[Infographic] Serving the Impatient American Consumer

Many Americans say technology has made them more impatient today than they were five years ago, according to recent research from Fetch and YouGov.

The report was based on data from a survey of a YouGov poll conducted in May 2017 among 2,489 US adults age 18 and older. A few key takeaways:

• Some 41% of respondents say technology has made them more impatient than they were five years ago. Among Millennials, the proportion is 45%.
• 24% of respondents would be most frustrated when making a complaint about a product/service and having to interact with an automated responder or chatbot instead of a person.
• The second most frustrating aspect about technology for all respondents (14%) was when browsing on a mobile phone is interrupted with irrelevant advertising
• The third most frustrating thing about technology for all respondents (11%) not being able to find an answer using an online search engine

What does this mean for hotels?

There are a few key action items for hotels specifically that we can extrapolate from these data points.

1. Almost a quarter of Americans still want to talk to a human. While many hotels are experimenting with ways to automate their services like check-in kiosks and robot butlers, at the end of the day, serving consumers in a way that meets and exceeds expectations still means having touch points with a real person where it counts.

2. Your guests don’t like irrelevant emails, since irrelevant advertising is a huge frustration for American consumers. The evidence is mounting that sending generic blast emails to your entire database is hurting your relationship with your customers. If you’re still among those sending the same email to your entire database, it’s more important than ever before to start segmenting your guests and sending targeted, relevant information and offers.

3. Offer information before guests ask for it. Since consumers get frustrated when they can’t find information, why not nip this in the bud by proactively sending them important information before they arrive? A pre-stay email campaign in the weeks and days leading up to a stay can be used to communicate important arrival information, inform guests of any special events during their stay, let them know about amenities that might be relevant to them, or upsell them to a larger room. There is a ton of opportunity in this pre-stay period to set guest expectations, alleviate any concerns they might have, and drive additional direct revenue for your hotel.

Check out the infographic for more findings from the poll: