CULVER CITY, CA—Hotels seeking to shorten the sometimes-tedious process of check-in and checkout can look no further than Acuant, Inc., a provider of credential management solutions, whose aim is to make staff-to-guest interactions more efficient through mobile scanning technology.
“With our solution, people can engage with the guest instead of doing things they shouldn’t spend time on. I’m changing the hotel onboarding experience with a tool to change the process completely and, on another side, abide by government regulations the hotels need,” said Yossi Zekri, president and CEO, Acuant.
Acuant partners with other software providers to integrate its mobile scanning technology services into the hotel’s platforms. According to Zekri, it’s cloud-based information capture solutions ensures an accuracy, security and efficiency with which customer data is collected and, as a result, frees up the hotel staff to devote more time to customer relations.
“With mobile scanning, check-in can begin anywhere—even remotely—and be completed in less time with fewer errors. Advanced scanning solutions quickly and accurately read all data off drivers’ licenses, passports and other identity cards, automatically populating data records and storing a digital replica of the ID for regulatory and security purposes,” he said.
From there, the gathered information can be cross-checked with other databases, such as the DMV and credit bureaus, to verify the customer’s identity and the same data can be connected to the hotel’s systems for security, billing and customer service management, he explained.
“At the end of the day, we are trying to speed the gathering of information; ensure the accuracy and verification of data on the document level—if it’s real or not; and, then, personal verification, determining if the person is who they say they are,” he said.
Creating a seamless user experience through scanning technology coincides with the need to respond to increased mobile use among guests, a trend hotels don’t see abating.
“35% of hoteliers anticipate growth in mobile booking. It’s about allowing that user at home or as they travel to use a mobile device to register, and it’s vital for the hotel to be able to capture their identity information,” he said. “In certain areas of the world, you have to provide ID or a passport upon arrival to the hotel. Mobile technology can feed it all in instead of the hotel having to key it in, and we can streamline the process by scanning the image of the ID so it’s in there as you’re registering for the hotel, airline or other industry segments.”
For the hotels, it’s about moving away from routine data-entry tasks and being able to focus more on face-to-face customer service efforts, such as personalized engagement, solving problems, etc.
“Today, you can create a higher level interactive experience with guests. You can take people through the flow of registration, leave them an iPad to do all these things in the process, I see more movement to that side,” he said. “What we do in simple terms is we allow a hotel to capture guest information fast and accurately. When you improve processes, you open other areas faster and hotels can maximize the guest experience through what we facilitate.”
—Corris Little