As the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis brought the hotel industry to its knees, hotel tech providers have come together to show their support to the sector. Many innovative hotel technology platforms have been made available for free or are accessible at discounted rates to help hospitality operators overcome the challenges created by the global pandemic.
We’ve compiled a list of the most innovative platforms on offer during this crisis.
1. Criton
What does the company do?
Criton is an award-winning guest engagement platform which simplifies digital transformation, helping operators deliver the perfect digital guest journey and maximise in-stay spend.
With Criton, hoteliers can digitise their guest information, reduce touchpoints and wrap all-guest facing technology into a sophisticated mobile app for guests to use on their own phone. Features include mobile messaging and ordering, push notifications, mobile check-in, digital door key.
What are they offering?
Criton is offering its guest engagement platform completely free of charge until 2021, enabling hotels to digitise their guest journey, reduce touchpoints and put guests’ safety first with their own branded guest app.
Email the team to find out more or request a demo.
2. Inspire Loyalty
What does the company do?
Inspire Loyalty equip hotels with the tools and structure to incentivise guests to book direct and provide valuable contact information, so they can be rewarded and recognised.
Using an integrated approach, independent hotels can deliver true hospitality and loyalty from one system and nurture their guest’s as individuals to recognise their value to the business, saving high commission payments through increased direct business.
What are they offering?
As Criton’s loyalty integration partner, Inspire Loyalty is offering any hospitality business creating their app with Criton their own loyalty programme free of charge on a trial basis until January 2021.
Please contact Steve to discuss the offer.
3. Guestline
What does the company do?
Guestline equip hotels and their team with everything they need to succeed in their operations – from intuitive property management system and electronic point of sale to fully integrated channel management solutions. Their products cover different areas of hotels operations, from property management to distribution, guest engagement and cloud technology.
What are they offering?
Guestline has teamed up with Netaffinity to offer hotels a FREE gift voucher system to promote future booking revenues – with NO setup costs and NO commission until the end of June [please note this excludes hotels in Ireland & Northern Ireland]. Get more details and sign up here.
For those hoteliers that already sell gift vouchers, we’ll be promoting these properties on an online directory here. For more information, please email enquiries@Guestline.com.
4. Right Revenue
What does the company do?
Right Revenue offers a system that is user-friendly, flexible and most importantly, accurate – helping hotels make those all important decisions on pricing – all with the goal of increasing profitability.
Designed by a Revenue Manager with over 20 year experience, their modular system allows you to tailor-make your revenue journey.
What are they offering?
Right Revenue would like to support you through this phase by offering:
- 1 month use of our revenue management software completely free. Let us help you with the data, so you can be ready with a new rate strategy
- We will also defer payment until the hotel is open and trading again, so charges only start when you are open for business.
To discuss, please contact adrienne@rightrevenue.co.uk or call 028 9099 8866.
5. Hotel Benchmark
What does the company do?
Hotel Benchmark allows hoteliers to compare their website and digital marketing performance against the industry and their competitors. Over the last year or two they have built up a community of 500+ hotels across 50 countries, all subscribing and sharing their data to gain valuable context for how their website performance and digital marketing stacks up.
What are they offering?
The entry-level product, which is the basic report, is free to hotels that subscribe and share their data (anonymously) with the Hotel Benchmark community.
Hotel Benchmark is offering a 30-day free trial for the Premium report. Simply sign up here and use trial code FIRSTMONTHFREE.
6. Oaky
What does the company do?
Oaky offer an award-winning upselling platform which allows hotels to boost the guest experience and ancillary services through targeted, customized pre-arrival upselling. By sending targeted, customised emails to guests pre-arrival, Oaky allows hotels to increase the average spend and create a unique stay experience.
What are they offering?
Free set-up and full use of the platform for 90 days from go-live-date. You decide when you want to go live.
7. Avvio
What does the company do?
Avvio is the premium booking platform and digital agency for hotels and serviced apartment providers. Based in Limerick and founded in 2002, Avvio has grown year-on-year by developing cutting-edge technologies that enable hotels to drive outstanding growth in direct bookings, while reducing their dependence on online travel agency channels.
What are they offering?
Avvio launched www.hotelgiftcardstore.com, an e-commerce platform that supports hotels by driving demand for their gift vouchers. Please contact the team on sales@avvio.com.
They also created the Hotel Digital Academy, which offer an introduction to digital marketing with free online hospitality courses.
8. Bookboost
What does the company do?
Bookboost enables hoteliers to manage their guest communication channels through a single inbox. Bookboost Unified Inbox integrates all messages from a variety of messaging apps, including: Website, Facebook Messenger, Email, SMS, WhatsApp, WeChat & More
What are they offering?
Bookboost is offering hotels its website chatbot for free and a Unified Inbox to answer guest messages from online channels including website, email and Facebook messenger.
You can signup on the website https://bookboost.io or contact Daan or Anna on info@bookboost.io.
9. Hotelchamp
What does the company do?
Hotelchamp is a digital insight and conversion platform which offers smart technology solutions for hotel marketing and revenue management teams. With the help of its data and actionable insights, hotels can boost direct bookings and online revenue.
What are they offering?
90 days of free access to Hotelchamp’s demand tracker
10. apaleo PMS
What does the company do?
apaleo is the first and only API-first cloud property management system that enables hoteliers to completely customize their hotel stack. Their mission is to simplify technology and provide hoteliers with a completely remote setup process without any hidden fees.
What are they offering?
Free set-up and full use of the platform for 6 months completely risk free and without any contract obligation. Sign-up until July 31st.
11. Asksuite
What does the company do?
Asksuite focuses on generating more direct hotel reservations through instant guest communication via website chat and chatbots. The platform also centralizes the management of all hotel service channels. It was named best chat & AI chatbot platform for hotels at this year’s Hotel Tech Awards.
To support hotels during COVID-19, Asksuite has added an exclusive feature to address the most common questions guests ask these days.
What are they offering?
Free use of their software for all of 2020. Get in touch with their team to discover more.
12. Mews PMS
Mews is more than a PMS. It’s a booking engine, a concierge, and a payment gateway. It’s a kiosk, a housekeeping app, and bridge to hundreds of the industry’s best integrations. In short, it’s a unique, guest-centric solution for hotels and hostels, designed and built by former hoteliers.
What are they offering?
Mews launched Hotel for Helpers to provide hospitality where is needed the most. Hotels for Helpers is an industry-wide initiative to provide people in need with hotel accommodation at a maximum of €25 per night.
For more information, visit www.hotelsforhelpers.com.
This post first appeared on the Criton website and is reproduced with their permission.
