Exploring Tech Innovations in Guest Experience Apps in the Horeca Industry with Business Development Director of TouchMenu – Plamena Bobeva

Horeca Insight talked to Plamena Bobeva, the Director of Business Development at TouchMenu, a web-based platform that helps hotels and resorts boost revenue and improve guest satisfaction. The interview also covered current tech trends related to the guest experience in hotel industry.

Horeca Insight: What are some of the latest tech innovations in the Horeca industry, specifically concerning guest experience?

Plamena Bobeva: The difference between a good hospitality product and an exceptional one can be felt when we find the synergy between innovation and highly personalized service. A great example of what makes the guest experience exceptional is to have quick access to all additional services and up-to-date content in multiple languages.

By using QR codes in the Horeca industry, we can provide guests with a digital experience that is not only convenient but also sustainable. Guests can access information and services without having to interact directly with hotel or restaurant staff. Thanks to specific QR codes located in the hotel room, at the reception, in the dining areas, in the meeting and entertainment hall, guests will be always informed, and every service is just a few taps away from any smartphone or tablet.

By using Artificial Intelligence additionally helps to personalize the guest experience, providing them with what they like and need.

Horeca Insight: Please provide some information about TouchMenu and its role in revolutionizing the hospitality industry.

Plamena Bobeva: TouchMenu helps hospitality ecosystems make money and keep guests happy in a sustainable way using cutting-edge technology. It’s an all-in-one web-based platform that attracts guests with a full set of services, accessible through a single QR code scan. Then they can communicate with the hotel team, order food and drinks, check availability and book additional services, pay and enjoy all the offers. The implementation of digital solutions in hotels provides an exceptional guest experience and at the same time increases hotels revenue, supporting the management to reduce operational costs and to optimize workflow processes.

Horeca Insight: How does TouchMenu’s pricing structure work, and what makes it an affordable solution for the hotel industry? Could you provide more details on the fees or available plans?

Plamena Bobeva: The clients can choose between pre-selected packages or request customized packages, paying only for features, management modules and functionalities suitable for their business. The monthly subscription fee is fixed and will not modify by increasing the revenue. Additional discount applies with annual subscription prepayment. I would say that the prices are affordable, the monthly fee is about the same as the price of a one-night stay in a hotel.

Horeca Insight: What are the key benefits and advantages of using digital apps in hotels and restaurants? How do they improve operational efficiency?

Plamena Bobeva: Implementing intelligent hospitality solutions like TouchMenu works both – for the guests and the hotel management.

All our menus are supported by artificial intelligence, by incorporating AI to analyse user behaviour in the ordering features, helps provide a unique and customized experience and further assists users in selecting food and beverages. At the same time, the AI engine also provides hotel management with valuable analysis, statistics, reports, and suggestions for optimization. The hoteliers can manage promotional offers, cross-selling activities, and loyalty programs, to track the key performance indicators for identifying trends, making informed decisions, and optimising business strategies.

Horeca Insight: In terms of user interface and design, what should be considered when developing a digital hospitality solution? How can hoteliers and restaurant owners ensure that their apps are intuitive and easy to navigate for guests?

Plamena Bobeva: One of the most important decisions, entirely taken for guests’ convenience, is creating a web-based digital solution – no need to download and install any app. We deliver easy access to digital information and additional services in up to 36 languages by scanning a single QR code. With just a few taps, guests can get the information they need, make an order, or book an appointment.

Horeca Insight: How are concierge apps reshaping the communication and interaction between guests and staff members?

Plamena Bobeva: Having a centralized system that enables communication across the whole guest journey between the guests and the hotel staff on the one hand and effective inter-team communication on the other hand, helps to improve overall guest satisfaction and hotel reputation.

We enable hoteliers to communicate with their guests immediately after the booking, during their stay through real-time messaging tools with the front office, housekeeping and maintenance, as well as after the departure through different surveys or loyalty programs.

A well-designed interdepartmental communication system provides team members from various departments the opportunity to effortlessly connect, share information and collaborate on tasks. Proper coordination can lead to quicker problem-solving and reduced response times to guest requests.

Horeca Insight: With TouchMenu already integrated with over 10,000 hotel rooms worldwide, what are the main factors you attribute to its adoption?

Plamena Bobeva: The power of TouchMenu’s Virtual Concierge lays in the endless possibilities provided directly or through partner integration.

When we talk about Virtual Concierge, you must keep in mind that its portal page is also the place where you can present almost everything according to the concrete needs of a specific hotel or resort – promotional offers, trips or excursions, feedback modules, loyalty programs as well as any other tools from third-party service providers.

Horeca Insight: How does the implementation of TouchMenu contribute to improving financial results for hotels?

Plamena Bobeva: One of the main and perhaps among the most important questions that each of our prospective partners asks is how our solution will help them. By placing a QR code in the hotel rooms, in the lobby, under the umbrella at the beach makes it possible to book additional services from any point, we turn every point into a commercial area, even the hotel room.

Horeca Insight: Please share some success stories from hotels that have implemented TouchMenu and experienced tangible benefits from using the platform.

Plamena Bobeva: In fact, the real stories, and experiences that hoteliers have with our tech work are the best advertisement and the strongest argument to confidently move forward into new markets. You know that December is one of the most profitable months on what concerns massages and spa treatments revenues of Wellness & SPA hotels, and usually January is a month that registers a serious drop in this regard.

A different result emerged when, shortly before Christmas, we implemented our digital set of features, including the TouchMenu SPA Management Module in one of the popular SPA resorts near Sofia – Belchin Garden SPA Hotel.

By allowing the guests to view staff schedules, available slots, led to instantly booking a massage or other SPA treatment 24/7, and they doubled their revenue from SPA treatments in the first month after integrating the SPA management module and made it more comfortable for guests.

Horeca Insight: What are TouchMenu’s plans and developments in terms of expansion and offering additional functionalities to its clients in the hospitality industry?

Plamena Bobeva: We do not stop developing additional functionalities and improving already functioning tools to meet the expectations of our customers, while we strive to solve real problems like industry personnel scarcity.

TouchMenu is like the navigation in a car – regardless the model and extras, we turned getting from one point to another faster, easier and more efficient. The goal is to help hospitality ecosystems make money and sustainably keep guests happy on five continents.

Horeca Insight: Looking ahead, what do you foresee as the future in the Horeca industry? Are there any emerging trends or technologies that we should be aware of?

Plamena Bobeva: I would predict, without a doubt, that in the next few years, technological solutions and digitalization will be implemented in a large part of the tourism industry, and tourists would receive more information about the destination, about the possibilities to diversify their stay through automated solutions; whereas ChatGPT would be a great option, but during the hotel stay, guests will expect more direct communication and personal touch rather than pre-learned phrases.