The Application of Voice Search in Hospitality Services

Voice search in the travel and hospitality industry has switched the way people search for information. Here you find the latest trends of voice search applications.

Kevin Nguyen
Product Coalition

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Voice search in the hospitality industry is one of the rising trends that hotel operators have been aware of. Voice search technology is disrupting markets, for example, people use a smart speaker to search for information on the internet.

Voice search in the hospitality technology industry has developed with many innovations. These voice search technologies can improve customer experiences and business operations. Thus, the voice search applications are nonstop and yet fully advantaged.

Let’s look ahead to the future voice search applications in the service-oriented industry as hospitality and travel.

What is voice search?

Voice search can be referred to as voice-recognized search or voice-controlled search in many aspects of our lives. This voice search setting is a process in which users can search for information on a specific website or a custom app through their voice commands. It’s often connected with virtual assistants but not for all cases.

When users speak through mobile devices, all voice commands will be replaced into text inputs associated with traditional information searches. It takes advantage of voice-recognition technology, understanding human speech, and converting it into a search query. This hospitality technology is useful on mobile devices in which typing doesn’t work and for those who find it hard to type.

Recently, voice search in the travel and hospitality industry is used on devices such as smartphones, PC, smartwatches, speakers, and TV. Results from voice search settings may be in text, read aloud, or text-to-speech.

Why hospitality should embrace voice search settings

The reason why businesses in the hospitality industry need to adopt voice search settings is to enhance customer experiences. Consumers adopt this hospitality technology by using Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant on smart devices. Meanwhile, the Digital Marketing Institute reports about 30% of all hospitality tech is screenless.

Many firms such as Amazon, Google, and Apple have invested in voice search applications and other hospitality technologies. It will help to improve the results of information search massively, especially during travelers’ stay. The report of Digital Marketing Institute also shows that Google has improved its voice search settings accuracy up to 90%.

When using voice search settings in the hospitality industry, hoteliers can gain huge benefits. Consumers’ behaviors somehow can affect the way people search for information. For example, DBS Interactive states that 41% of adults now use voice search applications at least one time per day. In particular, over half of smartphone users start using voice search setting technologies when searching for information, or news.

Hoteliers failing to embrace the hospitality technology will limit customer reach by skipping substantial demographics of frequent voice search users. In recent years, travelers have usually used voice search applications to find and book accommodations, flights, restaurants, etc during their holidays. Voice search development has also brought an opportunity for mobile app development companies to create innovative custom software development.

Voice search benefits for the hospitality industry

Improve customers experience

Using voice research in the hospitality industry has improved customers’ experiences. In the service-oriented industry, customer experiences should be a top priority. Since travel experiences will have effects when travelers make their decisions. Voice search applications in the hospitality industry can provide tourists with convenience during their booking process.

Nowadays, mobile app development companies have introduced custom software development of voice search before tourists come to their destination. Besides, voice search settings also help customers when they arrive at a hotel. For instance, hoteliers can use voice search in hotel rooms through smart speakers. Tourists can use smart speakers with voice search technology to find essential information about locals.

Leading more website hits

Boosting website traffic is another voice search benefit for hospitality firms. Tourists predominantly use voice search applications in their trips through mobile apps or custom software introduced by hospitality technology firms. Especially, if travelers have habits of using virtual assistants on their mobile devices or smartphones.

Hoteliers can take action to attract more tourists visiting their websites. Optimizing web content with voice search may be one of the most effective ways to reach out. Hotel operators can get travelers to engage with the online booking process during their journey. Thus, it’s important to make efforts to boost more website traffic when using search assistants and voice.

Having competitive advantages over competitors

Finally, hoteliers should adopt voice search technology in their operations right now to gain competitive advantages over rivalries. Voice search applications are still a rising trend for any kind of service-oriented provider. So some competitors have to take time to adopt this hospitality technology. Using voice search settings, your hotel will gain a significant competitive advantage over others such as hotels, airlines, restaurants, etc.

You can indeed catch up with innovative approaches to capitalize on the hospitality operation. For example, travelers can use voice search before and even during their trips to your property.

Use of voice search: Search assistant and Voice

Voice search is one of the emerging hospitality technology trends, so how can hotels make use of voice search? Users can speak their voices through a technology called automatic voice recognition and then this device receives information.

Voice search apps can understand words or information from tourists and convert them into a format that allows a search engine to find information. Some cases can even change into different languages.

Search results will be read out to the users through text-to-speech technology. Google or Bing are examples of search engines that carry out information searches. Additionally, users can add voice commands into existing voice search commands to limit results. This can be used through Artificial Intelligence.

When people adopt new hospitality trends, it can be useful to see those hospitality technologies in practice. How travelers can use voice search applications.

Book your trips with voice search: An example of voice search in travel and hospitality is Expedia. This voice search application will provide a means of managing upcoming bookings and reservations.

Find & book a hotel room using the voice search app: Travelers can use a search assistant and voice to find a hotel room online. The user will specify the characteristics of hotels. Voice search shows a list of hotel options and the ability to make a reservation through custom hospitality software.

Advice for travel and hospitality operations to improve voice search settings

Optimizing content for search engines process

Hotel operators want to improve voice search settings by optimizing web content for search engine processes. People living physically in local areas can carry out a significant number of voice search activities. Thus, hoteliers need to optimize their content on websites, or social media for local search. It refers to the hotel’s physical location on the website. Hotel operators should ensure business directories are up-to-date and standardized in all platforms with contact details.

Thinking as a traveler

Hospitality operators should set up a voice search strategy that is not too general and focuses on specific travelers. Thinking as a traveler when searching for essential information is one of the most effective ways to use voice search. For example, if you want to visit a famous attraction in winter, what should you prepare for this trip? As being a custom software development company, you should think as a tourist when he searches for information on a trip.

Considering how to use voice search in practice

Next, you’ll think about how voice search should be used in the hospitality industry. Especially how voice search is different from text search. When using voice search, people tend to either make requests or ask questions. That will save time for tourists. Meanwhile, users can type a few keywords, which might affect the search results somehow. Besides, you’ll have an opportunity to search longer phrases to emphasize your SEO efforts when using text search. As a mobile app development company for voice search on mobile projects, you might consider the benefits of using voice search in hotel operations.

Voice search vs Text search: What are the differences?

There are some differences between voice search and text search. It’s important to compare voice search and text search based on the requirements of users. In terms of text search, people will type a search query into a search box or an online search engine. After that, they will press “Enter” or click on a button of “Search” while users speak through voice search apps.

These voice search settings can bring many advantages. Voice search on mobile for travelers is usually quicker than typing on mobile devices. Besides, users can use voice search while performing other activities. That has offered conveniences for travelers. Nevertheless, there may be options for voice search results and sometimes, these results may have errors.

The latest voice search applications within travel and hospitality landscapes

Travel and hospitality technology has forced the development of the tourism and hospitality industry recently. In a savvy-tech world, consumers get accustomed to living in a digital landscape. Therefore, hospitality technology companies must adopt innovative technologies, in particular voice search applications.

Besides, service-oriented providers ensure customers will have seamless and comfortable experiences in their trips. With fast adoptions of smart voice search such as Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, voice innovative technologies have become essential to customer experiences.

  1. Flight management

Checking flight status can be stressful for travelers and time-consuming. If travelers can know delayed or canceled flights before reaching the airport, they can adjust their schedules.

Fight management is one of the most popular voice search applications in hospitality technology. London Heathrow Airport launched a new Amazon Alexa skill in January. It gives travelers the ability to ask for flight status information, gate updates, and details on departures and arrivals. Amazon Alex skill draws Heathrow flight data hub and users can access it 24 hours a day.

Besides, Google has its format of flight management using Google Assistant. People can search for flight schedules, and get updates on their flight status.

2. Assisting travel reservations

Consumers often look for the best deals for their trips, it’s time-consuming to check the prices of many traveling aspects. Thus, voice search will assist travelers in their bookings. People can check the prices for flights, rental cars, and hotel rooms on custom software of voice search technology.

For example, Expedia enables users to book a trip via its custom website to check their flights, hotels and rent a car.

3. Smart speakers within a hotel

Travelers are getting accustomed to using smart speakers in a hotel and see all convenience as a part of daily lives. Thus, smart speakers within a hotel will change from home to more comfortable hotel rooms. Automation functions in hotels such as online ordering room service free up staff to do other tasks.

For example, Marriott is using the integration of Alex smart speakers in some of their hotel chains. People will connect voice search with their mobile devices within the guest rooms such as lights and thermostats. So it gives them more customized experiences during their stay. Guests can order room service and ask for any information.

As a custom software development engineer for voice search, you should consider integrating smart speakers into a voice search app.

4. Robotics to assist hotel operations

With the development of Henn-na, Japan introduced the first robot to run in a hotel. So the travel and hospitality technology industry has gradually applied robot assistants into hotel operations.

From Shanghai to Las Vegas, hotel chains are investing in robots that can provide information. They can be information about surrounding areas, must-try activities, room services, and answer questions in any language.

Final thoughts

Have you got anything about voice search? Voice search has been one of the rising trends in the travel and hospitality technology industry. As a hotel operator, you should be aware of its benefits and voice search applications in the hotel business.

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