Moving into 2023, the hospitality industry continues to advance in guest-facing as well as back-office technology, allowing hotel owners and management groups the ability to increase revenue, lower labor costs, and streamline accounting functions, all while realigning resources to improve the guest experience. Some trends have been around for a while and continue to advance, such as cloud-based platforms, while there are others in the hospitality industry taking steps toward smart hotels and artificial intelligence. Over the course of 2023, you will see the industry shift to a level of progressiveness that we’ve never seen before by using more automation and contactless options as we build the bridge between the digital and physical worlds.

As 2022 comes to a close, now is the time to start making decisions for 2023 and setting expectations for the coming year.

What Trends Are Coming in 2023?

Cloud-Based Platforms

One important practice is using cloud-based technology. The Cloud is one of the most adopted trends in the hospitality industry as it brings flexibility to financial, operational, and labor practices. This technology is essential for real-time updates across all channels, and it makes adding innovations to a hotel’s tech stack easier. Users are able to access information remotely and have shared access to both resources and data from anywhere. Cloud-based platforms are highly secure with encrypted security. Not only does it keep unwanted users out, but on the flip side, it is beneficial to use for collaboration and data exchange with secured authorization. Business owners can even cut up to 50% of labor costs by utilizing cloud-based platforms.

Mobile Technology

Mobile apps have taken over every industry including hospitality. Mobile technology helps leverage customer retention and company branding as well as allows users to view KPIs and manage multiple POS outlets at a company’s convenience. Apps are known to ensure easy access to customers and deliver a positive customer experience. Many companies in the hospitality industry are using apps to market their software and create an easy-to-use platform that can be accessed from any device from any location. The data on the apps are convenient and helpful to users as it updates in real time.

Having an easily accessible platform helps with efficiency and allows users to work while on the go. Oftentimes, hospitality-specific software will pull from multiple data points and integrate them onto one network for the user’s convenience. This way, all information is easy to consume and all information can be looked at in a glance instead of pages of scrollable data.

Automated Accounting Processes

Many hospitality companies are turning to the usage of automation for their accounting processes. 70% of companies have reported substantial ROI once incorporating and using automation throughout their entire corporation. Using software to automate processes saves time and opens doors for finance and accounting operations, including PMS, POS, bank reconciliation, intelligent imaging, payroll entries, approval workflows, financial reports, and more. Automated operations are reliable, highly productive, and reduce operating costs. Due to AI (Artificial Intelligence), accounting processes are becoming more simplified and time efficient. In addition to the list above, automated processes are effective and helpful in reducing human error and reducing the workload for accountants, which in turn helps boost productivity.

IoT (Internet of Things)

IoT is a new and trending topic in the hospitality industry. IoT allows an array of devices connected through the internet to be controlled by one central source. The control can be from any device with an internet connection, including a phone or tablet. This will benefit the hotel industry, especially the customers, as they can now have all their needs in one place, including digital key cards, smart hotel room controls, or customer service at their fingertips. Without needing human intervention or interaction, IoT can revolutionize how business data is gathered to help streamline processes on the backend. IoT will supply real-time data that will be integrated into reporting systems. This allows customizable dashboards to be made and works hand-in-hand with AI tools to analyze and process the data.

As You Advance Into 2023

There are many new integrations and updates coming in 2023 to look forward to. Many processes will be streamlined, automation will help decrease human error, and many can be more efficient by having a single source of data collection. It is important now to make 2023 technology decisions so that you can be aware and prepare for what is to come. It is important to note what will be effective for your hotel portfolio and to make sure you are staying up-to-date on the latest trends to benefit not only your company, but also your customers.