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Alibaba’s Futuristic Take on Hospitality Technology: FlyZoo as a Gamechanger – Image Credit Unsplash+
FlyZoo Hotel’s tech-centered business model touches the full cycle of the guest journey and extends to other areas of business.
The hospitality industry has observed significant transformation driven by technological advancements in the last decade. Hotels have increasingly adopted innovative solutions to streamline operations, enhance customer experience, and increase their competitive advantage. The arrival of AI, facial recognition technology, robotics, and an increase in mobile-friendly services have revolutionized the traditional hotel industry, moving away from manual, time-consuming procedures to automated, personalized services.
In the context of this growing digital trend, FlyZoo Hotel has emerged as a beacon of technology- powered hospitality. Launched by Alibaba’s online travel platform, Fliggy, in collaboration with Alibaba AI Labs, FlyZoo Hotel pioneers a vision of ‘future hotels’. Situated in Hangzhou, China, the 290-room hotel is Alibaba’s bold experiment to showcase how smart technology can transform the hospitality experience.
This blog delves into Alibaba’s innovations in Flyzoo that will transform the hospitality industry. We will explore their business strategy, how such advancements are reshaping guest experiences and operational efficiency in hotels and analyze the implementation and impact of these technologies in the hospitality industry.
FlyZoo’s Business Strategy
Alibaba’s foray into the hospitality industry with FlyZoo Hotel is part of the company’s broader strategy of establishing a presence across various sectors, utilizing advanced technology to disrupt traditional industry models. FlyZoo’s business strategy is grounded in the use of cutting- edge technology such as AI, machine learning and robots to elevate the guest experience and improve operational efficiency. The hotel leverages its AI-driven model to provide seamless check-in and check-out experiences and tailored services, significantly enhancing personalization. This aligns with the growing consumer desire for hyper-personalized experiences, however, with a certain twist due to the minimalization of human touch.
Although FlyZoo Hotel can be seen as a game-changing innovation by Alibaba, the implications of the company’s entry into the hotel industry are broad-ranging. It introduces a new level of competition for traditional hotels through its tech-centered model, challenging them to up their game in incorporating technology. However, it also potentially opens up collaboration opportunities, as traditional hotels could leverage Alibaba’s technology to enhance their own operations and services. Essentially, the strategy for this hotel is unlike the typical concepts behind any tech-driven hotel; it was a bold move to establish a presence in the sector while flaunting its forward-technology to other businesses to open more doors in the hospitality industry.
This links back to Fliggy, Alibaba’s online travel platform, as it plays an essential role in this model. It serves as an all-in-one online travel solution that connects users to a variety of travel services, including hotel reservations. FlyZoo’s integration with Fliggy means that customers staying at FlyZoo Hotel can expect a uniform digital experience before, during and after their travel. This strategy highly revolves around the customer journey, which focuses on providing a seamless, consistent experience at all touchpoints. In the case of FlyZoo Hotel and Fliggy, this translates into a digitally integrated journey, enabling guests to plan and manage all aspects of their travel with great simplicity and convenience. It can be demonstrated as such:
Contactless Hospitality
The ‘Contactless Hospitality’ strategy positions the hotel as a pioneer in leveraging technology that transform traditional operations and set new service standards in the sector. The integration of AI, automated processes and facial recognition technology enables offering a smooth, contactless guest experience.
The Covid-19 pandemic has certainly accelerated the adoption of contactless technologies in hospitality, and it is predictably here to stay. Contactless technologies allow hotels to streamline their services and automate repetitive tasks, freeing up staff to focus on more strategic tasks and significantly enhances operational efficiency.
Additionally, it also caters to the evolving expectations of modern travelers, who seek seamless, instant and digital-friendly services. This is commonly present in the main customer base in China’s market: Chinese domestic travelers. According to “China’s Tourism Sector Prospects in 2023-24” by China Briefing, in the first half of 2023 domestic tourism revenue in China reached 2.3 trillion RMB, a significant increase of 1.12 trillion RMB compared to the previous year. (Interesse, 2023)
Chinese tourists, regarded as the world’s most tech-savvy travelers, effortlessly merge innovative technologies into their lifestyle. They increasingly demand immersive experiences offered by virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) as well as contactless services and digital payments. Therefore, contactless technology is becoming increasingly vital to the hotel industry, particularly in the technologically advanced Chinese market, which strategically aligns with Flyzoo’s goals.
Emphasis on Mobile-friendly Services
Similar to the previous section, mobile-friendly services are central to FlyZoo’s strategy, marking its profound understanding of the tech-savvy customer base. Emphasizing mobile technology allows Flyzoo to deliver convenient and instant interactions, reducing wait times significantly and increasing customer satisfaction. Additionally, the mobile app can offer personalized recommendations based on user preferences and behaviors, achieving a certain degree of personalization. Guests can also use the app to communicate with staff or AI-powered assistants, catering to their queries and needs more efficiently.
Fun Fact: 80 percent of travelers said they would download a hotel app that would allow them to check in, check out and get all information about the hotel. (Survey: Travelers Want Contactless Hotel Experiences, 2020)
One notable example of the mobile app’s innovations at FlyZoo is evident within the hotel’s restaurant. After guests place their food orders via the app, tall, capsule-shaped robots deliver their meals. Meanwhile at a separate bar, a large robotic arm simultaneously mixes their cocktails. Furthermore, FlyZoo’s mobile app is not only a tool for transactional services but also a platform for engaging content. The app offers interactive guides, virtual tours and informative content about the hotel and its surroundings, effectively functioning as a digital concierge.
Challenges and Opportunities
Analyzing FlyZoo’s tech-driven hospitality model, it’s evident that there are several challenges alongside the opportunities it presents.
One potential difficulty could be the loss of a personal touch or reduction in human interaction, often a vital part of customer service in hospitality. A study by Oracle highlights consumers’ mixed feelings about AI in hospitality, indicating that while many appreciate the convenience of AI, significant consumer segments value human contact. The hospitality industry revolves around personal service, and overuse of technology might alienate guests who value this aspect. Secondly, there’s a risk of over-reliance on technology. Any technical issue or outage could affect multiple services simultaneously, potentially leading to guest dissatisfaction.
Another challenge pertains to cybersecurity risks. Facial recognition and data-driven personalization could potentially compromise guests’ privacy if proper security measures aren’t implemented.
Despite these challenges, FlyZoo’s tech-oriented approach opens up several new possibilities in the industry. The strategy holds immense scalability, enabling properties to manage operations and guest relations more efficiently as they grow. Once the model is perfected, it can be replicated across multiple locations with relative ease. The model also allows for a wealth of data collection, enabling continual improvement of guest experiences based on precise insights rather than intuition.
In the end, a question still remains: would you want to see more hotels like Flyzoo?
This blog post tied for Second Place in the Spring 2024 HFTP/MS Global Hospitality Business Graduate Student Blog Competition presented by the HFTP Foundation. Participants are students participating in the Master of Science in Global Hospitality Business, a partnership between the Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership at the University of Houston, the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and EHL. The blog posts that received the top scores will be published on HFTP Connect. Learn more at HFTP News.
About the Author
Hadeel Fkeeh is a graduate student of the Master in Global Hospitality Business, a partnership between three world-leading hospitality management schools over three continents: EHL Hospitality Business School, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and the University of Houston. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Event Management from the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism, graduated from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz University. She has past experiences in hospitality ranging from events management in the Saudi equestrian club, Red Sea International Film Festival, Jeddah season and more.
References
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Sarmah, H. (2022, September 29). Contactless hospitality solutions are important, even after COVID. eZee Absolute. https://www.ezeeabsolute.com/blog/contactless- hospitality/?utm_source=HotelBusinessStrategy&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=eAblog
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Survey: Travelers want contactless hotel experiences. (2020, August 18). Hotel Management. https://www.hotelmanagement.net/tech/survey-travelers-want-contactless-hotel-experiences
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This article originally appeared on HFTP.