According to Boer and During (2001) innovation is better combination of the product creation. Hotels do research and development activities to adapt to new products and services in order to draw customers and develop their business. There are five important aspects in the hotel industry where innovation occurs. Such as product and service innovation, process innovation, business model innovation, logistics innovation and market innovation (Zapfl, 2018). Service innovations decide how to build and offer better value though technologies o processes to guests (Bilgihan & Nejad, 2015).
New products and services
when it comes to the experiences of its guests, the Hilton hotel has been constantly innovating throughout the last century since it was founded in 1919. The desire of Hilton to innovate has resulted in the creation of several major technologies in the industry, such as digital check-in, digital Key, concierge robot, connected room, FAQ bot (Bilgihan & Nejad, 2015).
Hilton hotel have been adapting to the changing travellers. They been at the front of hospitality creativity and innovation throughout their 100-year history, raising a strong entrepreneurial spirit among its team members and positively influencing the communities in which they are embedded (Aspinal, 2018). Hilton always has tried to take action and adapt to evolving customer expectations. As the hotel industry dynamic is changing, Hilton hotel in response have revealed a new hotel band Motto in 2018. Hilton aims to offer affordable rooms in highly desirable locations with motto, providing its customers an authentic experience in that place (Jones, 2020). It is a clear sign of the desire of Hilton to draw tourists who want to pay very little on hotels and then use that money to experience their holiday.
Hilton Hotel introduced Connected room to their list of technological innovations in 2018 first in the US and then in the UK in 2019 (Hilton, 2017). The Connected Room, in which the entire experience of a guest is managed through their smartphone, personalising features like room temperature, lights and entertainment, is a major focus for Hilton (Aspinal, 2018). This will be successful in the future service sector because it allows guests to have the power to personalise their stay with Hilton, it attracts guests as more people now want to tailor their own holiday. In time, additional innovations and features will be implemented by Connected Room (Aspinal, 2018). There is also an advantage for the managers they could track issues and monitor what guests do and do not use through the mission control screen, causing personalisation and operational efficiency to be much more successful. Hilton (2019) have also considered working together with Netflix to make it even more successful in today’s new market, this produces a much more personalised travel experience b enabling visitors to watch their favourite Netflix shows, movies and more televisions in rooms in Hilton’s advanced Connected rooms.
Digital check in is one innovation which sems to be leading the growth of hospitality. According to Aspinal (2018) It has been the first and only technology for the industry which allows visitors to choose their precise room. Hilton introduced it in 2015 for Hilton Honors members who book with the hotel as a regular guest loyalty programme, they could choose their preferred room on their devices through digital check in, which gives further flexibility and control about their entire travel experiences (Harmer, 2014). Self-check in has been a major success in the new market sector as it has impacted many other hotels as it lets guests use their mobiles at their own convenience to check in or out, without having to wait at the front desk in line.
Hilton have also introduced digital key technology in the Hilton Honors, this allows guests to unlock their hotel room doors using their mobile and enter directly to their rooms when they arrive (Harmer, 2014). Digital key increases productivity for hotel management because for example staff will not have to replace a missing room key because it remains on the guest’s phone (Hertzfeld, 2018). Guests at Hilton benefit from this product because it is less time consuming like the digital check in. guests do not need to wait in lines to get their room keys from the reception
Hilton and IBM associated in 2016 to build Connie the new robot in the Virginia branch of the McLean hotel. Connie was named after the founder Conrad Hilton and it is a concierge (Social Tables). The robot informs guests regarding local attractions, good restaurants, and information about the hotel (Social Tables). The concierge robot benefits Hilton as it will operate together with team members in order to help with visitor requests (Hilton 2016). It also impacts the guest experience as Connie provides guests with far more information that will enable them to schedule their journeys such as if they want information about the best attractions in the area or recommend dining options (Davis 2016). Its cognitive learning ability means the more guests interact with the robot, the more it learns, adapts, and improves its recommendations. Hilton can view the database of questions and answers to Connie’s questions, which may improve guests experience, before during and after their stay (Hilton, 2016). Since robots are much more active and will not get exhausted like humans, absences are minimised by cooperation between humans and robots. Human speed cannot increase, so robots support humans (Barden, 2016).
According to Breier et al “for the importance of loyal and local customers throughout the recovery from covid-19, it is important to consider that customers value innovation of hotels”. As customers are social distancing the need for technology to manage customer relations is more essential now than before. Hilton hotel have used artificial intelligence through the pandemic to support guest requirement (Fox, 2020). For instance, if guests have questions about covid-19 then the FAQ bots will answer automatically. This will be successful in the future of the service sector as it will enable the bot to respond incredibly fast to some of the most frequently asked, creating smoother customer service whilst cutting down the level of work that normal reps would have had to do (Revfine, no date). Because of the pandemic, shorter trips will rise since tourists will go on a few days trip instead of spending a week or two away. Due to this they are less likely to see few attractions or even try restaurants (Travel lab 2020).
Planning and implementing a growth strategy to build new markets and increase their business until the existing market flattens would not only help them survive difficult times, but it will also give them a significant competitive advantage. The change from a vertically integrated hospitality and property management business to a hospitality-focused company has been at the heart of Hilton’s growth strategy. As the Hiltons is a global franchisor, one of Hilton’s main responsibilities is to create persuasive advertisements and marketing. With its “Expect More, Expect Hilton” campaign starring actress Anna Kendrick, the company has targeted both conventional and online marketing platforms. This will be successful in today’s market because it aims to convince younger travellers to stay in a traditional hotel rather than competing accommodation alternatives like Airbnb, and to book online with Hilton rather than through an online travel platform like Expedia.
Within the role that entrepreneurs (and/or intrapreneurs) take within their new concepts, demonstrate your critical understanding across a range of cultural and geographical settings within this notion. Compare and contrast industry viewpoints, alongside the forces (and strategies) that influenced these changes into entering new and/or emerging markets.
