Win the Stay: Digital and Mobile Guest Services Update – April 2019
With the launch of the Marriott BonvoyTM App and the migration of all hotels onto the combined GXP + Mobile platform, Mobile Guest Services are better positioned to drive member value than ever before.
Digital & Guest Services: Better Serving Elite Members
The Marriott Bonvoy App has a strong and growing customer base, with $5.2 billion in App Revenue in 2018 and over 50% growth in revenue and room nights year over year. 80% of app bookings are made by Elite members and over 6 million users actively use the app each month. Usage of guest services is on the rise, with over 25% of members using Mobile Check-In and nearly 6% take rate for Mobile Requests—representing a 60% increase in the last year.
Now more than ever, getting the basics right and delivering a flawless experience digitally is central to Marriott’s service strategy. New features and capabilities will expand the value of our combined platforms to deliver unparalleled digital service, while paid marketing and social media content will be coming in Q2 to drive guest adoption.
Mobile Requests + Chat: Expanding Digital Engagement
The Mobile Guest Services team is excited to announce two new features that will launch in April: Proactive Service Recovery and Proactive Chat. These features leverage the combined power of the Mobile and EMPOWER: Guest Experiences (GXP) platforms to expand our digital capabilities and create new guest touchpoints at no additional cost to hotels.
Proactive Chat enables associates to initiate a Mobile Chat with members who have used Mobile Guest Services during pre-arrival or during their stay. Currently, associates can only respond to a chat initiated by members. With this new feature, associates can initiate Mobile Chat messages to anticipate the arrival or stay experience, enabling a true, two-way digital conversation.
Proactive Service Recovery is a new feature allowing members to provide quick feedback after arriving at the hotel. Members will receive a push notification and in-app notifications after arrival to complete a one-click survey to rate their arrival experience as positive or negative. Negative responses will create open cases in GXP to provide actionable service recovery opportunities. By enabling hotels to address feedback while guests are still onsite, hotels can drive guest satisfaction and higher intent to recommend overall. Proactive Service Recovery will launch for luxury brands later in Q2.
As we expand the value of Mobile Chat, guests increasingly expect fast response times. While Mobile Chat times are improving—currently 49 minutes, down 17% from 2018—significant continued focus is needed to meet expectations and achieve target response times across the portfolio. Hotels should take advantage of tools to reduce response times, including creating escalation rules and pre-defined chat responses.
Mobile Key: Enabling a Seamless Digital Arrival
We scaled quickly in 2018 and now have 1,500+ hotels live globally, and will continue scaling as hotels sign quotes to upgrade locks and activate Mobile Key by the January 1, 2021 brand standard date. Hotels were required to update the Mobile Key Property Profile in January 2019 to provide the timeframe for lock upgrades required to activate Mobile Key. Our next deployment wave will kick-off in April for hotels installing locks in Q3. As a reminder, hotels should plan one quarter to complete iT preparations before installing locks. The Mobile Key brand standard is a critical component of Marriott’s Mobile Guest Services strategy to drive member engagement and usage of the Marriott Bonvoy App, and we will use any resource at our disposal to ensure and enforce compliance with the brand standard.
In 2019, we are also investing heavily in making Mobile Key easier for both guests and associates. We have introduced new features, such as the ability to use Siri to find and use the Mobile Key. In March, we enhanced the Control Panel to streamline the associate process to create and send a Mobile Key. Planning is underway with PMS teams and lock vendors to reduce or eliminate the swivel chair process required to create Mobile Keys. Look for more information in Q2.
Mobile Dining: A Better Ordering Experience, for Guests and Associates
As previously communicated, Mobile Dining enables a seamless digital ordering experience for food and beverage that is fully integrated with MICROS Simphony Point-of-Sale (POS). Now live at 35 hotels globally, Mobile Dining is preparing for roll-out to full service hotels in North America that meet POS requirements. With over $500K in revenue in 2018, Mobile Dining is positioned to drive revenue during the stay, with pilot results showing guests using Mobile Dining spend 25% more overall, with 15% more orders and an 8% increase in check size.
Mobile Dining was included in the 2019 budget instructions as required for hotels with F&B On Demand and optional for other full service hotels. Costs for Mobile Dining include one-time costs of between $3,500 and $4,700 with ongoing costs of $100-170 per month based on hotel size. Hotels received communications to opt-in for Mobile Dining deployment by April 15.
Future Innovation:
In 2019, we will begin piloting exciting new capabilities to expand the digital guest experience.
Airport Shuttle Tracking will enable members staying at airport hotels to view the location and wait times for airport shuttles using the Marriott Bonvoy App. A pilot in two markets is planned in Q2, with an optional roll-out planned for later this year. More details, including timeline and process to opt-in for deployment, will be communicated later in Q2.
Self-Service capabilities will enable non-members to benefit from a digital arrival experience, completing a tablet-based check-in with three easy steps to look up a reservation, swipe a credit card, and create room keys. Currently in proof-of-concept, we will begin development of an integrated platform and identify pilot hotels later this year.
For more information on Digital and Mobile Guest Services, visit MGS.
