How to plan a successful kiosk deployment in hotels

Kiosks can transform the experience a hotel can offer guests. Unfortunately, too many hotels think of kiosk deployment as just a case of installing new hardware in the reception area and watching the benefits come flooding in.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, integrating kiosks so they provide the maximum ROI for any hotel requires deep consideration and help from experts. It's a significant, multi-layered transformation which needs to include ops teams and factor in customer experience and adoption.

The challenge for decision makers is executing this bold strategic change without knowing what pitfalls to avoid or even where to start. This article will shine a bit more light on how to go about starting this process.

At Evoke, we’ve helped major brands implement and scale their kiosk estate across multiple venues. McDonald's, JD Sports, and Subway are just some of the companies that, with Evoke by their side, have successfully navigated the challenges of effective kiosk deployment.

Why kiosk deployment is more than installing hardware

So, why is kiosk deployment thought of as something that's a relatively easy hardware installation? Generally speaking, there is a lack of thought given to a kiosk estate's integration into the hotel’s entire digital and operational ecosystem.

The installation process alone is something that can cause kinks in the deployment roadmap. The logistics of where to put kiosks and how to install them without irreparably harming the current customer experience needs consideration just as much as connecting third-party infrastructure to them does.

Once inside a hotel, kiosk usage affects so many parts of a hotel's operation. The front desk, for instance, will use the data from them to carry out requests. In addition, maintenance teams can act to make improvements to them should there be any issues based on telemetry data. Failing to treat these units as anything other than a huge part of wider operations risks not maximising their benefits and wasting investment.

Very often, the software which makes kiosks what they are is more complex than the hardware. Installing new software on new or legacy systems can create compatibility headaches with the current ecosystem, causing severe performance issues if not thought about.

For kiosks to work properly, they also need to be compliant. Recent legislation, namely the European Accessibility Act (EAA), means all customer-facing technology must be compliant and able to be used by people with disabilities. Factoring this in, therefore, needs to be added to the already long list.

Reframing kiosks as more than just screens and thinking of them as guest journey hubs helps all teams appreciate their new role in improving satisfaction and generating new revenue streams. By working with a tried and tested third-party, these considerations can be seen as moments to create a truly slick customer experience.

The value of piloting and learning fast

Piloting the rollout of a new kiosk estate or the installation of new software into legacy systems is a non-negotiable step in their wider implementation. This essential step offers a glimpse into how a full roll-out would impact the wider ops ecosystem, allowing hotels to fine-tune operations before scaling.

A pilot scheme can be whatever a hotel needs it to be, and can include:

• Testing different types of kiosks to see which one works in a particular layout. For example, do wall-mounted kiosks work well in hotel X, but in hotel Y, free-standing ones have seen greater adoption rates.
• Putting kiosks into different environments, such as city centre hotels or airport hotels, to highlight those locations’ specific needs before committing to a large investment.
• Seeing how easily this small sample of kiosks integrated with the existing hotel infrastructure to ensure data flows from input to back end operating systems.
• Observing how customers interact with the kiosks. This can help ensure widespread adoption and provide an opportunity to refine the user experience.
• Determining the operational impact they have on staff workflows. Pilots can show how much time was saved during a busy check-in period and to what extent it freed up staff to focus on higher-value guest interactions.

As well as all that, pilots and testing phases provide tangible proof of concept, which builds confidence with stakeholders and staff by showing results early on. The data from this pilot, be it the transaction volumes or adoption levels, can all be used to inform the case for wider rollout.

Getting stakeholders aligned for success

A key part of a long-term, successful kiosk deployment includes bringing on board stakeholders up and down the company hierarchy, and getting them to buy into the belief that this technology can benefit everyone.

Getting everyone on board, from property teams to front-line staff, avoids teams working in silos and collaborating instead. Collaboration during deployment is an essential ingredient because, while the C-suite sets the vision, the execution depends on mid-level management and front-line staff aligning diverse teams.

So, what does true collaboration look like? Well, imagine a process whereby property managers plan the kiosk space, at the same time, the IT team confirms system integration, while the operations team can prepare staff for the rollout.

Marketing teams in particular should be included in the rollout too. Significant features of kiosk software centre around opening up additional revenue streams through bespoke promotions, which the marketing team can help to facilitate.

One way to increase alignment and hotel-wide enthusiasm is by appointing stakeholder champions. They can be embedded across relevant teams to manage cultural resistance to kiosk deployment, especially among front-line staff who may feel that these units entering the door equals them heading in the opposite direction.

Without considering everything that's been mentioned, kiosks become underused white elephants that are disconnected from the wider business strategy.

Scaling from pilot to enterprise-wide rollout

Moving from a handful of kiosks to dozens, even hundreds, across multiple sites is where a lot of projects stumble, no matter how aligned the teams are. Logistics and scheduling often clash with the consistency of customer experience during the transitional phase, as pilot to enterprise rollout takes place. 

Obvious factors such as logistics can be overlooked, too. Storing and shipping a small number of kiosks pales into insignificance when this is scaled to hundreds of units being sent to dozens of sites.

In the hotel industry, considerations for enterprise-wide rollout may involve synchronising kiosk deployment with other large-scale improvement works to keep disruption to a minimum. Most hotels often experience seasonal peaks and troughs, with the latter providing another opportunity to instigate a mass rollout.

No matter when scaling takes place, it requires dedicated project teams on the supplier and client sides so that timelines and budgets can be managed properly. Evoke helps clients do just this by defining future rollout processes during the pilot stage. Doing this in real time ensures readiness before scaling starts.

Documenting learnings from early piloting is an effective, tangible way that hotels can future-proof rollouts. Turning said learnings into formal ‘kiosk playbooks’ goes a long way to standardising installation and support processes.

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Avoiding the five most common pitfalls

Having those aforementioned kiosk playbooks to hand helps hotels avoid moments where deployment begins to pinch at existing operations, some of which are detailed below.

Demonstrating ROI drivers to stakeholders

The way in which new or existing kiosk estates influence so many areas of a hotel’s operations means ROI can be found in many places. 

For those charged with implementing the kiosk rollout, demonstrating multi-faceted ROI helps to gain that all-important buy-in from stakeholders. Aforementioned pilot schemes can help to do that by showing small but measurable wins that build momentum and credibility. 

Five major areas in which kiosks provide an ROI:

• Operational efficiency: Check-in kiosks allow guests to carry out their own check-in process, reducing queues in the reception area during busy periods. This shift in ownership frees staff to help with more complex requests.
• Revenue growth: Kiosks allow customers to upsell themselves by presenting them with personalised offers based on prior usage data or dynamic promotions that focus on an event taking place in the hotel or nearby area.
• Guest satisfaction: Giving guests a better experience through the use of kiosk technology simply makes them happier customers who are fundamentally more likely to return or recommend your hotel.
• Data insights: Capturing user data is gold dust for hotels, allowing them to make future CX improvements that make the guest experience that bit more intuitive and proactive.
• Cost avoidance: Remote monitoring of the entire kiosk estate reduces the need for on-site engineers or expensive training for front-of-house staff. Updates to operating systems or changes in the typical check-in process can be made in seconds from one device.

These are just some of the ways kiosks make good on their investment. Regardless of what form it takes, ROI extends far beyond cost savings.

The importance of post-deployment support and telemetry

A successful kiosk deployment doesn’t just end once it's up and running. In many ways, it's just the beginning. Keeping uptime levels high through support from third parties is critical to delivering the ROI mentioned above in the medium and long term. 

The pace with which technology and guest expectations change means hotels need to choose a partner that offers proactive, cloud-based support. This support can take many forms, too. Take remote diagnostics as an example. Being able to assess all systems from one area by a partner who knows what to look for keeps costly site visits to a minimum, keeping kiosks operational during peak times.

This support can form part of a strategy which includes clear SLAs, access to well-trained support engineers, and accessible spare parts, should hardware need to be fixed. Evoke offers everything mentioned above and more, so that your kiosks spend more time in use than out.

Continuous improvement happens when the data from kiosks is used to improve product design and use by a partner who knows how to evolve kiosks to meet guest behaviours.

A roadmap to confident deployment

No longer a tech project, kiosk deployment in hotels is a strategic transformation. A considered phased approach alongside a reliable partner is essential if this transformation is to be successful. It begins with understanding the challenges faced before piloting kiosks and then scaling that rollout when all parties are aligned.

Evoke’s approach can de-risk deployment and deliver measurable ROI across several areas of a hotel. Those who follow this roadmap are better placed to stand out in a crowded market and futureproof themselves against an ever-changing hospitality industry.

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