The front desk guest services represent one of the most important spaces in any business.
Also known as the reception desk, concierge, or front of house, this area facilitates the arrival of all individuals entering a property. It is the first touch point, the space that sets the tone and mood for a person’s journey with an organisation. Their experience in this space lingers, even as they leave the company. Thus, the goal of the front desk guest services is to provide a good experience.
Traditionally, the front desk also handles administrative tasks such as managing and setting appointments, addressing customer inquiries, and communicating with different departments. They are also concerned with building security and data privacy by validating the itineraries and identities of every person and everything that passes by their station — guests, employees, and deliveries alike. Most front desk guest services are facilitated by only one or a handful of people; they must assure security, privacy, efficiency, and transparency while fostering hospitality. Bottlenecks are guaranteed.
The digital age presents a solution. But it also exacerbates the problem.
Today’s people, especially the prevailing demographic of consumers (Gen Z and millennials) are accustomed to modern sensibilities like instant gratification. They are used to acquiring information and reaching people in the blink of an eye. They are also used to accomplishing these tasks, among many others, at the same time or in quick succession. When it comes to the companies they interact with, today’s consumers expect the same level of rapid response.
If a company cannot provide that convenience and keeps the consumers or guests waiting for too long, they will be dissatisfied. This negative experience will cloud their future impressions of the company and can even lead to disengagement with the business.
Any delay is of great consequence, and it’s on the front desk guest services to assure guests that delays do not start the moment they enter the building. This sense of urgency is present in any industry, especially those handling a large volume of consumers, namely hospitality and healthcare.
In response to this growing challenge, many reception and concierge teams have started the digital integration process. They are scouring the market for next-generation and innovative tools that can automate smaller manual tasks like appointment setting and identity validation in the hopes of building a more secure, efficient, and contactless front desk. By alleviating the workforce of time-consuming tasks, they can focus on offering more professional and personalised front desk services, services that assure guests that their time and attention are valued.
How Digital Integration Works
When implementing digital integration, companies should first consider their objectives. Whatever solutions they adopt should address their given needs or problems.
For the hospitality industry, there are three main goals: meet guest expectations, optimise operations, and offer a seamless personalised guest experience. In the healthcare industry, there is an objective to meet patient needs before, within, and beyond “the walls” (i.e., preventative care, in-facility care, and continued care). Part of this objective is augmenting access and care delivery. For any front desk, regardless of the industry or company nature, the goal is to foster a positive guest experience.
On top of these industry norms, companies typically establish goals specific to their operations, as well as those for the front desk specifically. These objectives will determine the necessary degree or level of integration.
For example, a banking firm may have a general directive to digitalise its documentation process. This means that its front desk guest services must integrate electronic solutions into their visitor log sheets and package delivery processing.
If the firm intends to build a fully contactless front desk experience, it may opt for complete digitalisation. Solutions such as self-scheduling appointment apps allow guests to handle their transactions before they even enter the building. Check-in kiosks are an on-site alternative that requires minimal oversight.
In general, complete digitalisation involves the integration of technology to create remote, virtual, or digital concierge services that personalise the guest experience through soft- and hardware. Keep in mind that these options do not necessarily remove the need for front-of-house staff. Coursing customer support through text messaging, web chat, or a mobile app means that communications can be handled by remote staff or chatbots trained by remote staff. This is the mode of operation for ride-share apps, e-commerce sites, and social media-based customer support. The hospitality industry takes this a step further with digital concierge technology. They now provide personal assistants who guide guests through their entire stay.
If the example firm prefers to have more human interaction at their front desk, they may opt for hybrid digital integration. Features like the previously mentioned kiosks and scheduling apps, as well as other tech like virtual queueing systems, focus on organising the guests while the receptionists manage communications and complex inquiries. Half the process is essentially moved online, so at a minimum, guests only need to approach the front desk to validate their appointments and contact the relevant departments. This mode of operation is common in clinics, airports, and offices.
If the example firm is satisfied with their front desk processes and are only held up by a few manual tasks, they may opt for one or a set of digital productivity tools. There are a range of solutions on the market that cater to a particular set of concerns: visitor management software (VMS) is ideal for guest management and welfare; parcel management and encoding apps can turn hours of manual logging into a few minutes of scanning labels and codes; online messaging platforms centralise communications across departments.
Across all these modes, digital integration should have one main endpoint: offload high-volume simpler or smaller tasks to let the concierge focus on improving the quality of service.
The New Tools of Front Desk Guest Services
While there are multiple approaches to digital integration, there are even more tools applicable for each process. Different solutions target a range of pain points:
- When it comes to aesthetics and accessibility, digital signage like e-boards are a simple but effective tool. They inform guests about key pieces of information such as building layout, business events, service updates, product releases, and more. The graphics shown are completely customisable, allowing companies to maintain their brand image while highlighting specific themes, like holidays or celebrations.
- The aforementioned visitor management systems (VMS) are the multitools of the front desk, with two main functions: facilitating and monitoring guests. The ideal VMS automates visitor registration and verification, relieving the need for guest logbooks or employee punch cards. Some solutions offer special integration with self-service kiosks to fully automate the check-in process.
- These kiosks may also feature calendar management and scheduling applications that allow guests to set appointments with minimal supervision. The ideal software provides the convenience of conflict-free scheduling without compromising the data privacy of the participants.
- To personalise the experience of returning clients, departments like sales and marketing, customer service, and the front desk use customer relationship management (CRM) software. With CRM, a company can consolidate customer information to allow these departments to calibrate meetings and interactions according to the clients’ needs.
- Since the front desk is tasked with receiving and processing deliveries, package and logistics management software is critical in avoiding bottlenecks caused by manual documentation. These applications read shipping labels and update recipients and senders on the status of their items.
- Since the front desk is the primary liaison between the guests and the rest of the company, reliable and secure communications channels are a requirement for their operations. They must be able to reach the designated departments or point persons (such as the attending physician or consultant) with minimal delay.
What Digital Integration Offers
Not unlike adjacent innovations like automation, digital integration grants companies a chance to streamline their operations in the name of greater efficiency and better-allocated resources. In turn, guests can be offered more convenient and personalised company experiences that improve brand reputation and goodwill. But, there are other benefits that can stem from integration.
Many digital solutions are designed for effective communication, which allows for greater accessibility. These applications offer translation features for multilingual support, alternate visuals for people with visual impairments, text-to-speech or auditory cues, and other assistive technology features. Automated replies and self-service desks enable the company to entertain guest inquiries 24/7 and relieve the concierge staff of having to address simpler requests. Altogether, these solutions allow companies to communicate with more people, more effectively.
Since many of these applications are geared towards automation, they are gathering vast amounts of data and translating them into digestible reports that allow companies to reliably assess their performance and create predictions. Information such as guest waiting times, employee shifting schedules, and average delivery and foot traffic rates are critical in assessing whether additional resources, such as devices or staff, need to be allocated during certain times.
While new technology is designed to be functional, they also present an aesthetic appeal that makes it clear to visitors that both the front desk and the company intend to be modern, smart, and efficient. Self-service kiosks, tablets, and e-boards can visually indicate productivity and efficiency by the nature of their functions.
Find the Right Solutions
While there are dozens, if not hundreds, of tools that can be included in the digital integration process, narrowing these options down can be a daunting task. Each solution offers its own unique features and use cases with different price points and degrees of scalability.
As you explore your digital options, keep this in mind: the ideal tool or set of tools should not be creating more problems than they can solve. If the integrated technology requires maintenance time or attention, even more than the time saved from using it, then it may not be viable. Digital integration must augment the current workflow to improve the quality of service.
With quality front of mind, DBL’s managed front-of-house services stand apart with personalised solutions. We calibrate our services to best fit your company’s pain points. We ensure that well-trained staff go together with advanced technology to create a welcoming guest experience.
Start a conversation with us to see how you can start your digital integration.
