IoT Solutions for Hotels That Are Transforming the Industry
With a global understanding of IoT solutions and what will work best in your hotel—for your guests, your operations, and the hotelier experience—you can start being more responsive to modern guest expectations, earn greater brand loyalty, and work more efficiently throughout the team.
With this piece, you’ll learn about:
- The benefits of smart room IoT technology in hotels
- How hotels are using IoT
- 5 IoT solutions that transform hotel profits
- How to implement IoT solutions in your hotel
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Benefits of IoT technology in hotels
IoT technology means flexible check-ins, fantastic in-room amenities, better security, and more efficiency. In fact, 70% of hospitality executives already have IoT projects underway—indicating how decision-makers across the industry now recognize the need for smart tech to remain competitive.
What’s driving this shift towards IoT solutions? Let’s look at four benefits of implementing IoT technology in hotels.
1. Better guest experiences
Using tech throughout the guest experience gives guests control over their stay, from their in-room amenities to communication with staff.
With tools like smart locks and Operto Guest, you can remove friction from the check-in and check-out process so your guests don’t need to wait at the front desk on arrival or go through the same hassle at the end of their stay—exactly when they’re about to write their reviews.
Ultimately, cutting out the analog experiences of traditional hotels differentiates your brand from the competition and leads to loyal customers and referrals.
2. Operational efficiency
IoT solutions help management retain visibility over room use even with self check-in; connect bookings, staff scheduling, and security via your PMS; and have trackable tasks and streamlined internal communications, too.
3. Lower staffing costs
With better visibility over your units and teams, automated process, and streamlined communications, you can be less reliant on staff, and reduce turnover rates and training costs.
4. Scalability
All the above benefits in combination with the kind of automated solutions for management that Operto offers means you can scale up operations in high season without adding to the management workload.
How are hotels using IoT?
With a hospitality platform like Operto, hotels can offer contactless access through smart locks, save costs with automated energy controls, keep track of guest behavior through noise and occupancy monitoring, and communicate with guests from a single dashboard.
Here’s an example of how one hotel in Toronto uses IoT:
The Annex
The Annex managed to achieve a ratio of 1.5 staff for every 24 rooms using Operto’s suite of smart tools. Guests get the convenience of smart-tech amenities throughout their stay, and instead of a front desk, use Operto’s white-label web app to provide guests with all the information they need for their stay, in the palm of their hand.
The hotel used a high-tech, low-touch approach to offer features like:
- Keyless entry with an access code sent on mobile
- Automated welcome messages with crucial details like Wi-Fi passwords that help minimize guest calls and queries
- A mobile-optimized web app that provides guests with a quick, easy way to learn about the property, amenities, local partnerships, and more
- A digital front desk to minimize unnecessary human interactions and give guests control over their check-in experience
5 IoT solutions that transform hotel profits
Smart hotel technology is a leap into the future for the hospitality industry. IoT enables you to customize systems for your day-to-day operations, make data-informed decisions, enhance the guest experience, and maximize revenue.
Here are five IoT solutions to help hotel owners scale their profits:
1. Smart locks and keyless entry
IoT technology offers passcode-enabled contactless access—a simpler and more convenient alternative to traditional locking systems.
With this modern, low-touch solution, guests can quickly check into their rooms by themselves instead of waiting at the front desk. Here’s how keyless lock solutions can help:
- Contactless entry to give guests a modern and hassle-free check-in experience
- Improved safety with unique codes that are auto-generated for each new booking
- Reduced dependence or wait time at the front desk
- An activity log of who’s accessed each room to monitor occupancy and guest behavior
2. Noise and occupancy monitoring
With Operto, noise monitoring devices allow you to see noise levels across all your units in your unified, Connect Dashboard, and proactively notify you whenever customized thresholds are exceeded so you can intervene before parties start or damages are incurred.
3. Smart temperature and energy control
Smart technology helps you reduce energy consumption with IoT-enabled sensors that monitor room occupancy to automatically adjust the lights, fans, ACs, and other appliance settings. You can also use in-room tech to create settings like reduced lighting from bulbs in the daylight to proactively save energy.
For example, Operto’s Energy and Comfort feature cuts down your energy use and makes your property more sustainable. In doing so, you:
- Improve guest comfort by heating or cooling their room from your dashboard before they arrive
- Reduce energy costs when rooms are vacant by automatically adjusting temperatures
4. Faster cleaning and maintenance
Smart locks give you data about room occupancy to help you manage housekeeping across your hotel. You can also set alerts when common areas like the gym or pool are not in use to send in your staff to carry out any maintenance or checks. And you can also track team performance using time-per-task data.
How to implement IoT solutions in your hotel
The idea of suddenly installing smart devices and locks for all your doors and rooms throughout your hotel can be overwhelming, especially if it’s from scratch.
But low-cost IoT solutions like noise monitoring devices and smart thermostats can be installed across your units over a period of time, while guest experience solutions like Operto Guest and digital guides don’t require any specialized hardware at all.
Ideally, incorporate tech into the infrastructure of your operations and management processes from the beginning of a project or during a period of renovation—though that’s certainly not a prerequisite. In fact, the most important factor is to have an experienced partner who can understand your needs and goals, and advise accordingly.
In the case of Operto, we offer extensive consulting and tailored support that includes:
- A site survey and evaluation
- Device installation
- Staff onboarding
Experience the power of IoT
The hospitality sector is moving towards a smarter world with IoT-led infrastructure, with hotels progressively adopting intelligent solutions across all their operations and services—for contactless entry, in-room comfort and convenience, in-app communication, and greater efficiency.
It’s what modern guests demand, and it helps you address key staffing needs.
And with solutions like smart locks, noise monitoring, and energy control, you can have more control over your teams’ performance, save on costs, and maximize revenue opportunities—while earning five-star reviews and direct bookings.
Frequently asked questions about IoT solutions for hotels
What is IoT in the hotel industry?
IoT technology in hotels refers to the network of devices like smart thermostats and smart locks that connect to the internet so you can monitor and control them remotely. IoT solutions can be used to improve the guest experience and automate management processes.What is smart hotel technology?
Smart hotel technology includes devices like keyless locks for contactless access, noise monitoring devices that automate requests for guests to keep the noise down, and smart thermostats that can be controlled remotely to limit energy use and provide additional in-room comfort for guests.What is the latest technology used in hotels?
Here are some of the latest technologies used in hotels:- Keyless entry with automatically generated passcodes
- Automated staff scheduling
- Energy-saving devices
- Noise and occupancy monitoring devices
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