Millennials Reveal Top 10 Tech Improvements For Hospitality Employers
Millennials working in hospitality in Australia and seven other countries have spoken: More than a third think their employers could make better use of technology, starting with installing new or updated hardware or software.
Employers should also focus on improving their WiFi, one of the services that guests overwhelmingly use when staying in restaurants and hotels, as well as exploring technology that better facilitates guest feedback.
“It takes one to know one. The common expression certainly applies to millennials who have worked in hospitality and can grade their employer’s efforts to serve their peers,” says Christopher Adams, vice president of sales, food and beverage, APAC at Oracle Hospitality, commenting on the findings of the Millennials and Hospitality: The Redefinition of Service report.
When evaluating their company’s use of technology, more than one third or 36% of millennials surveyed who had worked in the industry in the past five years gave a harsh critique, describing it as “bad,” adds Adams.
Of the eight countries surveyed, millennials in Germany were the most unimpressed where 48% gave less than flattering reviews of their employers’ technology use, followed by Japan (44.9%), Brazil (37.1%) and UK (35.4%).
In Australia, roughly only a third of respondents (35.3%) rated their hospitality employers as having a horrible touch with technology.
With a significant chunk of millennials working in hospitality displeased with their employers’ technological capabilities, many felt a need to bolster the hardware and software that power systems in restaurants and hotels, as well as bolster their WiFi service.
When asked with the open question: “How could the business you worked for have improved their use of technology?” respondents listed these as the top ten points for improvement:
- Install new or updated hardware/software
- WIFI improvement
- Guest feedback
- Introduction of marketing/CRM
- Install devices/apps for ordering
- System for scheduling rotas/shifts
- Promotion via social media
- Communication
- Introduction of an app
- Updates to ordering systems