What Does Front-Desk-on-Demand Mean?
What Does Front-Desk-on-Demand Mean?
On the surface, front-desk-on-demand seems simple to define. It’s anything that replaces the front desk and allows guests to do what they could do at the front desk but via technology instead. However, the further you dive into it, the more complex the topic can become. Does it include a connection to actual people, or is it limited to an app that guests interact with. You also have to consider the business challenges a property is trying to overcome. What are you trying to accomplish?
Broad definition of front-desk-on-demand
The definition of FDOD will partly depend on the needs of the property. If you think about what the front desk does at a large luxury hotel, it goes beyond checking in and checking out. It includes calling to ask for more towels or coffee pods (there isn’t always a separate room service line, or guests tend to just dial the front desk for anything). If a room key stops working or a guest loses their room key, then a stop by the front desk is mandatory for a new key. By extension, the concierge is also part of the front desk environment and provides information about surroundings or helps with dinner reservations.
Smaller limited-service hotels may have a front desk that doesn’t carry the same number of responsibilities as those of larger properties. If there is no restaurant or kitchen on site, there is no room service that needs to be called. Concierges don’t exist. The problem of lost keys still exists, although with a smaller number of rooms, it won’t happen as often. A FDOD, even by broad terms, won’t have the same level of responsibilities at a smaller property vs at a larger one.
Narrow definition of front-desk-on-demand
The narrow definition of an FDOD is when a human is needed to help in a situation where technology cannot take care of the guest’s need. Everything else has been handled by an app or kiosk, but the guest now needs to contact a human at the front desk for a specific need. Thanks to virtual reception software becoming ever more robust, the types of guest needs that require human interaction are becoming increasingly scarce. The main issue that we see is problems checking in where a document won’t scan (e.g., because the bar code on the back is damaged) and a room lockout where the guest has nothing on them (no ID, no phone).
Without the ability to connect the guest to a staff member (i.e., a front desk), technology alone cannot handle these issues. If the guest can be connected remotely to a staff member, then that staff member can check the ID via a camera (either on a kiosk or phone) and finish the check-in process. In the case of a lockout without any ID available, the staff member can look up the ID information from the check-in and issue a replacement key via a kiosk in the lobby.
AI is not yet at the level that could complete the above two examples without human intervention. Virdee Virtual Reception offers Remote Assistance, which connects guests to hotel staff from anywhere. This is what we have typically called FDOD because it connects the guest to an actual staff member just like stopping by the front desk of the hotel or picking up the phone in the room. There are hotel technology providers out there that will also provide staffing, removing the need for the hotel to have front desk staff on its own payroll.
The key to going staffless
An FDOD staffed by humans is the key to a hotel going fully staffless. But what does that really mean? The property is staffless on-site and really only for the needs of the front desk and concierge. Especially full-service hotels will still require other types of staff on site, like maintenance, security, and kitchen staff. Luxury hotels will likely still want at least minimal front-desk staff on-site to ensure a high level of guest interaction and that personal touch. In the end, it may not be about being staffless but doing more with less staff.
So which definition is correct?
In the end, what FDOD means to a specific property depends on what they are looking for and what business challenges they are trying to overcome. More and more, technology is allowing for automation, from robots that clean rooms to lockers that can provide access to food, towels, and more. Ask yourself, “Can I cover every guest need with just an app, or do I need a person on the other end for certain situations?” Your front-desk-on-demand is what you need it to be.
