When high touch is forbidden, contactless becomes the solution

It is widely acknowledged that contactless payments are enhancing the travel experience, especially with the growth of mobile usage. Moreover, safety measures following the global pandemic are accelerating the adoption of contactless technologies throughout the whole tourism industry. As revealed by a study of the agency Blackbox Research, 76% of respondents prefer destinations offering contactless experiences, such as the implementation of e-boarding passes and contactless journeys from airports to hotels.  

The hospitality industry, which is in many ways characterised by high touch interactions, is facing a critical transformation of in-room guest experience. For example, guests will want keyless and contactless check-in without needing to touch anything before entering their room. The Chinese Leyeju Smart Hotel is developing a chain of smart and contactless hotels providing guests with a completely automated experience: online reservations, facial recognition, robots, automated control of lights, temperature and water. Several companies are already providing innovative ideas to meet customers’ expectations, such as in the case of Nomadix Casting Entertainment Streaming, a hands-free solution allowing guests to connect their device to the TV by using a QR code or the hotel Wifi.   

Contactless technology is not only a smart key to guarantee customers’ instant satisfaction, indeed, its potentiality to help travel industry rebound after the pandemic is unquestionable. This is evident in the case of contactless payment systems, which, according to a survey conducted by BCD Travel, are rated by 67% of respondents as the most relevant measure ensuring safe travel.  

At Twissen we observed how, as a response to the customers’ need for higher levels of safety in the Post-Covid era, the user experience has to deal always more with contactless solutions. Accordingly, the hotellerie and tech providers need to adapt their offer to the emerging trend, keeping in mind the fundamental role that contactless plays for the post-pandemic recovery and its ability of making the customers’ experience more effective and smarter. Following this trend, mobile devices will become fundamental to access all hotel services. 

Twissen