This summer will see an estimated 15.3 million people descend on Paris, for the 2024 Olympic Games. With thousands of athletes, spectators and dignitaries flocking to France’s capital, this will present a prime opportunity for hotels to showcase their hospitality and capitalise on increased demand in the city.
Paris, with its famous landmarks, delicious food, shopping opportunities, and a rustic café culture, remains the most visited city in the world with over 44 million tourists annually. Out of the approximately 130,000 hotel rooms available in Paris, a significant portion is projected to be occupied during the Olympics, with hotels in close proximity to event venues experiencing particularly high demand. This presents a unique chance for hoteliers to provide an exceptional guest experience that will resonate long after the Games have concluded.
But in an industry such as hospitality which is already plagued by staffing shortages, and rising costs, the Olympics will put a strain on hotels to deliver this exceptional guest experience. In addition, with the bed bug "infestation" that tarnished the hospitality industry in 2023, the repercussions of that unfortunate episode are a stark reminder of the critical importance of cleanliness in maintaining a positive reputation to keep guests returning and choosing your hotel.
Last year, France grappled with a widespread bed bug infestation that plagued numerous hotels, tarnishing their reputation and causing considerable distress to guests. The fallout from the infestation was severe, with affected hotels experiencing a significant drop in occupancy rates and enduring negative reviews and media scrutiny.
There is also a large cost associated with a bed bug incident. The loss of room revenue, disposal of soft goods and pest control treatment and cost into multiple thousands of pounds. The Montlhery Paris Sud Hotel, less than 15km south of the Capital, was forced to pay around €1,500 on eradicating bed bugs, after a sighting in his hotel last year. Mr Max Malka, the hotel’s owner, claims that hotels in Paris can expect to get a case once a year - Guests bring them as they travel, usually in the summer season.
Cleanliness is paramount in the hospitality industry, and it extends far beyond aesthetics. Research by Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration revealed that cleanliness ranks among the top factors influencing guest satisfaction and loyalty. A clean and well-maintained environment instils confidence in guests, enhancing their overall experience and likelihood of returning in the future. Furthermore, A recent survey by @Expedia revealed that enhanced cleaning measures were one of the top drivers of value when booking hotels.
In today’s landscape, it is clear that cleanliness is a top priority for hotel guests, and negative reviews can be the difference between gaining or losing a booking.
Technology will play an instrumental role in helping to overcome these challenges this summer in particular for France’s larger hotels. From self check-in to other smart building solutions, there will be a reliance that helps deliver that exceptional customer service than ever before. And this includes cleaning technology.
Robotic vacuum cleaners, robotic waiters, robotic room service delivery. For those hotels looking to help bulk up their housekeeping teams, or events teams, by offering a partner which will autonomously take care of tasks, there is still time to implement robots within the hotel environment before this summer season.
The Renaissance Paris La Défense hotel is a 4* luxury hotel located in the heart of Paris, France, is just one of the many flagship hotels within Paris and the surrounding areas that have implemented SoftBank Robotics automated solutions.
The hotel wanted not only to be at the forefront of innovation, but wanted to implement the latest technologies to increase efficiency for their staff and hotel guests. They decided to focus on cleaning and room service. Cleaning the 330 guest rooms and 1000 metres squared of meeting space took a significant proportion of the cleaning team's time. They wanted a solution that would enable staff to cut their time spent vacuuming, that didn’t compromise on quality of the clean.
The hotel implemented Whiz, SoftBank Robotics’ autonomous vacuum sweeper, to vacuum the corridors and meeting spaces. Whiz has been able to get on with the vacuuming, whilst the staff focus on other tasks, enabling the spaces to be vacuumed more frequently, improving the cleanliness for guests without additional workload for the staff.
Julie Kuhn, Executive housekeeper, says, “If I could describe the robots in one word, it would be efficient. All smart tech and robots help us daily to ensure we are taking the right decisions. Before implementing the technology, it was hard to measure productivity and now we have a new analytical way of working in hospitality. It was about people and now it’s about people and data, which helps us to be more efficient.
“The staff are happy that the robots are helping the team and are excited to use something new. We are using the robots daily to clean floors more often than when we were vacuuming manually because it is quicker and more efficient. This is making the team keen to work with the robots.”
The hotel were also keen to find a way to offer 24/7 room service, without increasing the workload of the night team. To this end, they chose the W3 to take care of this for them.
Axel Faust Taieb, Food and Beverage Director, says, “The W3 is extremely efficient, thanks to its autonomy. For example, it takes the lift on its own and contacts the room on its own, which I believe is its greatest strength."
For more information on robotics and joining the hotels in Paris that have already taken the step to implement autonomous solutions to assist their staff and provide superior cleanliness and customer service, please contact us here.