Briefing: Digital or Detox? Finding your technology balance

A study by Expedia has revealed that 60% of travellers globally say they would be unwilling to go on holiday without a mobile device. Consumers are increasingly living  in the digital world. In order to connect with and provide for guests, hospitality leaders must embrace technology. But how much of this tech addiction is permanent and how much is just a phase?

Four hospitality professionals discuss changes in communication and what constitutes essential technology in hospitality:

Mobile technology is ingrained in our lives but does come with some negative side effects and there are rules to be followed. In Expedia’s survey, 58% of travellers say that they would consider it bad etiquette to play music, games or videos without headphones in public areas.

This constant connectivity is changing the nature of what a holiday is. According to the Expedia survey almost one-quarter (23%) of travellers have purchased inflight Wi-Fi on a leisure trip in order to connect to work.

Holidays should be a time to unplug relax and get away from it all right? Or is this ideal long gone? Well in Expedia’s survey, 35% of respondents claimed to use their mobile device more on vacation than they do at home. Even for those resisting the urge to check in with work, when less of their time is taken up by business, people have more time to explore the digital world on their phone. On top of this the phone can be an essential tool to help travellers discover new places to go, and use the map on their phone to get there and share their experiences with others. They may use a banking app to keep an eye on how much they are spending, even be able to use their phone to pay for items, and in some hotels they may be using their phone to unlock their room. With all this technology making peoples live less stressful, is it any surprise that 60% of travellers agree they never truly ‘’unplug’’ on leisure trips?

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.