Technology Reducing Humans In Hospitality? What This CEO's Bengaluru Hotel Experience Tells Us

Ananya Narang, the CEO of content-as-a-service platform Entourage, experienced unique hospitality during her recent stay at a Bengaluru hotel. Instead of the front desk staff, Ananya Narang met the virtual receptionist. The approach has led to a debate about the role of technology in customer service in hospitality.

In a LinkedIn post, Narang said she was surprised to find only two guards and a couple of technicians. The front office had a check-in/out counter mediated by a virtual receptionist on a laptop. The receptionist was conducting check-ins and out through video conferencing.

The setup, for Narang, was “Peak Bengaluru moment". She said that the concept was not widespread in India and the hotel resembled a Silicon Valley company.

The virtual receptionist model for hospitality experts means they can manage multiple properties from one location. The idea of this system is to minimise the need for employee presence on the hotel premises and save costs. Narang posted an image capturing a virtual interface on LinkedIn, where people weighed in on the merits of such a concept in customer service.

Some of the users praised the innovation saying how beneficial and convenient the role was. On the other hand, several users’ concerns were about the reduction of human interaction and contact in the hospitality industry.

A user commented, “Wow, that’s truly innovative! Virtual receptionists taking over the hospitality industry – a game-changer for sure. Kudos to the team behind this!"

But another user had some opposing views. The comment read, “People need to understand that the most crucial component of hospitality is the human connection. This is an example of shoehorning technology in a way that’s not a good fit."

Another user went into much detail to explain that although technology is “amazing," hospitality cannot be conveyed through technology. The user said this was akin to a “call centre executive who is following a script." Additionally, the user pointed out the hospitality industry was a “human-centric business" and that although technology may be advancing quickly now, it might replace your duties in the future.