Chinese guests at Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel chain, will soon be able to check in with a quick scan of their facial features.

The Joint Venture of Alibaba Group and Marriott International has announced it is spearheading Marriott International’s facial recognition check-in pilot with Fliggy, Alibaba’s travel service platform, as it aims to continually elevate the travel experience for tech-savvy Chinese travellers.

“We are excited to partner with the joint venture yet again to offer an innovative and convenient check-in alternative for Chinese travellers. Marriott International has a track record of embracing cutting-edge technology to create memorable experiences for guests,” highlighted Henry Lee, COO and MD of Marriott International Greater China and Board Member of the JV. “With technology, our hotel associates can work more efficiently to do what they do best – delivering personalized service to our guests.”

Image source: Channel NewsAsia

With Fliggy’s expertise in facial recognition technology and the joint venture’s hospitality insights, the pilot will kick off from July 2018 at two Marriott International properties in China – Hangzhou Marriott Hotel Qianjiang and Sanya Marriott Hotel Dadonghai Bay, with the goal of global rollout across Marriott International’s properties in the future. This move is set to position Marriott International as a pioneer global hospitality company to offer this seamless check-in experience.

The check-in process can be completed in less than a minute. Chinese guests simply need to scan their IDs, take a photo and input contact details on a self-help machine. The intelligent device will then dispense room key cards after identities and booking information are verified.

Both the companies had announced the establishment of a joint venture last year to redefine the travel experience for the hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers traveling abroad and domestically every year. As incomes rise, China’s middle class is looking for higher quality products and travel experiences. This new technology is perfectly designed to satisfy consumers’ expectations for seamless, integrated, personalized, and convenient travel solutions.

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More than 300 million registered users who book trips through online travel agency Ctrip will now have more personalized options and service from AccorHotels as well. The Paris-based global hotel chain and Shanghai-based online travel platform have recently signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance their existing partnership.

The agreement has four components: more prominent promotion of AccorHotels on Ctrip, building a flagship store for AccorHotels, joint development of loyalty programs and cooperation on technology.

Commenting on the partnership, Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip, said, “With the ever-growing number of outbound Chinese travelers, we are always looking for ways to provide better services for our customers, and with the deepened AccorHotels relationship, we are able to offer magnified experiences and property choices. With the diverse range of hotels offered by AccorHotels, Ctrip customers will have access to a vast majority of its hotels globally.”

AccorHotels’ portfolio currently offers 4,300 hotels and 10,000 private homes in 100 countries, ranging from luxury brands to mid-scale and budget properties.

Chinese outbound tourists have long been a high-priority group for many luxury brands, but the demands and habits of younger travellers are changing rapidly, as they seek out more digitally personalized experiences, including superior guest services and smart device integration.

Image source: Luxuo

A report titled ‘Chinese Luxury Traveler 2016’ states that the continued growth of China over the next several years will ensure that its consumers remain prime targets for brands for the foreseeable future, as even a slowed China exceeds the growth rate of western nations. As a result, travel brands will need to make a connection to this group, the first born in a fully modern China, in the interest of long-term success.

According to the report, personalized service is still the biggest consideration in travelling for luxury Chinese travellers. Besides a liking for amenities, being able to choose pillows of different firmness and having a butler or personalized service through digital channels are also important. While 73 percent demand WiFi, 55 percent want smart TVs, while unique art and design are also high draws. AccorHotels, with its CRS, mobile app, loyalty programs and products like Adobe that it uses to personalize the guest experience with targeted offers and other information, is best suited for this crop of Chinese travellers.

Additionally, China’s travellers, especially the young ones, get most of their travel information digitally, largely from official WeChat accounts. Ctrip, Qunar and Tuniu are popular third-party platforms in the country, making this MoU worth the while for AccorHotels that is aiming to position itself on the Ctrip website and in the Chinese travel market.

AccorHotels will also launch its own program to train and certify at least 250 hotels by 2020 on Chinese Optimum Standards. These properties will be trained to answer major Chinese guests’ expectations. Ctrip says it may invite additional partners to be featured on its platforms as it pursues its goal to provide members with “dedicated experiences and better services to become a one-stop travel shop.”

Chinese residents will make 90 million outbound trips in 2020, with that number increasing by an additional 36 million over the following decade, according to a report by Euromonitor, making them one of the most lucrative audiences for travel providers across the world. By tapping into personalization such as mobility, language customizations and other services, many other brands like AccorHotels can create differentiated experiences that will eventually help enrich services and gain valuable customer insights in the process.

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Chinese travellers are a strong force to reckon with all over the globe. Boosted by a rising Chinese currency, they are now the top source of tourism cash in the world.

China’s outbound tourism growth over the last decade has been nothing short of phenomenal. Chinese international tourism spend has more than tripled since the US$73 billion recorded in 2011, reaching US$261 billion in 2016. CLSA anticipates Chinese tourists will continue spending overseas to reach US$429 billion in 2021.

While Chinese travellers have long outgrown the need to shop on a holiday due to increased availability of international goods on the mainland, they still look for new experiences, while keeping safety in mind. For instance, CLSA’s 2017 findings indicate that events such as the terrorist attacks in Europe and political instability on the Korean peninsula highly impacted their travel choices.

In light of these statistics, it becomes imperative for tourism boards, travel companies and OTAs to up the ante and attract more Chinese tourists to their region – from having a website in the native language, to establishing partnerships with local Chinese agencies, and some major online blitzkrieg.

There has been a boom in the digital era in China. Internet in China is increasing its influence and online communication has now become almost mandatory. With a low initial investment, measurable ROI, and a wide range of media, all these make online promotion a big factor in the Chinese tourism sector. Using quality Multimedia is also an effective tool. For example, New Zealand conducted a major operation in digital communications and succeeded in attracting many Chinese tourists to its country. Social media is another huge travel influencer when it comes to the Chinese people. The major part of Chinese Internet users spend time on social networks like WeChat and Weibo, two very powerful tools that help your brand spread the core message to millions of users.

At the recently concluded Beijing International Travel Mart (BITM), TravHQ spoke to Asheri Kiisay, Managing Director at Acacia Farm Lodge, a luxury country lodge in Tanzania, about the country, how to meet the expectations of the Chinese traveller and what destinations can do to attract them via social media.

The event witnessed panel discussions by domain experts from all over the world to deliver actionable insights and offer a peek into how travel trends vary across geographies.

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