels have an online check-in offer included and therefore it is on top of our guide.

Online check-in works on the principle of using your smartphone as a digital hotel key to enter the hotel. You can enter at any time, skip the front desk, and go straight to your room.

Now, you might wonder how a digital hotel key works. Well, a digital hotel key works from your smartphone (via Bluetooth) to unlock the room. You can either use an app provider or an online website service for this to be possible.

This technology has many benefits on the overall customer satisfaction. It can create such a seamless experience for the guest and let them be in the driver seat during their stay. According to OpenKey, it is not just beneficial for customer satisfaction, it can even be put in the numbers that it can save you an average of $1,000 per month in discarded RFID keycards.

2. Digital Concierge

A virtual concierge or digital concierge is a type of customer interaction technology that allows businesses to communicate to and provide their users with digital information about the hotel. It is very popular in hospitality as it easily replaces the folder with 20 pages of informational content about the hotel's offers and destinations. It is becoming more and more popular as the convenience for the guest is better than ever. They simply use their smartphone to get all the information in their hands. It gives them anything from local attractions and sightseeing they could do to current weather and waiting time in the parking lot.

The use of digital concierge can be even greater. You could possibly upsell to your guests as you are able to display promotional offers, special deals on the hotel’s restaurant menu or even vouchers for spa or room service. These benefits of digital concierge serve well for increasing the overall customer satisfaction. But there are benefits from the cost-efficiency side as well. Print less, save more.

3. Digital room service

Every restaurant tries to keep their menu short. You naturally want the customer to not get confused when they read the menu. You keep a short description of the meal, its ingredients, and the way you prepare it. You would also keep prices next to it and a deal like a 3 course meal to earn more money by having promotional offers. A waiter would serve the meal and if he is serving a curious customer, one might ask for more details about the dish they are eating.

But what if your guest is in their room and they have never eaten at your restaurant before? You could leave the detailed description of the dishes that spans across 20 pages. But that is not very effective and the case of The Del Lago Resort and Casino shows that by implementing digital technology next to the bed resulted in 25.000$ more revenue generated per month. This is just one of many examples that leverage technology to increase their profitability.

How can you implement digital room service in your hotel?

You can choose one of the digital room service providers that offer this additional service for your hotel. Some of the similarities that these services provide is the complete digital guide of the hotel, guide of the hotel menu, and the menu from the bar. More importantly, they give you the ability to communicate with the guest. The guest knows when the food gets ready, when it will arrive, and this just brings more towards the overall customer satisfaction.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to promotion to the guest. You can, for example, give them a special discount on their birthday, anniversary, or acknowledge any other thing that you might know about the guest. Personalizing their experience is the key for driving customer loyalty. Quick and easy contactless payment is one of the other bonuses of this type of service. This just proves that digital room service will help you increase your guest loyalty and overall financial performance.

4. Post-stay experience

You have given your guests a digital experience that they want and we came to the last stage of the so-called digital customer journey and now it is time to let them go. This is where you can leverage the hotel automation technology. One of the things you should do is an automated survey. It is important that you capture the things you did right and even more the wrong ones. Maybe the outside noise was affecting them?

Guests’ feedback can greatly help you here for their next booking to get to know them and give them a room on the other side of the hotel where they won't be disturbed.

Putting guests in your email marketing base can be very lucrative. You can stay in contact with them long after they have left and keep them updated on your services and offers. Anything from a discount on a room to free breakfast on their stay, it is up to you. More importantly you can send them special offers on the special dates they have. For example, acknowledge their birthday or a day they first checked-in at your hotel. Leveraging that knowledge will raise positive emotions with them and it will ensure a higher review score.

5. Digital Lost and Found

We’ve come to an end with our contactless guest experience guide and this is where we solve problems for the unlucky guests that manage to lose something during their stay. Usually, when you lose something, you would call the hotel to inquire your lost item and where it could’ve gotten misplaced. Then they would proceed to contact the staff, ask them about it, and so on. That is a very complicated and time consuming process. Luckily, we found the solution for you.

A digital Lost and Found solution allows you to register the lost property on an online platform that can be a digital storage so to say. It replaces the old notebook or excel sheet and gives you a quick and easy overview of the items you have in your storage. This can save you a tremendous amount of time for performing these tasks and it can reduce operational cost you spend on staff.

More importantly, the platform contacts the guest automatically to notify them that the item has been found and helps them in whatever way they want to handle it. Get it shipped? No problem, Faundit takes care of payment, shipment, pick-up and delivery. Pick it up themselves? No sweat, just let Faundit know the date and you at the hotel will be informed automatically a day in advance in order to have it ready.

Notifying the guest about the lost item and taking the proactive approach is very beneficial for building customer loyalty.

As a hotel, you need to take the first step and let them know about their lost belongings. Faundit has an email automation built in and no matter if it is 12 AM or 12 PM, if a guest registers the item and you have it, they will be notified immediately. And when it goes even further regarding the arrangement of the shipping of the item, all coordination with the guest and streamlined communication, it makes it a no-brainer to turn what have previously been a bad experience for both parties into an opportunity to create loyal guests by providing a not expected incredible service - and saving time and resources while doing it.

Short summary to take home

Contactless hotels start by taking the guest through the door with a quick and easy online check-in which 62% of the guests prefer. It works on a principle of using your smartphone as a digital hotel key. Digital hotel keys use bluetooth technology from your smartphone to connect with the lock and open the door. This can save you up to 1000$ on discarded RFID cards.

Digital concierge replaces old folders of 20 pages of information with a mobile app that contains everything a guest might need. From local attractions to restaurant offers, this tool can provide it all. It enables you to upsell to your guests any offer that you have in mind.

This can be as an addition to the digital concierge or a separate one for itself but a digital room service has many advantages. It gives your guests a digital restaurant and bar menu with all the information about the dishes that they might want to know. From cooking to cocktails, this service can smoothen it all.

The guest has opened the door without a key, got the information from their phone, have wined and dined in your restaurant, and now they are ready to leave. Maybe they want to give you a well earned digital tip and in the post-stay experience phase you should add them to your email marketing client list. It gives you an opportunity to chat with them long after they leave the hotel, send them a happy birthday email, or perhaps a reminder after a year on the day they were at your hotel. This will definitely make them smile and possibly come back.

Finally, an unlucky customer needs to be taken care of. They lost their beloved belongings and they need it back as quickly as possible. Give them the opportunity to register their item online on your website by opting in for Faundit's Lost and Found software. Or you can take the proactive approach and let them know they’ve lost the item before them even knowing it - all automatically. All you need to do is register it on the Faundit platform and everything else will be taken care of. Those guests will never forget that you helped them out to that extend and they will stay loyal to your brand.

‌

Lost and Found for organizations

From restaurants, amusement parks to hotels, they all should follow these guidelines released by the Swedish government for lost personal property. The period of time for which you will store it can vary depending on how far you want to go to satisfy your guest. This process is an important part of hotel operations as it can significantly increase customer experience.

1.    You can keep the item for up to 3 months. Most organizations practice storing it for a month.

2.   Write down where you found it, when, and what it is. Keeping a detailed log like this can help you organize items in your storage and find the original owner faster. Perhaps you can consider using hospitality management software to make this step easier.

3.    You need to contact the owner if you know their personal information.

4.    Items of higher value should be kept in a locked area.

5.   After the storage period, you need to turn the items over to the police.

Everyone loves a proactive approach, but you should also be careful with it. Tell your front desk to always use e-mail, instead of phone calls, and definitely avoid social media contact.

How hotels in Sweden handle lost property

The majority of the hotels in Sweden transitioned to digitalization and the use of hotel management system or property management system (PMS). They operate as a part of channel management to help hotels handle their day-to-day business easier.

Naturally, we have some partners in Sweden that use our services, but we still wanted to conduct some research on the topic and find out how those old-fashioned hotels in Sweden function without hotel management software and what they do with items of property. Here is their way of doing things:

1. Storing the item for 4 weeks before handing it over to the authorities.
2. Keeping track of what the item is, when it was found and where. Some of them take notes in the notebook or write them in an excel sheet for an easier overview.
3. If they can see who the owner is, naturally they try and make contact.
4. Using locked compartments to store items of greater value such as expensive watches, jewelry, and electronic devices.
5. Once the period of storage exceeds the duration of 4 weeks, the items are given to the police for further processing.

Finding forgotten items

‌As a guideline of the Lost and Found law, if you have found something in public areas you are obligated to report it to the Police as soon as possible. Interestingly, you do not need to report the lost item if you do not move it from its place or if you do not take it with you. Of course, If you know who the true owner is, you can contact them and avoid this procedure.

You can choose to keep the lost property.

In Sweden, it is possible to keep the lost item. But that means you need to report to the police that you are keeping the item and pay the police’s cost if the owner of the property contacts them afterward and such costs arise. Be careful with this one, no one wants to pay the costs of finding a Rolex watch.

After three months the finder can keep the item.

In case the owner of the item has not been found within three months of it being in the police station, then the person who found it can keep it. Also, the finder can keep the item if the owner does not pick up the item within one month of receiving notification.

Police take care of the item if no one wants it.

The police can sell a lost property that has gone to the state if neither the owner nor the finder wants the item back. Also, they can sell perishable items such as food if they are at risk of deteriorating.

They can also sell the item if it requires a high cost of taking care of. For example, if they find an animal that is too expensive to look after. This may sound unusual, but there is a special reason for this type of sale. It happens only in the case when the police cannot find a suitable feed host for the animal because it has special needs.

Sådan skal virksomheder gøre

Uanset om du er et hotel, en restaurant, butik eller anden form for virksomhed, er det uundgåligt, at nogen vil miste noget, når de besøger dig.

Hvis du finder deres glemte ting, er der bestemte regler, som du skal følge i Hittegods-loven.

Reglerne afhænger af værdien af genstanden. Helt generelt gælder disse punkter;

1. Du må opbevare glemte sager i op til 3 måneder.
2. Du bør føre en detaljeret log over ting fundet på din adresse. Som minimum skal du skrive ned Hvad, Hvor og Hvornår.
3. Ved du, hvem ejeren er - fx hvis det er glemt på et hotelværelse - skal du forsøge at kontakte ejeren af den glemte ting.
4. Værdifulde genstanden, så som smykker, bør blive opbevaret sikkert i et pengeskab eller lignende.
5. Efter 3 måneders opbevaring, bør du overlevere den glemte ting til politiets hittegodskontor. Hvis de dirigerer dig et andet sted hen, er det også fint.

Det kan virke som meget arbejde at følge disse regler, men det er en del af loven. Så undgår du en stor bøde, og du kan yde en fantastisk service til dine kunder - især hvis du er god til punkt 3. Måske endda dine kunder belønner din indsats med et nyt besøg eller en god anmeldelse?

Sådan håndterer hoteller i Danmark hittegods

Mange danske hoteller er rigtig gode til at registrere de fundne sager, og når de kan, tager de en proaktiv tilgang og kontakter gæster og oplyser om, at de har glemt noget. Generelt foretrækker man ikke at ringe, da man kan risikere at få fat i den forkerte person, men i stedet foretrækker man at skrive en mail til den emailadresse, de brugte til bookingen. Her er et par tips:

1. Skriv ned hvad du finder, hvornår du fandt det og hvor henne det blev fundet. Skriv det ned et sted, som du nemt kan finde tilbage til og holde styr på, fx en notesbog eller online.
2. Placer den fundne ting i et opbevaringsrum med et ID nummer på, så du nemt kan finde den senere.
3. Hvis du ved hvem ejeren er, send en email med muligheder for gæsten.
4. Hvis du ikke ved, hvem ejeren er, kan du vente op til 3 måneder på, at de spørger efter den. Herefter kan du overlevere det til hittegodskontoret.
5. Hav eventuelt en Lost and Found formular på din hjemmeside, så gæster nemt kan efterspørge deres ting - i stedet for at vente i kø over telefonen.

Generelle regler, hvis du fundet noget i det offentlige

Hittegods-loven siger, at du skal overlevere det, du finder, til politiet, hvis du finder noget på gaden eller et andet offentligt sted. De modtager alt fra tabte nøgler til iPhones. Hvis det er oplagt at indlevere et andet sted, er det også fint, fx hvis du fundet et rejsekort, kan du indlevere til det til DSB eller en 7 Eleven på banegården.

Hvis genstanden er meget værdifuld, er det altid bedst at overlevere det til politiet, da de bedre har mulighed og ressourcer til at finde ejeren. Hvis du nemt kan se, hvem ejeren er, kan du selvfølgelig også blot overlevere til ham/hun.

Last year, Hospitality industry took a huge hit from the pandemic. Workforce layoffs, restrictions and not to mention the overall lockdown are threatening the survival of a great number of hotels. However, Hospitality is an adaptive industry, and most of the hotels managed to keep up with the changing circumstances.

Some of these changes are likely to stay well into 2021 and here we are bringing you some of them.

1. Book a table to create a small social gap

In order to promote safety of your business, the best way is to encourage your customers to book a table in advance. It will create a small social distancing among customers, and you will be complying fully to the restrictions. That will directly make your customer feel safer while dining. The benefit for you is that it gives you insight into how busy your restaurant will be, allowing you to arrange the shifts and staff accordingly. The result is a faster service and a great experience for the consumer.

2. Paperless payment is the new method

Even before 2020, almost every business offered a contactless payment. But, during the past year there was a significant increase in it. Even in the cash preferred countries such as Germany. Most of the customers preferred not to create unnecessary contact with the staff and they started ordering and paying in advance. Moreover, businesses also encouraged their consumers to avoid paying in cash since most of the governments gave strong recommendation to avoid it.

3. Deliver the food or serve it as Takeaway

During the initial lockdown, most business were struggling on how to manage their operations. Governments around the world only allowed the restaurant business to be open for takeaway. This is going to continue well into 2021 and business should work on building their Takeaway service and raise as much awareness as possible about it. In regards to delivery, you can incorporate Just Eat into your business and be available for online orders. If you want to have everything taken care of, you can always make an agreement with Wolt and they can help you out.

4. Outdoor dining in indoor settings

Dining outside is one of the trends your business should follow. It affects the virus spread directly, since most of the infections happened indoors. Whether you will create greenhouses, plastic clear tents or just a cover above the table with a heater next to it, they still help preventing the spread of the virus. They can be easily cleaned and sanitized. Those special places create a cosy, private atmosphere for the customers and are becoming more popular.

There is no difference when it comes to the hotels either. Many of them offer outdoor seating now, while others pay closer attention to increasing air circulation in indoor dining spaces.

5. Simple restaurant menu

Many restaurants nowadays simplify their menu offerings. By reducing the items on menu, they are directly reducing preparation time and costs on labor. Restaurants may choose to only serve their most popular meals, or the ones that are most suited for takeaway.

Conclusion is that until this period passes, the competitive level will be extremely high in this industry. This is excellent if you are a customer, with new practices, methods, and offerings you will get the best possible experience everywhere you travel.

With over 50 years of experience, Comwell ensures an outstanding quality of service and pleasant stay all over Denmark and in two locations in Sweden. Whether it is a business trip or a family spa weekend, Comwell is offering both urban and remote experiences. As an award-winning hotel group, Comwell is at the forefront of change and innovation in terms of guest experience and operational efficiency.

Making a real difference for the guest is often in the details. For that reason, Comwell supports its guests by offering free co-work spaces, digital running routes, organic food options and even personalized pillows

For most hotels, the challenge isn’t only providing the best in-house experience but the service after the guest has checked out is especially difficult. As an industry with an overwhelming amount of items left behind it is common to struggle in upholding high standards in returning those items. For Comwell, Lost and Found became an issue causing frustration for staff and guests alike.

The challenge: Overwhelming Lost & Found

Nothing is more bothersome than having a hotel staff that invests their hearts into providing the perfect service to their guests and letting it be ruined by one forgetful moment by the guest and a chaotic Lost & Found process. Nonetheless, they found a genuine challenge being both cost-efficient and service-minded while tackling this problem.

“What really interested us about Faundit was that they take care of ⅔ of the process, which frees up time for our staff to focus on things around the hotels”
- Christian Bendixen, Booking- and Front Office Manager @ Comwell Aarhus

Comwell Hotels collects almost 14,000 lost items every year. As required by law, the hotel must register each item and attempt to contact the owner, if known. With guests from all over the world, the staff could spend hours communicating with guests about what they might have forgotten and facilitating returns. Now, Comwell lets Faundit automate the heavy lifting while they enjoy the credit for a successful reunion.

The solution: Automated Lost & Found is the future

The process is simple and easy: the staff registers the details about what they find at the hotels and Faundit automatically reaches out to the guest through email and text to coordinate the next steps for the lost property.

1.    If the guests’ wish is to have it sent to them, everything from customs, payment, and pick up at the reception is taken care of by Faundit.

2.    If the guest chooses to pick it up themselves, Faundit’s team coordinates the wish and lets Comwell know in due time.

3.    If the guest does not want their item back, they make sure that Comwell is notified of the request and has time to fulfill their legal obligations.

Most importantly: no more post-its, no more clustered Excel sheets, no more unanswered emails, and no more headache for the hotels’ staff or guests. The group saves 200 hours every month and makes sure that the in-house guests are overjoyed while easily complying with GDPR regulations.

In total, Comwell saves € 45,000 every year by automating their Lost & Found.

“We realised that there is so much value in the communication with the guest today. We’re able to turn the situations into something good for the unlucky guests, so that we can go 'above and beyond' with ease. We are offering an add-on service that they don’t forget”
- Christian Bendixen, Booking- and Front Office Manager @ Comwell Aarhus

On top of the financial savings, the hotels could deliver great customer experiences and a seamless service, because of Faundit. This helped out all parties involved and increased positive feedback and reviews from their guests.

Ultimately, Faundit was associated with loyalty, trust, and an increase in returning visitors. Now, more hotels and service organisations are following the trend and adopting the "new normal".

Have you every thought that the plastic straw in your delicious cocktail might costs a baby turtle's life? It has been estimated that there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050. Yet, only 5% hotels of hotels are sustainable to this day.

Fortunately, the well-being of our environment and green thinking are relevant topics that shape today’s world. The expanding trend results in growing demand towards sustainable solutions in the hotel industry as well. It shows that over 2/3 of tourists prefer eco-friendly options.

It transforms guests’ expectations and needs when it comes to their accommodation. The growing trend pressures hoteliers to adapt their business to the ‘new normal’ standard, while offering win-win for the guests, for the business, and most importantly for the environment.

Let's review why you should transform to a more sustainable business:

Perks of sustainability

• Diminishes overall costs in the long run
• Significantly improves business performance
• Practices positive impact on guest experience
• Increases the number of returning customers
• Boost sympathy & loyalty towards the hotel

Top 7 easily adaptable initiatives to sustainability

1. Handle tasks online: It not only saves resources for the hotel, but makes it easier to organise and perform daily tasks around the hotel.  No more paper work, or lost sticky notes. For instance, online Lost and Found could save resources and limit stress for the hotel's staff.
2. Avoid plastic usage: Motivate the guests to use reusable cups and glasses, and reward them for collaborating with you (e.g.: ‘bring your own cup’).
3. Implement IoT solutions : Such intelligent systems reduce energy waste (electricity, water etc.) and makes the staff’s life easier as well.
4. Launch a sustainability loyalty programmes: It could be as small as to motivate guests to reuse towels, to bring their own reusable bottles and cups or to share their ideas on how to improve the hotel green initiatives. It is a great way for relationship building, as long as they feel appreciated and rewarded in the right way (e.g.: tangible rewards like coupons, discounts or intangible like special treats, crediting them for the idea, knowing them by name etc.). By cooperating with your guests, they are involved in the process and frankly become more engaged with your business.
5. Provide green transportation facilities: Motivate your guests to rent bikes or share taxi ride with others when it is possible (e-bikes and e-cars rentals).
6. Make recycling easy for guests: Educate your guests (as they might share different cultures and knowledge regarding recycling) about your recycling system, so it is effortless and straightforward for everyone. Prepare introduction videos or manuals, and place recycle bins to multiple locations so it is visible.
7. Limit the amount of food wasted: Quit straws, offer seasonal and locally sourced menus, or even donate the food that left from the day. There are several good way to get rid of excess food. As an instance, apps like ‘Too good to go’.

Undoubtedly, these initiatives are key and soon become standard for hotels all around the world, no matter of location or culture. Hoteliers should not waste time and implement a more green mindset today for a better future. Guldsmeden Hotels are great example of maintaining a strong brand and running a sustainable, green business.

So, no more excuses! These easy initiatives are good starting point and are accessible to adapt to the business, even today.

Inspiration - Villa Copenhagen

In the heart of Copenhagen, Villa Copenhagen is soon opening its doors and offering a unique experience. The hotel not only built with charming Scandinavian design, but it also inspired by sustainable initiatives respecting our environment. Gourmet local dishes, excellent service and luxurious convenience in the capital of Denmark. In addition, they reuse the excess heat produced to heat the hotel's pool. How cool is that?

Forgetting a personal item can immediately vanish the memory of that perfect holiday in that amazing resort. No matter if the item is considered a valuable possession or not, it might hold sentimental value for our guests.

Lost and Found is neglected in most hotel managements. Yet, it is just as significant element of an outstanding customer service as trained staff, quality food or clean hotel rooms.

To avoid complains and uncomfortable situations that could harm your business, the hotel ought to act quickly and efficiently in order to solve the issue as seamlessly as possible to maintain the guests’ satisfaction. By notifying the guests before they would even recognise that their item is missing, hands down will make them vividly remember to your hotel. Nonetheless, it is proven that well-established Lost and Found management procedures can significantly enhance guest loyalty.

Being said, a well-planned Lost and Found management ought to be established to eliminate such unsatisfied hotel guest experience.

8 steps for the perfect Lost and Found

1. Assign a person to manage the hotel's Lost and Found for a better overview over the procedures.
2. Create transparency and a common understanding regarding the relevance of Lost and Found management among the staff.
3. Implement an efficient inventory control system (e.g.: numbering systems) that assists in documenting, controlling and managing data.
4. Document each case and keep track of the status of the items by creating a template. It must include information such as date, time and place of discovery of the item, name of the person found the item and any additional information. Likewise, there has to be a similar, but separated form that stands for the guest inquiry.
5. Be reachable and accountable. It is crucial to be available and communicative clearly the ongoing procedure to the guest. Make sure that the guests are not frustrated, but feel cared and supported in such situations.
6. Place the items in a secured area where they can be locked away from any unauthorised access and protect the personal data of your hotel guests accordingly to the GDPR regulations.
7. Note all the pick-up or delivery transactions and make sure that the owner can prove his/her right.
8. Make sure that the staff maximises its potential to find or return the lost items to their owners and the guests are satisfied with the service.

Summing up, the implementation of these steps can boost your guest experience and ensure customer engagement. However, Lost and Found is a time-demanding procedure, but fortunately nowadays there are digital companies that offer automated Lost and Found solutions such as Faundit.

+A bonus step: Automated Lost and Found

How to establish an outstanding Lost and Found? The ultimate way to bring your Lost and Found game to its full potential is through automation. Nowadays the majority of tedious tasks can be exchanged to automated solutions, thus your staff can concentrate on other core competences.

5 perks of automated Lost and Found

• Saves great amount of resources of the hotel
• Limit responsibility from the hotel to the guest
• Generates positive reviews
• Significantly reduces errors in the overall process
• Better customer experience and enhances guest loyalty

Faundit offers an easy and convenient way to handle your Lost and Found by providing any communication and transaction between you and your guests. Manage your hotel business more efficiently already today.

Visit  https://faundit.com/ to start your exciting journey with us and save time for yourself.