China-based WeChat recently partnered with InterContinetal to open a new Chinese smart hotel in Shanghai. Offering a unique experience to visitors, the Chinese smart hotel lets them book rooms via WeChat and check in and access rooms using only a smartphone. Human assistance is also kept to a minimum, allowing patrons to verify their identity using facial recognition before being given their digital key card.
Hotel amenities can also be accessed through WeChat, including ordering room service, making payments, setting air conditioning, and adjusting curtains and lighting. Vouchers for food are also distributed through the app, with users simply needing to scan their face before beginning to eat. Finally, guests of an executive suite can summon a 24-hour butler service through WeChat.
Image Credit: Gizmo China
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Chat-based Hotels
- Hotels with smartphone integration through chat-based apps.
- Facial Recognition Hotels
- Hotels that use facial recognition instead of traditional check-in methods.
- Wechat Hotels
- Hotels that fully integrate with the WeChat app for bookings and amenities.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Hospitality Industry
- Hotels can incorporate these innovations to enhance guest experience and streamline operations.
- Technology Industry
- Companies can develop facial recognition and chat-based app technologies for hotel integration.
- Travel Industry
- Tourism companies can promote these chat-based and facial recognition hotel experiences as unique and convenient to attract millennial travelers.
