Virtual Receptionist, A Trend to Look Forward to In Hospitality Industry
Virtual Receptionist, A Trend to Look Forward to In Hospitality Industry
Delhi CEO posts a photo of a virtual receptionist at a hotel in Bengaluru, describing it as a quintessential ‘Peak Bengaluru’ experience.
A recent experience by a Delhi-based CEO of Entourage Ananya Narang highlighted a new trend when she checked into a hotel in Bengaluru and discovered that the front desk was managed by a virtual receptionist, who efficiently handled all tasks from a remote location.
The rise of virtual hotel receptionists is gaining traction in India, particularly in Bengaluru, the country’s tech hub.
Narang posted a photo of the receptionist displayed on a laptop at the hotel’s front desk. The CEO of the content-as-a-service platform Entourage referred to it as her unique “Peak Bengaluru” experience, noting that virtual receptionists have yet to be introduced elsewhere in India.
Narang stated that the hotel has just two security guards and a small number of technicians on-site. In contrast, all guest interactions, including check-in and concierge services, are managed by skilled hospitality professionals through video conferencing.
“Peak Bengaluru Moment – A Virtual Receptionist. Once I checked in, I realized the hotel had no staff except 2 security guards and 1-2 technicians. Everything was coordinated via trained hospitality staff sitting at their head office simultaneously managing multiple properties. You’ll see this nowhere in India yet, except the Silicon Valley,” she says.
Remote work has become commonplace in a world affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Many believed that remote work was impractical for the hospitality sector in India. However, this outdated perspective is set to evolve as new trends take hold.
Virtual receptionists utilize technology, including video displays, mobile apps, and AI-powered chatbots, to handle tasks typically performed by human staff at hotel front desks.
Her post has attracted many comments from people. One person said in LinkedIn, “Hello Ananya, Thank you for sharing this … it’s fascinating to see how technology is reshaping the hospitality experience. Virtual receptionists may be a game changer for efficiency, but the personal touch of India’s renowned philosophy for hospitality “Athithi Devo Bhava” is something we must preserve.
Exciting times ahead for the industry.” Yet another user said, “Thank you Ananya for sharing this.While technology may seem amazing , hospitality cannot be expressed virtually. For me this is more like a call centre executive who is following a script. Going this way , one can actually install a self checkin kiosk or a robot.
We need to understand Hospitality business is human centric business and cannot be expressed virtually . While one may be jumping technology , we need to remember the same technology can eat your job tomorrow.”
