Softinn, a Malaysia-based hotel solution provider, developed a hotel kiosk solution amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Early this month (Aug 2022), they announced on a Facebook post that their kiosks, in total, have check-in/outs 19,000 guests.
According to the post, they have deployed thirteen kiosks and have since processed 19,000 guest check-ins/outs (from Jan to July 2022). On average, 23% of hotel guests interacted with the kiosk.
Based on their website and various social media posts, below is the list of the hotels that subscribe to their hotel kiosk solution:
- Kavy Hotel Cameron Highlands
- GG Hotel Bandar Sunway
- Antz Village Hotel Kampar
- GM Sunway Metro Hotel
- Havenue Hotel Shah Alam, Selangor
- Snooze Hotel Cameron Highlands
- Heeren Inn Melaka
Upon checking the guest reviews of the hotels mentioned above on Agoda and Booking.com, we found that the guest enjoys the self-service facility. Quoting one of the guest reviews – “I like the concept of self check-in using machine”.
Hotel kiosk technology has been popular in developed countries like Japan. However, it’s made popular in Malaysia recently because of the labour shortage.
The rising labour cost and labour shortage plague the service industry in Malaysia. The make it worst, the hotel is now seen as a high-risk employer amid the pandemic. As a result, many hotel owners are having difficulty attracting new talents. The labour shortage and rising costs encourage hotel owners to adopt automation and self-service kiosk.
According to JeeShen, the CEO of Softinn, “many hotel owners doubted the kiosk service and worried about its acceptance among the travellers” when they first introduced the solution. But, JeeShen further lamented that now, things have changed. The positive feedback received on online portals like Agoda, booking.com etc., helps boost hotel confidence in their service. The company saw an increase in inquiries about the kiosk since August this year.
There are more than 5,200 registered hotels in Malaysia; I believe automation is needed as Malaysia moves toward a high-income nation. Therefore, the demand for hotel technology, automation and hotel kiosks offered by Softinn will increase. Digitalization is no longer a buzzword used in the boardroom but a necessity.
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