As more and more tech trends continue to revolutionize the travel industry, mobile capabilities are making it possible for hoteliers to better manage their hotel’s operations and staff efficiency, even while they’re away from the front desk.

With the reliance on mobile devices, hotel management apps are quickly growing in popularity across many hospitality locations. Features such as automated check in, out, room service, guest requests, chat messaging, and special offers to loyalty club members, are making it very useful for hotel guests to download and utilize a hotel’s  mobile app services.

One of the reasons mobile apps have become an essential part of the hotel travel experience is due to the fact that instantly provide an added level of service beyond the traditional hotel staff. At its core, a hotel’s main goal is to make guests want to visit and to come back over and over again. Not only should hotels meet the expectations of people, but they should also exceed them. That’s why mobile app concierge services such as Viggo’s Smart Stay app play such a valuable role for global hotel chains and boutique hotels.

Beyond the fact that concierge type apps can potentially offer a fantastic user experience, they also deliver the added benefit of reducing staffing requirements. That being said, as with the introduction of any new smart hotel technology, there is usually a slight learning curve, but in the case of mobile apps, it’s usually not one that takes a great deal of effort from the end-user’s side.

In addition to increasing the customer service, hotel based mobile apps can facilitate an endless array of upsell opportunities. For example, hotel based apps often feature the ability for hoteliers to create customized offers, or special discounts for its dedicated app users, and thus streamlining incremental revenue opportunities throughout a guest’s stay.

Consider the possibilities; a branded hotel mobile app can display anything from the hotel’s menus, spa bookings, video tours, or any points of interest in the hotel’s vicinity, making your guests experience much more enjoyable. Additionally, room and restaurant reservations can be made with a tap of a finger.

Furthermore, by linking to a guest’s hotel loyalty club account, these apps can be designed to incite impulse purchases using accumulated loyalty points. Push notifications can be programmed to recommend redeeming points for a spa booking, for instance, or to suggest a points-based upgrade to a better room type prior to check-in. Giving guests the ability to monitor point accumulation from the app also helps strengthen brand loyalty, and perhaps leads us down the path of creative bundling through the use of loyalty points. Guest service apps have an invaluable customer relationship management (CRM) component to them, as well. Any service request submitted digitally can be automatically recorded on the guest’s profile, delivering customer intelligence that can be used to both identify popular requests on a macro level and to identify that guest’s preferences for future stays at an individual hotel or across the brand.