The digital way to analog living
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The digital way to analog living
“Tech for transactions, humans for humans” the hospitality industry’s shift toward process automation. #1
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The digital way to analog living
We feel it. Some see it. Information worker roles (like call centre operators, bank managers and other supervising positions) are moving away from the Industrial Revolution’s way of working. Those archaic methods are dying out. Flexible workspaces, Agile practices and mobile offices are coming in — yet we continue to measure performance in the service industry (something intangible) with tangible methods like NPS. Why?
A key area to look at is ‘performance reporting’. The hotel industry — our industry — now has myriad measurement tools, like RevPAR to monitor itself. Everyone became more efficient at measuring productivity (NPS, acquisition costs, etc) and optimising output. However, this success came at the expense of what makes hospitality special: human interaction — it takes a lot of time to manage all these tools! Even worse, the tools are now so complex they’re preventing hotels from evolving and addressing the ever-changing needs of guests.
What guests want is simple: genuine care and convenience. They live in a digital world where thanks to tech, everything is easily accessible. With a few finger taps and thumb scrolls they can check their emails, banking and book a workout class. Guests expect the same ease when staying at a hotel — on top of the friendly face-to-face interactions that the digital world lacks. Take AirBnB and citizenM hotels, for example. Their business model is straightforward: tech for transactions, humans for humans. It’s no wonder they’re both successful.
In a recent interview, David Sax the author of The Future is Analog says, “Where people get it wrong is thinking everything needs to look like a Tesla. That every part of hospitality needs to be fully automated.” We agree. Shiny gizmos can distract hotel teams from giving a quality guest experience. Instead of helping a guest, they’re worried about generating a new report. The answer? Automation. Luckily, the hospitality industry is shifting toward automating these processes to save time and turn their teams' attention back to the guest.
Want to learn more about this topic? Read David’s interview at HotelOperations.com — or check out J. Bradford DeLong’s book Slouching Towards Utopia. It’s a New York Times bestseller about the history of tech merging our work and daily lives. We’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to share them by replying to this newsletter.
Events: where to catch us
HITEC Toronto: 26–29 June
In June, Aphy will be at HITEC in Toronto, meeting new clients and partners, and discussing the impact of process automation on hotel operations.
Grab your seat here.
Bavel Travel Summit: 31 May & 1 June
In May, Aphy will be at the Bavel Travel Summit in Sitges (Barcelona), connecting with existing partners and making new ones to continue the improvement of our industry together.
Grab your seat here.
Office Hours: 10 and 17 May
Tired of Zoom meetings? Us too! On the 5 and 12 April, Pedro Moreira will host ‘Office Hours’ in sunny Barcelona at Buenas Migas, Pg. de Gràcia from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. See you there?
Sí — let’s catch up over coffee!
Office Hours: 3 and 11 May
On the 3 and 11 May, Alex Hysbergue will host ‘Office Hours’ in Marseille and Nice, respectively, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. See you there?
Oui — let’s catch up over coffee!
Our top picks of the month
🔨 How to build an interactive vinyl wall.
😂 Smart house goes wrong.
🎥 After Yang: our must-see AI movie.
📖 Process automation in hospitality.
🎗Remember to live more human.
💭A collection of notes & videos from the Steve Jobs archive.
🛖A hotel concept we love.
🎵Musical break: The Yussef Dayes Experience - Live At Joshua Tree.