Self-Service Tech Tackles Age-Old Pain Points

Can hotels with unattended lobbies and dining areas be, well, welcoming?

If you ask YOTEL, a hospitality concept that achieves a 220 percent occupancy rate in its properties and has investors lining up to bring them to major metropolitan cities, the answer is yes.

This month’s cover story is all about how YOTEL is using self-service and unattended to deliver a level of customer service that keeps guests coming back.

Jo Berrington, YOTEL’s VP of Brand, told us that using technology to accelerate check in has helped the company invest in services that automate the part of traditional hotel stays that create friction – think checking in or storing luggage – so that it can invest in a staffing model that can serve up a better guest experience.

Here’s a sneak peek:

But that automated self-service kiosk for check in gave way to new way of thinking for the company – a true focus on providing the seamless and intuitive services hotel guests are looking for.

She explained that YOTEL has always strived to “make our technology experience pretty lightweight, so that we can change it according to what we need to do for the next generation check in and next generation cabins.”

YOTEL is also piloting an old-school unattended retail offering in a new way at its Paris airport hotel location. Later this year, it will introduce a micromarket style eatery modeled after the automat self-service dining establishments that were all the rage in the 1950s.

The April issue of the PYMNTS Unattended Retail Tracker, powered by USA Technologies, examines the various use cases for self-service tech and why integrating advancing technologies is taking unattended retail to new heights.

With research showing the global self-service technology market is set to see revenues exceeding $42 billion by the year 2022, the unattended retail industry may need to buckle up for an innovative ride. We also take a look at the role of value-added services like loyalty and rewards, and profile 26 players who are competing for share in the space.

About the Tracker

The PYMNTS.com Unattended Retail TrackerTM, powered by USA Technologies, tracks the movers and shakers in this space, and ranks and scores the providers using this new channel to respond to changing consumer needs. We’ve sliced this ecosystem into the distinct categories that makes sense for our audience: Food & Beverage, Vending, Service Vending, Remote Retail, Parking, and Restaurant & Hospitality.

The provider directory profiles key players in the space, and ranks them on the basis of the completeness of their solutions: markets served, technology solutions offered, payments accepted, and the security standards achieved. If we’ve missed you and you’d like to be included, please click here.