Research: nearly 90% of travelers would rather interact with a mobile app than a human to manage their hotel stay

A new research study conducted by custom software solutions provider Metova, based on a new blind survey of over 1000 people in the United States who have stayed at a hotel, resort, or casino in the past two years, reveals guest sentiment about COVID-19 practices, concerns, and technology in the hospitality industry, according to Hotel Technology.

Notably, according to the company, the survey found 90% say it is very important the facility they visit enforces COVID-19 safety policies, while almost 80% have avoided staying in a hotel, casino, or resort specifically due to COVID-19. In addition, nearly 90% prefer that the hotel they visit has a mobile app offering the ability to completely manage their stay without having to interact with a person – and 86% would choose one hotel over another if one offered the option of a mobile application offering a fully contactless mobile check-in, concierge, check-out and facility reservation services.

Metova’s Fall 2020 Hospitality Survey:

• 78% have avoided staying in a hotel, casino, or resort specifically due to COVID-19
• 90% say it is very or extremely important that the facility they stay at enforces COVID-19 safety policies
• Nearly 90% prefer that the hotel they stay at has a mobile app offering the ability to completely manage a stay without having to interact with a person
• 86% say other things being equal, they would choose one hotel over another if one offered the option of a fully contactless mobile check-in, concierge, check-out, and facility reservation app
• 60% have stayed in a hotel, casino, or resort in the past 6 months
• 82% feel the COVID-19 pandemic will bring about changes to the onsite lodging experience that will last well into the future
• Mobile check-in and alerts for on-site amenities (68%), access to room via mobile app (61%), and online concierge services via mobile app (55%) are the changes of most value to in a future hotel stay