Guest Post: Why hospitality staff deserve guest-quality tech

Aside from the staffing crisis, Markus Feller, CEO of Like Magic, sheds light on the importance of prioritising the right tech for your staff

If you asked a hotel CEO for their 2030 predictions, they’d likely wax lyrical about how technology will revolutionise the industry with micro-personalisation, frictionless journeys, and more direct bookings. But what about the people who are essential to unlocking the potential of this technology—the employees who turn these aspirations into reality?

The big questions in hospitality typically revolve around the guest. What do they like? Where do they go? How can we best monetise their stay? Yet equally crucial — but too often overlooked — are questions about staff satisfaction and workflow.

In fact, understanding how well employees’ needs are met can yield better insights into guest experience. Are employees satisfied with the tools they have? How much time are they spending on administrative tasks? How often do they have to juggle between different systems? And ultimately, how fulfilled are they in their jobs?

While guests are dazzled by shiny new technology, staff are left toggling between outdated, fragmented systems. This leads to frustration, overload, and, eventually, burnout.

It may seem counterintuitive, but investing in technology designed to enhance the employee experience doesn’t just improve staff satisfaction—it also elevates the guest experience.

The strain of a tight labour market 

The staffing crisis in hospitality isn’t going away. Between 2019 and 2020, 63 million hospitality jobs disappeared globally, and even as hotels reopened, restaffing remains a challenge. In 2022, there were still 39 million fewer hospitality workers than before COVID-19.

A 2024 McKinsey study across 30 countries confirms that low-productivity sectors like hospitality have been hit hardest by labour shortages. Over the past decade, job vacancies in hospitality have increased, rising from 10.2% of total labour demand in 2010 to 11.2% in 2023.

Adding to this, wage inflation has made hiring more challenging. Eurostat reports that hourly labour costs rose by 4.7% in the euro area and 5.2% in the EU in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year. 

With a high guest-to-staff ratio, hoteliers face the challenge of doing more with fewer people, which is challenging enough.

On top of restaffing, hospitality is also fighting an uphill battle in retention. For staff, it’s not just about long hours — it’s also outdated tech that makes the job needlessly cumbersome. Imagine trying to provide seamless service while jumping between poorly integrated apps or using a desktop-locked software in a mobile-first world. 

Providing staff with intuitive tools that simplify tasks helps tackle the labour challenge. By reducing the need for specialised skills, these tools open hospitality roles to a broader talent pool, enabling hotels to attract diverse candidates and enhance staffing flexibility.

Better employee tools will monetise the guests

Monetisation is always top of mind in hospitality, and the focus is often on increasing guest revenue. But what if we flipped the script? Instead of more upsells, what if we optimised our team’s performance so they could deliver better service, even with fewer resources?

Research from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research has consistently shown a strong link between employee satisfaction and guest experience metrics. Their studies indicated that hotels investing in integrated employee-facing technologies not only streamlined operations and reduced training time, but also saw measurable boosts in guest satisfaction scores and repeat business.

It’s a case of efficiency by transforming the employee experience, freeing up staff so they can be great hosts.

This approach also aligns with the modern concept of “human sustainability” in business as studied by Deloitte’s 2024 Human Capital Trends, where leveraging technology to streamline processes create more resilient workforces, and in turn, better performance. By automating routine tasks and simplifying workflows, organisations free their employees from mundane responsibilities, allowing them to focus on strategic, creative, and value-adding activities.

Great employee tools can do more than boost morale — they improve the bottom line. With efficient tools, you don’t have to chase profit from guests. Instead, you unlock efficiencies that trim operational costs, from reduced training expenses to leaner staffing. 

What makes a great employee platform?

The good news is that evolving guest expectations are aligning with efforts to relieve the pressure on hospitality workforces.

During lockdowns, people got used to engaging with services via their smartphones. Now, when visiting hotels, many prefer self-service options and mobile apps for checking in, ordering food, booking reservations, and paying bills.

So, the question is: how can we equip employees with tools that not only cater to guest behaviours but also streamline their workloads? How can we automate 80% of their daily tasks, allowing them to thrive in a leaner-staffed environment while freeing up time to engage guests?

Effective employee platforms start with seamless integration. Ideally, the solution should connect to everything: PMS, payments, CRM, guest communications, housekeeping, and smart access. No one should have to log in to multiple systems or switch between screens. When information is centralised and accessible, everything changes — suddenly, training times drop from weeks to hours, and new hires can be guest-ready by lunchtime.

On top of integration, employee platforms should also mirror the frictionless user experience we design for guests. Think intuitive navigation, thumb-friendly elements, consistent interfaces, and minimised steps for everyday tasks.

Equip employees with tools that go beyond flagging errors or requiring manual input. One that automates guests’ data into simple tasks employees can follow. A tool with a traffic light system, for example, helps address issues proactively before guests even notice, ensuring a seamless experience for everyone.

Give employees the same quality tools we offer guests

When staff aren’t shackled by admin work, they feel valued and empowered. And when employees are happy, guests feel it too. It’s simple, really. Empowered employees become engaged hosts. 

Closing the tech gap between guest and employee solutions creates a holistic environment — one where people want to stay, thrive, and contribute to a seamless experience.